Tina Arena Live In Concert in Melbourne, Australia ( 2007 ).
Tina Arena Live In Concert in Melbourne, Australia ( 2007 ).
Hamer Hall, The Arts Centre, Melbourne - Saturday 29th December, 2007.
[ Following on from my previous article about Tina Arena's new studio album released just recently earlier in month of December " Songs of Love and Loss " ] Tina Arena embarks on her ' Songs of Love and Loss ' Australian Tour of Summer 2007, having already played Live at Melbourne's Hamer Hall ( The Arts Centre, Melbourne ) on both the evenings of Friday 28th December [ to a Sold Out crowd ! ], and Saturday 29th December. As I have already mentioned earlier, I was unable to attend the Friday night show due to work commitments, but was lucky enough to have been able to attend the second show on Saturday night. I can't comment on the Friday night show as I wasn't there, but I gather that both shows would not have been all that different.So, at the Saturday night show, I arrived in good time prior to the commencement of the show, having almost 30 minutes to spare before Tina officially makes it onto the stage. Upon arrival at Melbourne's Arts Centre, I bought myself the concert program ( AUD $ 20.00 ), and a black T-Shirt sized 'small' ( AUD $ 40.00 ), featured on the front is the same image that's on the front of the inlay booklet of the ' Songs of Love and Loss ' Album. I was a little surprised though that the tour details were NOT printed on the back of the T-Shirt, like you'd find with many other touring artists.; Other products being sold at the merchandise stand included a cream-coloured T-Shirt, a black 'Songs of Love and Loss' mug, and the ' Songs of Love and Loss ' CD Album ( which I already have, of course ! ).
As the auditorium doors open to allow people in, a vocal dialogue announcement informs that there will be no support act at this show.;
Making my way into the auditorium to locate my seat, couldn't help but immediately notice the orchestral equipment and setup of all the things on the stage ! It caught my eye nice and early, the seats and equipment of Tina's orchestra and band were beautifully set-up on the stage, with small glowing blue lights underneath the orchestra seats making the whole stage-set glitter with a blue/white lighting effect, makes it look great !; When I was eventually shown to my seat, located 'technically' third row from the front of the stage ( Row BB ), which is quite the understatement actually. Where I was 'actually' sitting was in fact closer to the stage then the technical statement makes it sound. I'd say I was located a little to the left of center of stage, and approximately 75 - 80 cm from the very front of the stage ( at times it's like being right underneath Tina's nose if I could so boldly put it... ) If you were there, and you sat somewhere in the first front four rows ( Rows AA to DD ), then you know what I'm talking about ! Anyone sitting in that section had the best seats in the house !; From where I was sitting, I could see almost everything, bar the few orchestra-players and sound equipment located behind the black piano that was located just on my left, which obscured only a tiny percentage of my view, but hey, I'm not complaining ! As for Tina, I was close enough to have an almost-accurate view of even the jewellery that she was wearing, including the tiny silver glitter on her bracelets and ear-rings. Speaking of Tina, I have to add how absolutely Glamorous and Beautiful she looked on stage, along with the fantastic and beautiful out-fits she was wearing.
The primary drum kit located on the far right hand side forward section of the stage is noticeably partitioned-off by a large transparent glass-frame - Tina calls it ' The Cage '. If I understand it correctly, the Cage would have to be specially designed, with a particular kind of glass able to withstand high-levels of decibels and sound, in order for it not to smash under extreme audio conditions, and its purpose being to shield off the sound of the drums, and to ensure that the ' sound-waves ' generated by the drums don't interfere with the delicate sound of the rest of the orchestra. The sound of the drums is carried to the speakers via a dedicated microphone positioned above the drums.
Let me just say that this show was absolutely Jaw-dropping, and a Not-to-be-Missed one-in-a-million Experience ! It's worth more than every penny that went into the ticket that gets us into the auditorium. The atmosphere was high and ecstatic, and would have you coming back for more. If you've heard her music only on radio or on CD, then you ain't seen nothing ! Tina Arena Live on Stage is an absolute Spectacular, something you have to be there and experience for yourself first-hand ! Gee, and I thought she was good on record - she IS good on record, but Tina Live on Stage - that's something of an amazingly indescribable experience ! The energetic and brilliant voice that she sings with on stage is just phenomenal ! Her Live singing voice is more pure and spotless than I had initially imagined it to be. Just beautiful ! Tina has really matured as a person and also in her style of show-presentation, bringing with it a quite professional and very elegant 'look' of it all, all-the-while maintaining the utmost quality in her music, what she does best.; OK, On with the show...
With the official commencement of the show eminent ( and on-time as scheduled ), the members of the orchestra walk briskly out on stage and quietly take thier place in their designated orchestra seats. Momentarily accompanied by the guy I'd believe to be the lead string-player on violin who co-ordinates with the other string players to ensure the entire string section is in tune. ( yeah, i know it sounds technically processive, I've been through it myself quite a number of times, having been a violin-player myself in the school orchestra where I went to school in my younger years.; In fact, I've actually played ON the Hamer Hall stage itself during the final speech-night of my year-12 graduation year, all the way back in late 1992. );
Just moments before Tina's grand entrance onto the stage, an anticipative instrumental sequence is played through the on-stage speakers, shortly after which, all the lights go down, and the auditorium is almost pitch black and momentarily dead quiet. Yes, it's the moment that signals the lead artist to finally light up the stage in full, and everything on stage is brought to life. Tina walks out onto the stage in her beautiful silver dress outfit. She kicks off the show with a track from the Songs of Love and Loss album called " The Look Of Love ".; At times during the course of the show, Tina's band adds a bit of slight Jazz-feel to a few of the songs.;
Ok, I'd like to take a moment to list the songs Tina performed during the concert - The songs she performed are listed in the Concert Program, but they're not listed in the same order as she had performed them Live, and I don't remember the 'exact' order in which the songs were performed, but I'll try to list them as my memory might serve ( in no particular order ) :
Songs of Love and Loss - The Concert : The Songs :
[ First Half : ]
Instrumental Prelude.
The Look Of Love
I Just Don't Know What To Do With MySelf
Sorrento Moon
I Only Want To Be With You
Do You Know ( Theme from ' Mahoganny ' )
Windmills of Your Mind
The Man With The Child In His Eyes
Chains
[ Half-Way Intermission : 10 - 15 minutes ]
( During this time, Tina changes her Dress/Outfit for the second half of the show )
[ Second Half : ]
Wasn't It Good
Burn
Les Trois Cloches
Woman
So Far Away
To Sir With Love
Now I Can Dance
Everybody Hurts
( Somewhere at this point in time, Tina thanks the prouction crew and other important personnel involved for making the Live show possible and successful. )
[ Encore : ]
Maybe This Time ( From ' Cabaret ' )
( Tina Introduces the Band, other Stage-Personnel, and the orchestra )
Symphony Of Life
From the new album Songs of Love and Loss, only two tracks ' Love Hangover ', and ' Until ' were omitted from the Live show performance.
The sound is really great at this show. The sound, the music, and the atmosphere really draws you in and makes you feel like you're completely immersed in it all, and fully embraced by it. As a whole, it really feels like a " complete " experience, fully mesmurizing your senses of audio-visual and music. It's almost 'electric'.; There's insufficient words in the English language to accurately describe the true experience of this concert - you'd have to have been there in person and experienced it for yourself to know what it was really llke !
At the conclusion of the show, Tina and her main stage-personnel line-up at the front of the stage and take the traditional bow to the audience, and the audience responds with a loud clapping standing ovation, as Tina and company wave goodbye and make thier way off the stage. Then, the orchestral musicians start making thier way off the stage in an orderly manner.; The auditorium lights come back on, and everyone starts making thier way out of the auditorium and out onto the street.
While the Friday night show was sold out, the Saturday night show, however, was not. Turning around and looking back ( and up ) from where I was sitting, it looked like the auditorium was approximately 80% occupied - about half the seats ( the back half ) in the outer-dress-circle were not filled.
I had recently been reading a thread on the Official Tina Arena Forum regarding the suggestive possibility of a DVD Recording of one of the current Live shows here in Australia. Apparently, there were No filming cameras at either of the Melbourne shows, and from my perspective, I concur - I didn't notice any filming cameras at the show I was at. It seems the Australian fans are hoping that one of the current Sydney shows will be filmed and published on DVD. It also seems ( from fan comments on the Official Tina Arena Forum ) that we all agree that it would be a mistake Not to have one of the current Australian shows recorded and published to DVD. I for one, would love to see a DVD recording of one of the current live shows Tina is performing here in Australia, and I would definitely buy it if it eventually came to fruition.
Final Verdict : This is one of the Best concerts I've been to in the last 6 or 7 months.; Overall, I would give this Concert virtually a Perfect Score ! My Rating : 10 out of 10.
Tina is still scheduled to play the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales, in early January, 2008 :
Sydney ( New South Wales ) ( 3 Nights ) :
* Wednesday 2nd January, 2008, 8:00 PM : Sydney Opera House.
* Thursday 3rd January, 2008, 8:00 PM : Sydney Opera House.
* Saturday 5th January, 2008, 8:00 PM : Sydney Opera House.
Related Articles :
* Tina Arena - ' Songs Of Love and Loss ' - New Album and Tour !.
Related Links :
* Tina Arena Live in Concert in Melbourne, 2007 Discussion Thread
_.( at the Official Tina Arena Forum ).
* ' Songs Of Love and Loss ' Album Track-Listing
__Track-By-Track Description ( On Tina Arena's Official Web Site ).
* Listen to Sample Audio Clips On Tina Arena's Official Web Site.
* Tina Arena's Official Web Site.
[ Please Note : I may be making further editing and/or additions to this article at a later date if any new information comes to memory... ]
posted by Richard NG @ 3:00 pm____
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Melbourne, Australia.
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