Tivoli, Brisbane

Review

Thanks to Bec for the review:

Friday the 15th of April was one of the best days/nights of my life! Having anticipated that date for the previous couple of months, I was super excited to wake up that morning, even more excited when the doorbell ringing signaled the arrival of the postal delivery service, delivering our blue Cat Empire t-shirts. Mum tried hers on over her real estate uniform and I rushed to try mine on and admire it in the mirror! Later in the day I got a phone call from Telstra Blue Lounge telling me that the competition I had entered (to be in the next TCE video clip) had been drawn and I’d been the runner up.

“We’re posting you a copy of the new album on Monday” the woman said. I couldn’t believe it!
“You’re kidding? I’m going to their concert tonight at the Tivoli in the Valley!” So that was the fantastic day I had. And when Mum got home I had the old album blasting out of the stereo and a Vodka Cruiser in hand. I cracked one open for Mum and we danced around the kitchen with our poodle that howls along to The Cat Empire every time she hears them on the radio or the CD. I’ve figured out it’s Harry’s trumpet that sets her off.

We arrived at the Tivoli at 7:15pm, so we got good positions by the ornate front gate. The line grew and grew, and it was interesting to see the diversity in age, outfit, and nationality drawn to come and see these Cats from Melbourne. Finally the gates opened and Mum and I rushed in to grab the tickets we’d pre-ordered. Mum took up her post by the door so we could rush in and get right up against the stage, and I walked over to the bar to grab a rum and coke (not that I needed alcohol to have a good time at The Cat Empire show, you can get enough of a high just from listening to their music, but I’m an alcoholic so it was an automatic reflex).

As I passed the merchandise stand I saw a beautiful girl with long curly brunette hair and an absolute flair for the bohemian style. I walked back to Mum, drink in hand, and said, “I swear that’s the girl out of the new ‘Sly’ video clip!” The girls standing next to us heard me and one said, “Yeah, that’s Felix’s girlfriend!” So then I couldn’t stop peeking over at her to see what she was like, and she seemed nice enough!

The doors opened, we rushed in, and got a good spot only one person back from the stage. The energy in the air was electric as people talked excitedly and made friends with those around them. Then we heard the voice.

“Hello,” the crowd fell silent, looking for the person the voice belonged to, “this is Felix from The Cat Empire,” insert crowd going absolutely nuts here. Felix remained hidden and introduced the support band, Custom Kings. They were ok, good at what they do, but not my cup of tea personally. Some of it was almost a little too mellow for me I guess, but that’s just my opinion, so don’t hurt me!

Finally the Cats came onto the stage and the crowd was going nuts! I looked up and right in front of me was Felix! To my right were Harry, Ollie, and Ryan, Will was at centre stage, at the back, and Jumps was to the left along with the Empire Horns. The crowd was so loud it was difficult to hear Felix’s introduction to the show, but we were all so happy just to see them, I don’t think it really mattered.

I can’t tell you the exact order of the songs, or which songs were performed indefinitely, but it was very similar to the Fremantle gig (refer to that review in the gigography section). Basically, I was so caught up in the moment, and overwhelmed by actually being there right in front of my favourite band on God’s green Earth that the details as to music are a little hazy! I can tell you though that Felix’s and Jumps’ dancing was absolutely mad! I swear they get such a workout up there! And I can also tell you that Felix’s girlfriend came up onto the stage to dance for “Sly”.

The other thing I can tell you is that Harry gets distracted by girls that make eyes at him, and has to stop whatever it is he was about to do because he’s having a giggle and blushing and making side comments to Ollie! *grin* I had nothing to do with it of course! Test my theory though. It’s rather endearing!

Of course, they did the typical, “goodnight and thanks for coming” stint, which was the cue for us all to start chanting “Encooooooooore! Encooooooooooooore!” until they came back on and did an encore of “Sol y Sombra” followed by “The Chariot”. After that I made a quick exit to the loo, and then worked my magic so that Mum and I had a guarantee that we’d meet the guys once the crowd cleared out. I sat and had a beer (well-deserved after having sweated my butt off dancing and jumping about) and tried to calm myself as best I could. Then we were told we could go back and meet the boys (much to the security guys’ chagrin, he just wanted to get home to his missus or something?!). My secret friend who led us backstage said I was more than welcome to go for a drink with the band members if I so wished later in the night, but my mother had to catch a plane the next day so I had to decline this time around! *grumble*

First up I met Ryan, who was lovely, and I shook the man’s hand. Secondly I met Will, who was an absolute sweetheart and stopped to talk to Mum and I for about 15 minutes, along with (I assume from what she said, that she was) the group’s manager. They were really lovely and thanked me for some of the work I’d done for the guys, making me feel very humble actually, which isn’t like me at all! The third person I met was Felix, who was in the process of changing shirts with his back to us. I had a chat with him, shook his hand, got a couple of photos with him, all the while watching Harry out of the corner of my eye talking to a man with madcrazy dreads! Harry then came over for a chat, and photos and was really sweet and quiet. He invited me to grab a bottle of wine if I wanted, but I politely declined, knowing that if I stopped for a drink there’d be no getting me out of there!

Lastly I stopped to watch and listen as Ollie and the guy who plays sax (forgive me for not knowing his name) had a freestyle jam session. It was mad! I just stood in awe, and was rather amused at how playful and almost hyper-active Ollie was! I know how it feels to perform live, so I suppose it was simply the adrenaline, but I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face watching him rock out. It was an awesome sight and an amazing sound I’ll never forget!

After saying goodbye to Ollie it was time for me to leave, my mother darling was getting tired and cranky (as they do) so I said a fond farewell to the boys, and set off into the midnight inkiness, light-headed and almost a little melancholy that it was all over! Well, for this year at least! I swore to myself that next time I’d stay for drinks. And although I could kick myself for not being able to stay this time, I can still guarantee you it was one of the best experiences of my life. Don’t miss it if ever you have the opportunity to see The Cat Empire live. In the meant time, I hope you’ll keep supporting them. They make this planet an even more amazing place than it already is!

Bec Turner, 21, QLD.

Posted by Casey at April 15, 2005 12:04 PM | TrackBack