Lizottes Restaurant Newcastle.
This night for me was one of the most enjoyable and surreal nights of my life.
I'm from Perth Western Australia and Todd wasn't flying to my hometwown as part of his Oz tour.(Wisely as it is a cultural wasteland with no knowledge of Todd and his legacy.)
So I decided to take time off work and fly to Sydney (the eqivalant distance of New York to L.A.) and dragged my partner (a Todd admirer) and our 12 year old daughter (fast becoming a Todd admirer) with me to combine the concerts with a bit of an interstate holiday.
I was meant to see Todd do a Q and A at a record store in Sydney on Monday but it was cancelled due to his dodgy voice. I immediately panicked that TR wasn't going to make the Newcastle show the next night.
Fortunately The show was still on and I rented a hippy van where my mate (another TR admirer) and me and my family hit "the road to Utopia" and drove to Newcastle (a couple of hours out of Sydney.)
When I arrived I couldn't believe how rural the venue was! It seemed like a little country town.
We settled into our booked B and B for the night and my mate and I headed down to Lizotte's a couple of hours early to interview Todd and Kasim for the doco I am making. (It's my self funded indulgent look at my 30 year obsession with Todd and the frustration I have encountered with NOONE knowing or caring who Todd is!)
On arrival, my partner Coz saw Todd wandering the small country street perusing antique stores!
Lizotte's was an amazing venue. A funky and intimate restaurant where the (award winning)meal is included in the price of the ticket. I had booked a front and centre table of 4 very close to the stage.
After hanging out in the lobby I was able to get an interview with Kaz and TR. They were terrific.
The show was fantastic! A perfect showcase for people who are not familiar with Todd's songbook. Previously I had seen NWO pod tour at Woodstock and With a Twist in US and Johnson and Ringo tours downunder.
What I loved about the show was the set list. It's a great mix of melodic hits and 'should've" been hits, lounge style soulful crooning and a handful of rockers.
Highlights for me were : Buffalo Grass, Can We Still Be Friends, Espresso, Lost Horizon ,I Want You (great backup vocals from Kaz) and encore numbers Hello It's Me and A Dream Goes on Forever.
But the most moving performance of the night was "Hawking." Todd sang it with so much passion.
Unfortunately there weren't many Todd diehards there but it was a small but full appreciate house and Tr and the band didn't hang around after the show and drove back to Sydney.
