What did you think of Paul Kelly?

New Zealand and Australia (January 20 - February 10, 2009). Concert reports, set lists, photos, media coverage, multimedia links, recollections...
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blonde madonna
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What did you think of Paul Kelly?

Post by blonde madonna »

http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertain ... ntentSwap1

The link is to a good but long background article on Leonard's tour from the support act's perspective but this is some of it:
Some of our best acts put their egos aside in honour of Leonard Cohen, writes Xenia Hanusiak.

TONIGHT, Paul Kelly, local hero and ARIA Hall of Fame icon, opens the first show for the legendary Leonard Cohen. Kelly remembers the phone call from music promoter Michael Gudinski, wondering about taking on the Australian leg of Cohen's world tour.He then asked Kelly if he would "do the support".

As Kelly tells it, playing cool, he said: "Well, you know I don't normally do supports in Australia but I'll have a think about it."

"Meanwhile my heart pumped a little faster. Songs of Love and Hate and Songs From a Room are imprinted in my soul."

A few days later, despite the falling Australian dollar and the global financial crisis, Gudinski decided to take the plunge. "I stepped back and let him and my agent do a little dance and after a couple of turns on the floor, I got the gig," Kelly says. Elsewhere on this world tour, Cohen and the band are the only act: no support artists.

But Kelly's recordings were exchanged, Cohen gave the nod and Gudinski got the tour of his dreams, teaming as he calls it "the legendary Leonard Cohen with Australia's greatest singer song-writer".

At about the same time in Perth, Blackeyed Susans bass player Phil Kakulas was also monitoring the Cohen world tour. Cohen had been on Kakulas' desire line for 30 years. As a 16-year-old, Kakulas' high school band, the Triffids, covered Cohen's Death of Ladies Man. Describing Cohen as the "best lyricist in the business", Kakulas was determined to get the Blackeyed Susans on the support list.
As a Kelly fan I felt Paul and Dan didn't get enough time on stage (only 45 minutes) and I was disappointed in the songs he selected for the set. I would have liked a few more classics like 'Careless' and a few less songs from his latest album 'Stolen Apples'. I also felt for them on the edge of a stage full of someone else's equipment and fronting a lot of empty seats plus a huge crowd in the throes of getting settled.

I'd be interested in other people's thoughts who see the rest of the concerts. 8)

BM
the art of longing’s over and it’s never coming back

1980 -- Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
1985 -- State Theatre, Melbourne
2008 -- Hamilton, Toronto, Cardiff
2009 -- Rochford Winery, Yarra Valley
2010 -- Melbourne
2013 -- Melbourne, The Hill Winery, Geelong, Auckland
dce
Posts: 219
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:05 am
Location: Adelaide, South Australia

Re: What did you think of Paul Kelly?

Post by dce »

For those who are interested, here's the setlist that Paul played at yesterday's show in Adelaide. Except for the first 2 songs, Dan was with him on stage throughout the set, which only ran to about 44 minutes.

They Thought I Was Asleep
So Much Water So Close To Home
Stolen Apples
When I First Met Your Ma
From Little Things, Big Things Grow
Your Lovin' Is on My Mind
You’re 39, You’re Beautiful And You’re Mine
God Told Me To
Careless

I figure the last one must have gotten added after Paul read your post Blonde Madonna :-)

Overall I was pretty happy with Paul's performance, although I can imagine that if you were a big Kelly fan, you would probably have wished it were longer.


dce


Dean Engelhardt
(For most of November 2010, I followed Leonard and the band as they toured around Australia and New Zealand. You can read about my wanderings on the blog I created to collect them all in one place: http://lcdownunder2010.wordpress.com/)
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faz
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Re: What did you think of Paul Kelly?

Post by faz »

I thought they got the balance pretty right in Adelaide.

Both support acts played to good crowds. By the time PK started the venue was pretty full and the audience showed their appreciation.

Of course PK has more than 'paid his dues' and doesn't need to support anyone, but he did and we were the beneficiaries. I can't imagine anyone would have wanted more of PK and less of LC.

I was also impressed with Augie March; it was the first I'd heard of them. They played at the hottest part of the day (at one stage the leader singer thought his hair was melting) and produced a good sound.
caitsith01
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Re: What did you think of Paul Kelly?

Post by caitsith01 »

I thought it was appropriately understated. I doubt PK would have been under any illusion as to why the crowd was there, and it was clear enough from his demeanour that he was honoured just to be there with LC. I thought both he and Augie March played nice, relaxed sets which warmed the crowd up without attempting to steal any glory from the main event.
spall
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Re: What did you think of Paul Kelly?

Post by spall »

caitsith01 wrote:I thought it was appropriately understated. I doubt PK would have been under any illusion as to why the crowd was there, and it was clear enough from his demeanour that he was honoured just to be there with LC. I thought both he and Augie March played nice, relaxed sets which warmed the crowd up without attempting to steal any glory from the main event.
I agree. I saw both Melbourne Rod Laver shows and thought the sets were tastefully delivered on both occasions. A mention of Dan Kelly is deserved also in my opinion. His delicate and very emotive playing and vocals really accentuated the music in the most profound way.

And then...Cohen...well...!
tdee1964
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Re: What did you think of Paul Kelly?

Post by tdee1964 »

Paul Kelly Played a new Song in Melbourne with I think Dan Kelly on Ukelele ...about the 3rd last song ....wording was the color of blue to start with ...then moved to the color of gold, colr of green etc....anyone know the name of the song?
dce
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Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:05 am
Location: Adelaide, South Australia

Re: What did you think of Paul Kelly?

Post by dce »

tdee1964 wrote:Paul Kelly Played a new Song in Melbourne with I think Dan Kelly on Ukelele ...about the 3rd last song ....wording was the color of blue to start with ...then moved to the color of gold, colr of green etc....anyone know the name of the song?
That's "The Foggy Fields Of France" ... he played it at several of the LC shows. In some of his intros he talked about how he set himself the challenge of starting every line (of the verse) with a colour.


dce
(For most of November 2010, I followed Leonard and the band as they toured around Australia and New Zealand. You can read about my wanderings on the blog I created to collect them all in one place: http://lcdownunder2010.wordpress.com/)
soldout
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Re: What did you think of Paul Kelly?

Post by soldout »

Hey there. Sorry I didn't see this thread earlier.I had been planning to time a trip to Australia to coincide with a Paul Kelly tour. When I saw he was opening some shows for Leonard I decided the time was right, and I attended the Adelaide, Hunter Valley, and Bowral shows.

In 1987 I was fortunate to see Paul and the Messengers (with Chris Wilson and the full classic line up) do a 90 minute club show in San Diego and I've been a fan ever since. These days I go to his shows in San Francisco.

I enjoyed Paul's opening sets for Leonard, which were different for each show. Dan was of course a great addition. In Bowral Paul played Bradman. Maybe that's a given considering the location but I had never seen him play it before. It was just a treat to see Paul and Leonard on the same bill, and a fond memory is the "A Day On The Green" crowds singing "From Little Things Big Things Grow." I'm sorry I missed the show with the BES opening. Auggie March was pretty forgettable I thought.

I had a great trip for several other reasons. I saw Jeff Beck in Adelaide, and I met Sharon Robinson and Dino Soldano at that show (they just happened to be there and I got a tip from the ticket office lady while collecting a poster after the show). I saw Neil Young in Melbourne from the 2nd row. I saw the Triffids "Secret in the Shape of a Song" tribute to David McComb at Hamer Hall in Melbourne, and the Triffids opened the two shows for Leonard near Sydney (what a treat!). Finally I saw David Byrne at the Sydney Opera House.

Here are my trip photos, whith photos of Leonard and Paul in concert : http://gallery.me.com/soldout#100193&bg ... &view=grid

I bought some Kev Carmody while I was down under, the "Cannot Buy My Soul" DVD and CD. Fantastic.

If any Paul Kelly/Leonard Cohen fans are coming to San Francisco (perhaps for the Leonard Cohen shows in a couple weeks), I'd be happy to meet up for a drink and maybe show you around if time permits.
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blonde madonna
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Re: What did you think of Paul Kelly?

Post by blonde madonna »

Sounds like a great holiday soldout.

"From Little Things" is now an iconic Aussie song and I love the Waifs' version on Cannot Buy My Soul.

It reminds me of Luka Bloom in an interview saying how surprised he was when he first performed a cover of "Throw Your Arms Around Me" to a Perth audience and they all started singing along. He didn't know that it was one of our anthems.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0aGoAPHZ8E


Paul Kelly is touring "Songs from the South" soon so I will get my fix.
the art of longing’s over and it’s never coming back

1980 -- Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
1985 -- State Theatre, Melbourne
2008 -- Hamilton, Toronto, Cardiff
2009 -- Rochford Winery, Yarra Valley
2010 -- Melbourne
2013 -- Melbourne, The Hill Winery, Geelong, Auckland
soldout
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:13 am

Re: What did you think of Paul Kelly?

Post by soldout »

> Paul Kelly is touring "Songs from the South" soon so I will get my fix.

Yeah I was trying to determine if I could afford another trip down there!
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