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A Fan's Review by Chris Rutherford
The orchestra and the band launched into the montage. Lots of new footage including the covers for her latest albums, moments from 'G'Day LA' etc. The montage / overture ended, Olivia sang the first two lines of 'IHLY' and the audience was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. She walked out on stage to rapturous applause wearing the lovely dark gold ensemble. Olivia was on stage for nearly two hours giving one of the most energetic and fun performances I've seen her do. I won't go through each and every song in graphic detail because Olivia's been doing this basic show for so long that much of it becomes routine, but I'll pick out a few tidbits to share...
Have You Never Been Mellow
Lots of waving to the audience in this one. At times it almost seemed like she
was picking out people and making them acknowledge her rather than the usual
routine of everyone smiling like a gibbon to get Olivia to recognise them, haha.
Magic
One of my favourite performances of the night. I hope they keep this performance
of the song in the DVD because it was one of the best versions of 'Magic' I've
heard her do. A few adlibs here and there, really over-emphasised (in a good
way) performing of the lyrics, and Olivia even went for that 'ohhhhhhhhhhhh, you
have to believe...' part in her chest voice instead of her head voice. Excellent
stuff.
After 'Magic' Olivia said hi, mentioned how she was filming the show for DVD, and how 'lucky' she was to be performing at the Sydney Opera House.
Xanadu
Danny, in his infinite wisdom, had brought pink and purple glowsticks for this
song. He and Paul had a pair and passed a couple on to me. We wiggled them
around with pride and Olivia cracked up, as did a bunch of people behind us.
Olivia kept pointing at Danny and smiling and at the end of the song gave a
little thank-you motion.
Stronger Than Before
I am really growing attached to this song. Olivia got a round of applause when
she mentioned the new album which was nice. This was the only song I really
noticed her looking at the auto-cue monitor for, so I'd guess (understandably)
she's not as comfortable with the lyrics as she is something like, say,
'Physical'. Olivia spent the entire intro skimming the monitor making sure she
had the words memorised. I also noticed she would use her thank-you bow at the
end of every song to check the setlist for the next song, bless! 'STB' obviously
means a lot to her as she really got into it. You can see it in Olivia's eyes
when she's really connecting with a song because it's not there if she's just on
auto-pilot.
Dancin'
A welcome return to the setlist! This was another of the highlights of the
evening and I hope they use last night's performance in the DVD. Olivia had such
a fun time with this number. She had a pink feather boa draped around her arms
and her new back-up singer (Carmella? I've forgotten her name but she was
excellent) had a pink one. This song works a treat with the orchestra and the
choreography everyone does was slick. During the Tubes part of the song which
Andy very competently pulled off, Olivia and Carmella were laughing it up in the
corner. I noticed Olivia miming a lot of the words to Andy's part last night.
Guess I'm not the only one who gets the urge to break out some air guitar when I
hear 'LOVER, I won't take a backseat tonight...'
Country Medley
If Not For You / Let Me Be There / Please Mr Please / Jolene / If You Love Me
(Let Me Know)
'Do you like country music? That's a shame cos we don't know any', 'if you feel
like joining in and clapping along, please don't cos you're gonna mess us up
okay?' Yeah, we've all heard the jokes before but everyone had a giggle
nonetheless! This was actually a really strong section of the show, and it's
usually one that feels more routine than others to me. I think she's chosen the
right songs to be in the section, as on the last tour 'Banks of the Ohio' really
seemed to slow everything down. Olivia was moving her head from side to side in
the twangy part of 'If Not For You', a song which got a surprisingly huge
reception. Everyone sang along for 'Let Me Be There', 'Please Mr Please' was a
lot slower than usual and emphasised the melancholy of the lyric, and Olivia
stood up and acted out 'Jolene'. She got to the end and took a big breath to hit
that final note and threw her head back as she did it. She turned to Andy
afterwards as if needing reassurance that she hit it and he was nodding at her.
'If You Love Me' was fun too and Olivia lassooed her mic in the middle as she
always does.
Physical (Age-Appropriate Version)
While the theatrical opening to this song was being played by the orchestra,
Olivia leant over and was having a bit of a gasbag to Andy and her other guitar
player. When the band started playing the chords of the intro and the audience
worked out what song it was, they all went nuts. Olivia got a big grin on her
face. Again she went all out at the end and held that final note for a really
long time. The band had stopped playing and the lights went down and she was
still finishing it off. She sort of shook her head at the end as if to say
'phew, I did it' and Andy patted her on the back whilst nodding his head. It was
almost as if her confidence was a bit shaken after Tuesday night's vocal
troubles, but she was so on the money last night. Right on, sistah! At the end
she mentioned how the song had been banned and everyone started whooping and
hollering. She said she was extremely proud of that fact.
Don't Stop Believin' (Bossa Nova Version)
Olivia prefaced this song by mentioning John Farrar and the crowd cheered loudly
at his name which was nice. Olivia said she recorded this song for an album a
long time ago and she loved it so much that she had to do it again. Good
performance as always.
Suddenly
I don't know why but this was probably my least favourite moment in the show.
I'm a little over the song and think something like 'Suspended In Time' in its
place would work a treat, but Olivia and Steve did a great job as always.
Steve's got a lot more colour in his voice than Cliff and now that Olivia's
voice is deeper and a bit richer, he's a perfect counterpart.
Not Gonna Give Into It
Lots of moving around the stage for this one. Olivia mentioned the 'Gaia' record
and said it was a very personal album for her. No-one cheered but as she'd just
mentioned breast cancer in the sentence beforehand, it probably would have been
inappropriate. No flower in the mouth for this one as nobody handed her one, but
- as is tradition - she ended with the joke about lying to the audience and that
she just gave into it.
Cry Me A River
A good breather for Olivia and a fine example of how well crafted the current
setlist is. Olivia made a bit of a mistake when she introduced this song by
saying it was written and recorded by Julie London. I'm fairly sure Julie had
nothing to do with writing the song, although I could be wrong...? Solid
performance but I always think this song needs more bitterness than Olivia
injects into it!
80's Medley
The Rumour / Heart Attack / Make A Move On Me / Twist of Fate
Thank God, the heavens conspired and I was made a very happy camper! Olivia
stood up from where she was seated to perform 'CMAR' and asked 'are you guys
ready for some rock and roll?' I was absolutely thrilled to see just how excited
she seemed to be performing these songs. For 'The Rumour' she spoke over the
intro and said 'Elton John wrote this song' but was a bit drowned out by the
band. For each song in the medley, the corresponding album cover was projected
onto the screen behind her with a pink background. 'Heart Attack' was awesome as
she began with her back to the audience (jacket now off) and wiggling her rump.
It was adorable. She really went for those 'heart attack!' lines too, chest
voice not head voice. 'Make A Move On Me' was great, lots of bouncing around the
stage, and 'Twist of Fate' got a really good reception. The crowd went ballistic
at the end. She had to thank everyone a few times and said something along the
lines of 'I'm glad you enjoyed those ones!' I hope Olivia realises now how much
that era means to fans!
Tenterfield Saddler
I'm really not a fan of the '(2)' album, but this performance really got to me.
Peter Allen was a brilliant songwriter and Olivia manages to make it a touching
duet (as always) without ever crossing that line where you think 'hang on, this
is about Peter Allen's family, why is Olivia Newton-John singing on it?' She
mentioned that Peter was on the same bill as her in 1980 when she performed at
the Opera House for the Queen, so that and the fact that she was in Australia
gave this song added pertinence.
The Promise (The Dolphin Song)
I think this was the song where she made a bit of a flub and said she recorded
the 'Physical' album in 1982. Hmm, close enough! Olivia said she pulled this one
out because of the video and went on to talk about being in Hawaii in a lovely
resort with dolphins in the pool at the back. She called it one of the most
memorable moments of her life and said the next morning she woke up with this
song in her head. 'I believe the dolphins gave this song to me, so I'd like to
dedicate this one to dolphins'. Aww. It was a real treat to hear this one live,
and in a few spots she spun around on her chair to watch the video. I'm glad
this will be on the DVD.
You're The One That I Want
The funniest part about this performance was the fact that whilst the 'Grease'
clips played to the intro on the screens, Olivia stood at the table where her
tea and water was and reapplied her make-up! She put more blush on and redid her
lipstick. Everyone loves the 'Grease' songs. Not much else to say about this
one.
Hopelessly Devoted To You
Another strong performance, but everyone knows what this one's like so I'll move
on.
Summer Nights
Fun factor = 100. They projected Olivia's autocue lyrics up onto the screen for
this one and made it a real singalong. Olivia stood right in front of me with
her female backing singer and had loads of fun with it. She said that if people
were shy and didn't want to sing, they could just do the 'uh huh... uh huh... uh
huh' parts. When she said this, she did the Elvis lip curl thing alot and was
snapping her fingers. Adorable! She did this in the middle of the song for a
while and I couldn't help but crack up. I'm pretty sure she saw me laughing and
had a quick giggle too. The audience really loved this one and everybody sang
along, particularly in the final 'it turned cold and there's where it ends...'
part. If the audience sound is good on the DVD, that will be a real treat to
hear.
I Honestly Love You
Olivia returned to the stage with a sheer, lacy jacket(ish) thing over her
shoulders. It looked lovely. She introduced this song as being one she was
really grateful to have recorded, and at the end said she still found something
new and beautiful in the lyric every time.
Serenity
That said, this is a far better closer than 'I Honestly Love You'. Instead of
dedicating 'IHLY' to the audience (which has always felt strange to me
considering I find it a really sad song about unrequited love!) Olivia gave us
this one and said thank you to all for coming. She also said that it had been a
magical night and she was so pleased to have captured it on film so she can have
it forever. This was another one like 'STB' where you could really see Olivia
was right there in the lyric. It was almost as if she tuned the entire audience
out and went almost glassy-eyed. Very powerful and beautiful to watch. She
performed it to perfection and no-one cheered until the last strains of the
orchestra ebbed away.
At this point, the entire concert hall stood up and gave Olivia a huge standing ovation. The cheering went on for ages and ages as she walked from side to side thanking everyone and waving before running off-stage.
Definitely one of the strongest performances I've ever seen Olivia give and with, in my opinion, a much better setlist than the 'Heartstrings' tour. Other tidbits:
* the final projection said 'Stronger Than Before World Tour 2006'. I will
give that credence when Olivia announces she's ducking over the UK for a few
shows! Come on Liv, they love you there.
* there was a teensy flub at the end of 'Summer Nights' when Olivia was bowing
and the screen showed the autocue lyrics for 'I Honestly Love You' for a split
second
* when Olivia had finished her tea and was moving onto her water, she held it up
and said 'alright! I'm onto the hard stuff now!' She also said at some point
'I'm drinking out of a bottle *adopts diva stance* Where's my cup?!! No just
kidding...'
* the crowd was extremely diverse. Young people, people Olivia's age and older,
couples, people on their own, families, a smattering of gay guys... It was
really nice to see the variety in the crowd she attracts.