Keith Urban

I must confess, apart from his celebrity status and the fact that he is married to Nicole Kidman, I didn’t really know much about Keith Urban. I hadn’t taken the opportunity to listen to his music, despite my husband owning one of his CDs.

With the news of his impending Australian tour, I decided that as part of his Christmas gift, I would take my husband to a show. We had no idea what to expect.

The setting was the Wollongong Entertainment Centre. The stage had two ramps, one on either side, a catwalk in the middle and elevated platforms on each end so that Keith would be closer to his fans. Our seats were in the 6th row but only 2 rows from the left ramp and just a few seats left of the catwalk. I thought to myself, I had purchased well. No matter where he stood, we were going to be close.

Unfortunately, due to the early start and our inability to find a parking spot near the venue, we missed Bob Evans, the supporting act.

The crowd was an all-ages mix from the very old, to the very young and I mean from 80 down to about 2 years of age! I was expecting an arena full of squealing teenage fans but, for many, it was a family affair. Some had already left their seats and secured their spots around the stage, including a mother and her daughter who were at one point seated behind us. The daughter had brought along a bunch of long stemmed roses to give to her idol.

The anticipation was building and the atmosphere in the venue was charged with excitement. The curtain came down and the Keith Urban “Escape Together” show had begun. Escape Together is exactly what we did.

From the opening number, to the final encore, the energy grew and there was never a dull moment or long, drawn out guitar solo. We were witnessing showmanship at its highest level.
Urban just had a way of connecting with the audience, from walking through the crowd and along the ramps, to playing on a small stage for the audience at the rear of the venue, we all felt a part of the performance rather than just being mere spectators.

He told us it was our night and we could do as we pleased. We were encouraged to dance and stand on chairs. Immediately, the girls in front stood on their seats but just as quickly, security tried to intervene, however, Urban instructed them to ease off. It wasn’t long before I was standing on my seat – something I hadn’t done since my clubbing days in the 80s!

The audience adored him and he seemed genuinely surprised by their reaction, noting that this crowd was one of THE best in a long time and that he could play all night. He often punched his heart with his fist in a gesture of gratitude.

After 3 or 4 songs, I thought to myself “I feel alive!” I had been won over and, just like the girls near me, it wasn’t long before I also felt like chanting “I love you Keith!”. What had come over me? I didn’t know the words or the music but I felt like I’d connected with the singer.

I’ve been to many concerts and I’ve seen crowds go off in the past but there just seemed to be a kind of magic in the air. Grandmas and grandkids, teens and their parents, they were all singing along and enjoying themselves. Images of their happy faces splashed across the screens behind the stage.

Urban took the roses off the young girl I mentioned previously and placed them in his mouth whilst playing his guitar. He ran to either side of the stage, stood on the elevated platforms and urged the audience to join in, guitar picks were being thrown everywhere. Later in the evening, he went up into the crowd in the 2nd elevation to sing a song. A small boy, about 3 years old, who was holding a toy guitar, was placed at his feet and they played together as excited fans eagerly snapped away on their cameras.

His brand of country music had a rock edge to it that I really enjoyed. His vocals were strong, his guitar playing impressive and the stage set and lighting helped make it a memorable evening. His band were a great bunch of musicians whose talents were showcased during their mini solos. I was also impressed that, despite living in the US, Urban hasn’t lost his Australian accent.

I must admit I felt embarrassed that I didn’t know the words to his songs. Urban met my gaze several times but I quickly pretended to fiddle with my camera. Had I known the words, I too probably would’ve been reduced to a blubbering mess, overcome by the moment, like some in the crowd. You could see he got a kick out of watching the crowd enjoy themselves.

I was also impressed by his array of guitars, especially what appeared to be an LED one that lit up with coloured lights. Some people change outfits, Keith Urban changes guitars and there’s nothing wrong with that!

Before we knew it, it was time for the encore and confetti seemed to complete the party mode we were in. Urban’s road crew ran across the stage, throwing more guitar picks, as he thanked them and his band for their efforts. The star then walked across the stage shaking hands and throwing his wrist bands to the audience, again thanking everyone for being there. The crowd couldn’t get enough.

This can’t be the end! The time just passed so quickly and as I stood down from my chair, dusting confetti off my hair and clothes, I knew I had witnessed something special. There was no need for swearing, theatrics or pyrotechnics. Urban’s amazing talent and showmanship are all that’s required to deliver a performance many will be raving about for quite some time including me … Keith Urban’s newest fan!

Greedy Smith - Mental as Anything

After 32 years in the business, Aussie music icons, Mental As Anything, finally have the recognition from their peers that they so richly deserve with their recent induction into The Aria Hall of Fame. We spoke with frontman, Greedy Smith, about the band’s reaction to the announcement and got a history lesson in the birth of the Australian Pub Rock Scene…

“It was a bit of a shock because we haven’t had one before” Greedy was, of course, talking about the band’s induction into The Aria Hall of Fame. “And when you get asked, it’s a big deal. There was a lot of organisation involved in the weeks leading up to it. It’s a fairly frantic month. I think, by the end of it, we realised that it’s a time for reflection, looking back, and it was a time when we gathered up a couple of our old players: Reg and Pete. (Reg Mombassa and Peter O’Doherty). It’s the first time we’d played with them together since Ho Chi Minh City on Australia Day in 2000.”

Clearly, it was a very special moment for everyone and Greedy smiles as he recalls the night. “My 10 year old son was there, and my wife, and it had a lot of resonance in that way, and in terms of what we’ve done for the last 35 years. It was good because, often, with our work, we tend to play in clubs. We’re not like these other bands; we don’t do all the huge festivals where there’s lots of bands together. We tend to play at a club or a pub or a restaurant or whatever. And so we don’t get to see any of the other bands and singers so it was good to catch up with a few of them.”

Reflecting on the many changes he has seen in the Australian music industry over the years, the singer remarks: “I think one of the reasons why we’re here, why we’re still playing is because, at the time that we started, the music would be on Top 40 radio and there’d be a few TV shows like Countdown, Sounds… the TV shows would give you the gossip about what bands would do and would feature a lot of overseas but also a lot of Australian music. But also it was a simpler time.

Because there wasn’t so much music everywhere else, people really treated their music quite seriously and they were wanting to see bands live. That was the thing to do. So you get to this thing where all these bands were playing and they’d just ask the publican ‘Can we play in your pub?’ and they had all these big rooms left over that were designed for the old 6 o’clock swill’.” (Note: For those of you who aren’t painfully aware of this sad part of Australian history, that is when all pubs would shut at 6 o’clock at night. Hard to believe, but true! ) so they had to sell as much beer as they could in the hour between 5 and 6 so they’ve got these rooms with a big bar down one side – they were big rooms – and then they changed the licensing laws and the place would be basically empty and then bands like us came along and said ‘Can we play here?’ and I think that’s how a lot of the Australian music evolved.” Aahh yes… the birth of the Aussie Pub Rock Scene….

Greedy nods. “They (bands) would be playing six or seven nights a week in all these places all around Australia. They were such a great grounding. Everybody needed to play and to put out records. There was a lot of Australian music being played on the radio and record companies were really supporting Australian bands because it was working. I think that things were simpler. I think that we were much more fortunate than bands that sold a lot more records than us in the 90’s. All the music around then was music in shampoo commercials and films started taking off. We had songs in films but not where films were sold on the songs. That was a new thing. Because of that, when radio stations go around doing surveys and they play the songs that they like to hear, they instantly recognise ours on there and they say ‘Oh yeah’. It reminds them of the time when there wasn’t so much music around. Because there wasn’t so much music around, songs that they did hear then are more special to them.”

So what is happening with Mental As Anything these days? “The line-up we have now has been fairly solid for about the last 5 years now. It’s exciting looking back but then we’ve got to look forward because we’ve just put out two albums and we’re concentrating really on playing our songs… trying to play as well as we can. For this century, that’s been our guiding light, to play the songs as well as we can. Martin and I particularly feel very grateful for the fact that we can go to lots of places around Australia and people will know our songs. They mightn’t know that we’ve recorded them or whatever, but then they recognise it, and they go ‘Oh, that one!’ They have a recognition for it. And it makes it very easy for a band to do that because we have been playing in the band for all these years and we know what it means for people to identify with music. We don’t want to let that go. We think it would be silly to let that go. We’re very fortunate in having that. What it means is that people know our music. That’s why we want to keep playing it because people seem to find it ‘special’ and it’s very flattering!”

Aria awards aside, Greedy counts the time he first heard ‘Nips Are Getting Bigger’ on the radio as one of the highlights of his career. “That was a major thing. That was huge. That was a pretty good feeling.” But there was a downside to fame. “Because we had success on the radio with that song, we couldn’t get any work anymore because people thought we’d be too expensive because we were on the radio, so we had to go from the advantage of being an Arts School band and having this ready made crowd to go back into the pubs and play to people we didn’t even know. So that was an important time that I remember.”

He ponders for a moment before adding “And I remember when ‘Live It Up’ went to No. 3 in the U.K. That was a special moment. It had been a hit in Australia but nobody was interested over there and in Europe. Then, when Crocodile Dundee came out, our record company over there said ‘Let’s put the poster on the single pack. After that, it was a huge hit. So we were very grateful to have a bit of a go around there. And ‘Too Many Times’ was a hit in Canada back in 1982. It was an unexpected hit. It was popular with the college kids and after that, because of that, we tried to get on a tour over there and Men At Work kindly put us on their tour and we toured Canada and America in 82 and again in 83. We’ve done a lot of that sort of touring.”

While touring North America gave them some great exposure, Greedy has some reservations about the band’s acceptance in the U.S.A. “America’s too big to swallow. I think our sense of humour’s not quite understood in America.” He believes, though, that the Canadians are on the same wavelength as us. “It’s the Commonwealth sense of humour .. they just know .. they just know it… but then I think that we did learn that, sometimes, it’s good not to be hugely successful because all of the rock and roll excesses that seem to go on and these really long American tours, playing 6 or 7 nights a week and driving long (distances). You can kill yourself! So we’ve never spent more than two and a half months overseas. And we’ve only done that three times that I can remember. The rest of the time we’ve come home to our families and the way the music industry is, it’s just mainly weekend stuff. You might get some work during the week but it’s mainly weekend stuff. It means you can have a bit of a family life and then you pack the bag and get in the car or on the plane on the weekend and I find it’s quite a sustainable lifestyle.”

This year has also seen the release of two new albums for Mental As Anything.“Essential As Anything” is a greatest hits collection and includes a DVD featuring 37 clips of the band. Greedy explains that they had to redo the sound on many of these clips as the quality had deteriorated over the years. “The strange thing about that, I was looking at You Tube because they’ve got the Hall Of Fame stuff on You Tube somewhere and I was looking at our clips and they had one that had ‘Enhanced Sound’ and I thought ‘They’ve already put it on You Tube to replace the other bootleg they’ve got on there.’” He shrugs his shoulders in feign defeat. “But, what can you do?”

The band’s first studio album for several years, ‘Tents Up’, was also released in June. Why did this album take so long?

“Because we still do about a hundred and thirty shows a year so we’d do it in between until it was right and then one record company we were on was swallowed up by another record company and that’s been happening for years.” Greedy explains, “But also we wanted to make sure it was right because we’re getting a bit older now, getting a bit fussier about promoting songs because people expect to hear the songs that are played on the radio and we’re quite happy to give it to them but it’s good to do some new songs. But what we feel is that, if we feel confident with them that people are going to accept them in some way. That’s a challenge though.”

Suzi Quatro

The indisputable Queen of Rock, Suzi Quatro, is back in Australia for yet another tour. We’ve seen her here on a regular basis since the early 70′s when she blasted to the top of the Australian charts with hits like ‘Can The Can’ and ‘Devil Gate Drive’. So, exactly how many times has she toured this country, anyway? Even Suzi herself is unsure. “I don’t know,” she told me in our recent interview. “Everyone keeps telling me it’s 23 and I think that’s the minimum number.”

That’s a lot of tours and a lot of years in the business. Music has seen many changes since 1974 and the digital revolution has had a substantial impact on the industry. What effect, if any, have these changes had on Suzi’s music? “Well, each era of music carries its own particular sound with it. That goes without saying, you know, and the very early 70’s… that whole era. Of course, you progress with how the equipment progresses but, basically, I’ve always been a rock act and it doesn’t matter what the technology is doing, I always sound like a rock act because that’s what I am.”

Suzi Quatro is definitely, first and foremost, a rock act but her talents have not been confined strictly to music, as she explains. “I’ve always done a little bit of everything. I never wanted to do just one thing in this business. I mean rock and roll is my bread and butter. I live and breathe it, obviously, but I also loved acting. I’ve been able to do plenty of that. I did ‘Happy Days’, I did, oh God… I have to think of everything now… ‘Minder’, The West End, I’ve done ‘Dempsey and Makepeace’, ‘Absolutely Fabulous’, ‘Midsomer Murders’, I’ve had my own radio show on Radio 2 on BBC . I’ve written my autobiography. I have my own talk show. Basically, I’m an artist but I’m an entertainer. I’m an entertainer, communicator.”

At one stage, she even co-wrote a musical. “I did. All about Tallulah Bankhead.” The singer responds enthusiastically. Is that something she would consider doing again? “It is something I would do again. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved writing the musical. I loved playing the role. I was able to put all my piano training into play which was great. Absolutely! For sure!”

Suzi counts Elvis Presley as her No.1. musical influence. “Otis Redding was a big influence. Everything of Motown for my bass playing – I took all my style from there. Billie Holiday for my phrasing. Classical music played a big part too. I mean, I was raised on it so when you hear some of the songs I write, you know, I write on piano. Everything had an influence. I’ve heard music since I can remember.”

The singer’s admiration for Presley is obvious. In 2005, she recorded a tribute to Elvis, ‘Singing With Angels’. “It’s out now, finally, just for the tour though. It will probably be released properly on my next album that I’m doing with Mike Chapman (who, as Suzi points out, was born and raised in Brisbane) We’re doing a new album together but I’ve been doing it in this country for a couple of years now and, (due to) public demand, we’ve just done a limited edition just available at the gigs for the Australian fans. And that is my tribute to Elvis. It was done with James Burton (who played guitar in Elvis’ band from 1969 – 1977) on guitar and The Jordanaires (Elvis’ backup singers) singing backup.”

Recording the song with such legendary members of the music industry is obviously a highlight in Suzi’s career. Are there any others that spring to mind? “Too many to mention!” she laughs, “I guess your first No. 1 is always a big one. Oh God! I can’t even think. Everything along the way has been a highlight, to tell you the truth.”

Over the years, Suzi has had many hits and recorded many memorable songs. With such a wealth of great material to choose from for her live shows, I asked if she had a personal favourite to perform on stage? “Well, ‘Devil Gate Drive’ is one of those special ones that captured a party atmosphere and there’s only very few of those records, you know. I call it a guaranteed ‘crowd getter upper’ or, if you’re at a party, nobody’s dancing, there’s a few of those records, you put them on, and everybody’s gonna get up – it’s one of those. And ‘If You Can’t Give Me Love’, I really like a lot because it was so different and I think that was probably Chinn and Chapman’s best song that they ever wrote. It’s a beautiful song.. beautiful lyrics… beautiful.”

Speaking of beautiful songs, I mentioned one of my personal favourites from several years ago, a lesser known track, ‘Free The Butterfly’. Suzi agreed. “Oh, I love that. In fact, on that album, ‘Back To The Drive’, that’s some of my finest writing because it was 15 years in the making. It was all about my life, basically. Every song had a reason it was written so you got my heart and soul on that album. I could never do that again. I could never write those songs again.” she explains and, with refreshing honesty, adds “That was written for my ex husband. That was me trying to tell him that we were going to get divorced.”

‘Free The Butterfly’ was also the name of a self-help CD that Suzi recorded with her friend, Shirlie Roden. “She’s a sound healer and she asked me to do some workshops with her, which I did, and it was quite an interesting experience.” I asked if she felt that this particular exercise had been helpful to her in her life. “Oh I do. Definitely.” she assured me. “I think that, whenever you do something like that, you realize that most people really have the same kind of problems. It doesn’t make any difference.”

Life on the road can be very hectic. Is there ever time to just relax and take in the scenery along the way? “Well, I’ve been travelling the world for a lot of years now and I’ve had a lot of time to see everywhere. You don’t get a lot of time on the road, no. And, anyway, I live like a nun when I’m on the road because I’m always watching my voice and getting my sleep but I do get around and I do see places. I’ve seen most of Australia now. A day off for me is having a nice, leisurely dinner and a nice glass of wine and then going to sleep.”

I imagine there must be a few funny stories about some embarrassing moments on the road. I was keen to hear one from the Queen of Rock. “Oh God, there’s millions!” the singer paused to think for a moment before choosing one to share with us. “OK, there was one when I was… it was in Finland and it was at the end of the show when I was doing my big… I call it my ‘star’ ending, you know, waving, taking 3,000 bows, being the big diva going off the stage, which makes it even funnier. So, I’m waving, waving … the kids are going nuts, I’m just about to exit the stage and I fell over the monitor. So, as I’m doing the big ‘star’ bit, I was upside down with my head in the monitor, feet up in the air, bass guitar still strapped on and it was – I’ve never seen my band laugh so hard. For weeks afterwards, they laughed. Nobody helped me because nobody could move, they were laughing too hard! And they all called it my great ‘Finnish’!” she laughs. “It was very funny actually.”

With all the time the singer has spent in Australia over the years, I wondered if she had any favourite Aussie songs. “I used to always like that ‘Jump in my car, I wanna take you home’.” She sings the line from the TMG hit from the mid 70’s, adding a few riffs for good measure. “I knew him too. (Ted Mulry) Very nice guy.” We shared our mutual respect for the late Ted Mulry and Suzi continued. “I took that song back to England for Mickie Most to hear it and he recorded it with Chris Spedding.”

Are there any projects in the pipeline? What is next for Suzi Quatro? “I’m making a new album with Mike Chapman which is very exciting. He’s taking me back to basics. He’s made me give him control. I’m not allowed to say anything so I’ve allowed him to shut me up. I trust him,” she declares confidently. “He told me he knows what he wants to do and so I’m going to let him do it.”

To see photos of Suzi’s upcoming show at the Enmore Theatre on 25 Sept 09, visit www.shot2frame.com

This site is dedicated to helping support and publicise all the great 40+ musos who are still out there rockin our world just as hard, or even harder, than the young ‘uns of today’s music industry.

Pop, Rock, Country and still jammin? We want to hear about it.

If you’ve been to a 40+ gig recently, share it with us. Did you see Alice Cooper or Def Leppard recently? Tell us what you liked, what you didn’t – but be constructive not cruel!

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Help us promote the great rockers of our generation by giving them the publicity that they’re not always getting in today’s modern music world.

It’s a shame there weren’t more fans at this gig on Friday night to enjoy the welcome return of the brilliant guitarist to Brisbane’s live gig circuit. Not only did they miss out on the amazing musicianship of a man widely recognised as Australia’s Greatest Electric Guitar Player, but also the wide range of musical talent showcased on the night.

Proceedings kicked off with High Noon Heat, a rock band with more than a touch of blues. The line-up is lead guitarist, Steve Badger, drummer Rob Brown, Shane Fleury on bass and lead singer, Grant Byrnes who boasts what is quite possibly one of the finest voices on the local rock scene today. Their set opened with ‘I’m A Mover’ and the bluesy ‘My Pain’ and included the catchy self-titled ‘High Noon Heat’ and ‘Feelin’ Lucky’ (featured on the band’s recently released EP).

Up next was local band, 1989. Influenced by classic rock bands like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC, their music is straight shooting rock and roll all the way. Songs including the opener ‘Straight To Ground’ and ‘Ain’t No Such Thing’ and, my personal favourite, ‘Limo Queen’. 1989. Singer Simon Vermeulen, guitarists Tommy Drake and Mark Haddon, bass player Jason Fuller and new drummer, Regan Ireland, exude great energy on stage and have built themselves a strong following.

There were four acts to get through on the night so let’s move right along to No.3 on the Agenda…. Strongly influenced by the music of legendary guitar virtuoso, Joe Satriani (among others), Kevin Windross is, himself, an exceptionally talented guitarist.

With the very capable support of bass player, Nick Danser and drummer ‘Slim’ Phil, Kevin’s heavy rock guitar set featured mostly his own compositions, including ‘Desert Princess’, ‘After The Storm’ and the melodic ‘Fisherman’s Bend’. It was a nice touch to end the set with the Cream classic, ‘Sunshine of Your Love’.

With the show running behind schedule, it was getting late when, finally, The Phil Emmanuel Band hit the stage, opening their set with a superb version of ‘Chariots of Fire’ before moving on to my personal favourite, The Shadows’ ‘The Rise and Fall of Fingal Bunt’, always a great tune to dance along to and certainly a fine demonstration of Phil’s excellent guitar playing skills.

Although I had witnessed it all before (thanks to TV broadcasts and You Tube videos via the internet), to see the master perform up close and personal was, to put it mildly, a treat indeed! I watched, transfixed as those agile fingers literally made the guitar sing and could understand why there was no need for actual words.

The band played a very different yet highly recognisable interpretation of Channel 9’s Cricket Theme and, speaking of ‘themes’, highlights included a medley of Western themes as well as a medley of James Bond themes, culminating in an awesome version of, arguably, everybody’s favourite 007 theme song, ‘Live and Let Die’, before launching into the Dire Straits’ song ‘Sultans of Swing’ The night finished a bit on the late side, probably to be expected with four bands on the bill, but those who decided to stick around to catch all of Phil’s set would not have been disappointed. The man proved, to one and all, that he has definitely earned the accolade of Australia’s Greatest Electric Guitar Player.

Phil will be playing dates along the East Coast over the next couple of months. Why not go along and see the maestro at work for yourself?

Jon Stevens

JON STEVENS AT THE SHARKS LEAGUES CLUB – VICTORIA POINT, BRISBANE

3rd APRIL 2009

Friday night’s inclement weather in Brisbane might have kept some fans away from The Sharks Leagues Club at Victoria Point but those dedicated enough to brave the elements were well rewarded with an incredible evening of entertainment by rock superstar and Noiseworks front man, Jon Stevens.

Long recognised as having one of the finest and most commanding voices on the Australian music scene, Stevens has earned himself a reputation for being one of the hardest working and most consistent performers in the industry. He never seems to be far from the public eye – or ear, as the case may be – whether performing his own material as a solo artist or fronting powerhouse bands such as Noiseworks and, for a time, INXS.

With no support act on the night, Jon, with the help of two backup musicians, captivated the audience with an enhanced acoustic set that included an eclectic blend of the singer’s original solo material, interspersed with some covers and his own versions of some of Noiseworks’ biggest hits. It was not, by any means, the average laid back, intimate, unplugged performance some might have expected of an ‘acoustic’ show. While proceedings might have got off to a slow start, the atmosphere, and volume, built steadily throughout the set.

The rousing ‘Touch’ was an early inclusion, lifting the mood and drawing a few very excitable female fans closer to the stage as they responded excitedly to Jon’s calls to ‘reach out and touch somebody…’ Surprisingly, he wasn’t dragged into the crowd but it was not for their want of trying. At one point, the microphone turned into a flying missile, falling with a thud on the dance floor. For a moment, the singer seemed a little lost up there on stage, as he waited patiently for the fans to return the souvenir that had just landed at their feet. Given the power of his voice, I can’t help but wonder if he ever really needed it to begin with.

Halfway through the set, Jon’s R&B interpretation of The Doors’ classic, ‘Light My Fire’, brought loud cheers and, I dare say, earned the man a few new admirers. Among the many requests shouted by the crowd, The Choirboys’ ‘Run To Paradise’ was something of a ring-in and Jon appeared to be slightly bemused by the choice of song but cheerfully obliged, albeit stumbling over a few of the lyrics. The audience was only too happy to help out by chanting the chorus in full voice, word for word, prompting him to comment, with a smile, “You know the words to that one a little too well!”

As the night progressed, Jon seemed to draw more and more energy from the crowd’s enthusiasm and poured it all back into his performance, giving it his all.

The crowd cheered appreciatively when, during ‘No Lies’, Stevens launched into the chorus from Kings of Leon’s ‘Sex On Fire’. Many people have noted the similarities between the Kings and Noiseworks; A fact that, clearly, has not escaped the singer’s attention.

‘Take Me Back’ was undeniably a crowd favourite and a sizzling ‘Hot Chilli Woman’ wrapped up the set.

The inevitable screams for ‘More! More! More!’ brought Jon and his band back on stage for the much-anticipated encore which included ‘In My Youth’ and a brilliant rendition of the INXS classic ‘Never Tear Us Apart’, which sent the crowd wild.

An announcement that Jon would meet fans and sign autographs after the show saw the punters lining up to buy CD’s and have them signed. The singer stayed for half an hour or so, signing autographs, posing for photos and keeping everybody happy. And, no doubt, racking up a few sales in the process.

It is a shame this was Stevens’ only Brisbane show. I spoke to a number of people there who were very keen to see him again. Even without the benefit of a full rock outfit behind him, his raw energy and powerful vocal ability shines through.

If Jon Stevens plays a gig near you any time soon, do yourself a favour and rock along to see him. I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.