Sound Relief Review
So... The Sound Relief benefit concert was on Saturday. Alana and I had a great time except we had two major storms during the day and it rained 80% of the time. The evening storm was the worst. We had 25mm of rain and 150km winds! Crazy! Seriously, seriously crazy but somehow it made it all the more fun. I mean the concert was to benefit the bushfire victims and I think, geeze they went to hell and back in those fires, I'm sure we can wait out two major storms for them. :)
We spent the afternoon down in the grassed area in the small mosh pit for a while and then in the evening we snuck upstairs into the stands to find seats and watched the classic Aussie rock God's do their thing from up there.
Okay here's my run down on what I thought of everyone...
Jet
Never seen them live before. They were quite good. It's surprising how many songs I actually like of theirs. Lead singer might not have a voice for much longer if he keeps screaming like that though.
Gabriella Cilmi
Oh geeze, don't get me started on her. I thought I was the only one that didn't like her but turns out Alana and probably half the 80,000 member crowd does too. I'm sorry for those that do like her but I don't. I saw and met her when she was about 12 and she was a pocket rocket back then. Totally talented and somehow she got too big for her boots. Now she sings and acts on stage like she doesn't give a shit what she's doing. The hand on the hip and the attitude she gives off is disgusting. Her speak is even worse. Do us a favor love and take some diction classes. Just because you're from Dandenong doesn't mean you have to talk like a bogan.
Kings Of Leon
Alana and I were waiting for these boys to come out, and so was everyone else. A damn fine set if I must say so myself. Loved it all except for the fact they didn't do Sex On Fire, but apparently they were running late to get to their other gig. Makes me sad that I couldn't get tickets to their proper gig because geeze they were good. Oh and we found a cure for the drought - just get KOL to play because that was the point where the first storm came through and it was absolutely bucketing down, and no one cared. We all stood there in the pouring rain in awe of the boys. :)
Paul Kelly
This is were Alana and I went off to see if we could get merchandise, so we could still hear a bit but we were of seeing if we could get hoodies and tee's.
Augie March
Alana and I were sitting down in one of the hallways at this point having a rest and some food. We could see the band behind this black curtain thing but we spent most of the set talking to each other.
Bliss N Eso with Paris Wells
Still sitting down in the hallway here. Could kind of see them behind the curtain but had no idea what the hell they were doing? Once they started the "yo motherf**ker" crap we tuned out. Sorry not my kind of music. Dunno what happened to Paris? I didn't hear her sing anything but I saw some chick walking around with an umbrella on stage, so I don't know if that was her or not?
Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson w/ Troy Cassar-Daley
Alana and I moved to standing near the seats on the lower level then. Had to move away from a bunch of drunk guys that kept yelling in my ear. This was one of my fave sets. I love Kasey and Shane. Their album is tops!! And I've been on my country music kick for a few months so this fitted right in with where my head has been. It was nice to see Kasey do 'Captain' even though I thought it was kind of the wrong version to do for such a rock concert. She did a very very quiet slow version. Would've been great in a small venue but not the MCG. Didn't hold everyone's attention.
Liam Finn
This is where Alana and I decided to try and see if we could get upstairs to the seats on the very very top level. We managed to get up there. I've never seen Liam live before and OMG he's a nut! He's a manic on stage. Going all over the place. You can tell he's a Finn son! Certainly entertaining because you're wondering what the heck he's going to do next!
Then one of my high lights of the whole day: Neil and Tim Finn came out to play [with Liam] some Crowded House songs! Seriously the best moment ever. I love Crowded House and I never thought I'd ever get to see them, so it was definitely a moment for me.
Jack Johnson
Watched a few songs of Jack's but I think he was along the same lines as Kasey's 'The Captain' song - just a little too cruisy. Definitely should be reserved for Bluesfest and not Sound Relief, but it was okay. Then Alana and I chose this moment to go off and find some dinner.
Wolfmother
Came back in time for this set. I was interested to see how these guys would be. Never seen them and not a huge fan but I've heard they're good. Err yeah wasn't too bad but they didn't really catch me, though 'Joker and The Theif' was pretty damn good.
Special Announcement & Minutes Silence
Toni Collette [whom I love] came out to do a speech on what the whole concert was about and then said she had a special announcement... "introducing princes William and Harry" and I can tell you, it was like AFL grand final day! 80,000 people nearly had a heart attack! We all thought they were there! Until they went to a video. D'oh! We had a minutes silence and I have to say, drunk people, I know you think it's fun to woohoo and whoopee in the middle of a minutes silence, but dude, shut up!Show some damn respect. It's only a minute for crying out loud. And the person that yells "SHUT THE F**K UP"? You're just as bad!
Hunters & Collectors
Definitely my other highlight of the night. I love these guys. Again, seeing them live is just a moment in history that I never thought I would never have. There's something about 80,000 people singing Hunters songs that loud that makes you burst with pride. I can't tell you how much I loved this set.
Split Enz
They've got nothing on Crowded House but again it was really something to be able to see these classic bands play. They're etched in our brains. It's amazing to see so many people singing their songs.
Midnight Oil
Alana and I decided to bail a few songs into their set so that we could run to the train station before we got caught up in 80,000 people trying to get out of the MCG all at once. we could still hear the set on the way to the train station. It was another incredible set to see because of how momentous it was to see another great Aussie rock band reformed just for this occasion.
All in all 10 and 1/2 hours of quality music [most of it anyway]... 80,000 people in attendance... $5 million raised [in Melbourne alone]... 25mm of rain fell... two major storm fronts passed... two ripped plastic poncho's by the end... one cheap but effective blue tarp used to keep out the winds... many major bands reformed to rock out. Just a top top day even though it was wet, wet, wet and well ... wet! :p Funny how it hasn't rained in more than three months, and we have a benefit concert to help the bushfire survivors and it rains and rains and rains! Weird.
Alana and I managed to get one of the blue Sound Relief tee's. We wanted one of the hoodies but by the time we got to the merch stand they were sold out. They had crappy jumpers for $75 so I imagine the hoodies were over $100. Then I wanted the black tee but they were sold out in my size. The blue one is great though and very comfy. It was $40 so that's around normal pricing.
Now I'm looking forward to The Fray on Friday and Guy Sebastian next Friday night. :)
Luv Bali.
We spent the afternoon down in the grassed area in the small mosh pit for a while and then in the evening we snuck upstairs into the stands to find seats and watched the classic Aussie rock God's do their thing from up there.
Okay here's my run down on what I thought of everyone...
Jet
Never seen them live before. They were quite good. It's surprising how many songs I actually like of theirs. Lead singer might not have a voice for much longer if he keeps screaming like that though.
Gabriella Cilmi
Oh geeze, don't get me started on her. I thought I was the only one that didn't like her but turns out Alana and probably half the 80,000 member crowd does too. I'm sorry for those that do like her but I don't. I saw and met her when she was about 12 and she was a pocket rocket back then. Totally talented and somehow she got too big for her boots. Now she sings and acts on stage like she doesn't give a shit what she's doing. The hand on the hip and the attitude she gives off is disgusting. Her speak is even worse. Do us a favor love and take some diction classes. Just because you're from Dandenong doesn't mean you have to talk like a bogan.
Kings Of Leon
Alana and I were waiting for these boys to come out, and so was everyone else. A damn fine set if I must say so myself. Loved it all except for the fact they didn't do Sex On Fire, but apparently they were running late to get to their other gig. Makes me sad that I couldn't get tickets to their proper gig because geeze they were good. Oh and we found a cure for the drought - just get KOL to play because that was the point where the first storm came through and it was absolutely bucketing down, and no one cared. We all stood there in the pouring rain in awe of the boys. :)
Paul Kelly
This is were Alana and I went off to see if we could get merchandise, so we could still hear a bit but we were of seeing if we could get hoodies and tee's.
Augie March
Alana and I were sitting down in one of the hallways at this point having a rest and some food. We could see the band behind this black curtain thing but we spent most of the set talking to each other.
Bliss N Eso with Paris Wells
Still sitting down in the hallway here. Could kind of see them behind the curtain but had no idea what the hell they were doing? Once they started the "yo motherf**ker" crap we tuned out. Sorry not my kind of music. Dunno what happened to Paris? I didn't hear her sing anything but I saw some chick walking around with an umbrella on stage, so I don't know if that was her or not?
Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson w/ Troy Cassar-Daley
Alana and I moved to standing near the seats on the lower level then. Had to move away from a bunch of drunk guys that kept yelling in my ear. This was one of my fave sets. I love Kasey and Shane. Their album is tops!! And I've been on my country music kick for a few months so this fitted right in with where my head has been. It was nice to see Kasey do 'Captain' even though I thought it was kind of the wrong version to do for such a rock concert. She did a very very quiet slow version. Would've been great in a small venue but not the MCG. Didn't hold everyone's attention.
Liam Finn
This is where Alana and I decided to try and see if we could get upstairs to the seats on the very very top level. We managed to get up there. I've never seen Liam live before and OMG he's a nut! He's a manic on stage. Going all over the place. You can tell he's a Finn son! Certainly entertaining because you're wondering what the heck he's going to do next!
Then one of my high lights of the whole day: Neil and Tim Finn came out to play [with Liam] some Crowded House songs! Seriously the best moment ever. I love Crowded House and I never thought I'd ever get to see them, so it was definitely a moment for me.
Jack Johnson
Watched a few songs of Jack's but I think he was along the same lines as Kasey's 'The Captain' song - just a little too cruisy. Definitely should be reserved for Bluesfest and not Sound Relief, but it was okay. Then Alana and I chose this moment to go off and find some dinner.
Wolfmother
Came back in time for this set. I was interested to see how these guys would be. Never seen them and not a huge fan but I've heard they're good. Err yeah wasn't too bad but they didn't really catch me, though 'Joker and The Theif' was pretty damn good.
Special Announcement & Minutes Silence
Toni Collette [whom I love] came out to do a speech on what the whole concert was about and then said she had a special announcement... "introducing princes William and Harry" and I can tell you, it was like AFL grand final day! 80,000 people nearly had a heart attack! We all thought they were there! Until they went to a video. D'oh! We had a minutes silence and I have to say, drunk people, I know you think it's fun to woohoo and whoopee in the middle of a minutes silence, but dude, shut up!Show some damn respect. It's only a minute for crying out loud. And the person that yells "SHUT THE F**K UP"? You're just as bad!
Hunters & Collectors
Definitely my other highlight of the night. I love these guys. Again, seeing them live is just a moment in history that I never thought I would never have. There's something about 80,000 people singing Hunters songs that loud that makes you burst with pride. I can't tell you how much I loved this set.
Split Enz
They've got nothing on Crowded House but again it was really something to be able to see these classic bands play. They're etched in our brains. It's amazing to see so many people singing their songs.
Midnight Oil
Alana and I decided to bail a few songs into their set so that we could run to the train station before we got caught up in 80,000 people trying to get out of the MCG all at once. we could still hear the set on the way to the train station. It was another incredible set to see because of how momentous it was to see another great Aussie rock band reformed just for this occasion.
All in all 10 and 1/2 hours of quality music [most of it anyway]... 80,000 people in attendance... $5 million raised [in Melbourne alone]... 25mm of rain fell... two major storm fronts passed... two ripped plastic poncho's by the end... one cheap but effective blue tarp used to keep out the winds... many major bands reformed to rock out. Just a top top day even though it was wet, wet, wet and well ... wet! :p Funny how it hasn't rained in more than three months, and we have a benefit concert to help the bushfire survivors and it rains and rains and rains! Weird.
Alana and I managed to get one of the blue Sound Relief tee's. We wanted one of the hoodies but by the time we got to the merch stand they were sold out. They had crappy jumpers for $75 so I imagine the hoodies were over $100. Then I wanted the black tee but they were sold out in my size. The blue one is great though and very comfy. It was $40 so that's around normal pricing.
Now I'm looking forward to The Fray on Friday and Guy Sebastian next Friday night. :)
Luv Bali.