Posted on Wednesday, November 07, 2007 4:34 PM
First night of the Australian tour.
John Cale
2007/11/07
The Tivoli
Brisbane, Australia
- Reading my Mind
- Hey Ray (alternate was Evidence)
- Model Beirut Recital
- Save Us
- Helen of Troy
[Walkin' the Dog was listed next but not played]
- Sold Motel
- A Day in the Life of the Common Cold
- Big White Cloud
- Hush
- OuttaThe Bag
- Chinese Envoy
- Ghost Story
- You Know More Than I Know
- Cable Hogue
- Things (with Things X first verse)
- Venus in Furs
- Dirty Ass Rock 'n' Roll
[Jumbo - listed on setlist here, rehearsed but not played]
- Perfect
- Gravel Drive
[Leaving it /Pablo/Fear/Chorale listed on setlist here but not played]
Dancing Undercover was also listed as an alternate on the setlist somewhere but not played.
Other songs rehearsed but not played Leaving it / Strange Times in Casablanca, Guts and I think Gun.
An unexpected bonus was when John and the band signed CDs and shook hands with fans after the show.
Everything except Gravel Drive was very loud - in a good way. A great night.
(Thanks: Maurice Western)
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# re: John Cale: 2007/11/07 Brisbane setlist
11/8/2007 12:57 AM by
Didn't start out with Heartbreak Hotel, when straight into Reading my Mind
Pretty disappointing crowd, size wise but then it was Brisbane on a wet Wednesday night
# John Cale Sydney November 8th, 2007
11/9/2007 2:14 AM by
John Cale
Enmore Theatre
Sydney Australia
November 8th, 2007
Reviewed by: Ken Clark
The Enmore Theatre is a wonderful old vaudeville theatre, built in 1908 which has seen many renovations over the years as it was converted into a movie house in 1912, extensively renovated in 1920 and is now a premier concert venue. Even Paul Stanley has played there.
There are two spacious bars within the Theatre for refreshment and always pleasant to run into road manager Tony Paris and exchange a few words.
John Cale and his youthful band of proficient musicians took to the stage just after 9 pm and performed a passionate two hour set of classics from the past as well as some innovative new unreleased material.
John alternated between keyboards, electric and acoustic guitars throughout the night. Michael Jerome played some thundering drums to drive everything into the ether sphere. Joseph Karnes thumped out stunning bass lines, upright bass and keyboard accompaniment to provide a solid backbone. Elegant lead guitar was provided by Dustin Boyer. The sound was expansive and rich in texture.
For followers of the water supply, Cale had two bottles wrapped in a blanket to his left and all the back up musicians had a similar egalitarian reserve. His hair did not seem to have any psychedelic colourings on the night and he wore a blue/grey check lumberjack shirt with chinos.
Here is the setlist:
Intro Drone:
Heartbreak Hotel: The live version he has been playing on recent tours with treated vocals, “Diddy Wah Diddy”, and “Thank You Very Much” robotic adland voices, a stunning opener.
Hey Ray: The new unreleased song about the artist Ray Johnston, introduced by Cale as being “being all about what happened in New York City from 1963 to 1973”, I hope it is on his next studio album, very catchy chorus and amusing lyrics
Model Beirut Recital: Straight rocker version that requires no additional commentary, pounding drums from Jerome
Save Us: Fabulous drone ending with lots of interaction between all the musicians
Walking the Dog: Some extended tuning at the beginning to get it right, menacing version
Sold Motel:
A Day in the Life of the Common Cold: Another unreleased new song with a complex structure and interesting lyrics, not many could pull off this type of material with a beautiful segue into the nest song
Big White Cloud: a lovely version, slowed right down to a dirge
Hush:
Outta the Bag: Great guitar exchanges between Cale and Boyer, soulful blues licks, outstanding bass by Karnes, ended with a fine dirty burn out
Chinese Envoy:
Ghost Story: Magnificent acoustic guitars on this one
You Know More than I Know:
Cable Hogue: great echo effects on the vocals, with ending guitar flourishes by Boyer sounding a bit like “Norwegian Wood”
Things:
Venus in Furs: exotic treated viola
Pablo Picasso: more rough treated vocals
Mary Lou: a completely rocked out version
Gravel Drive: outstanding live version with much sonic wonderment
Guts: Blazing solo by Boyer, Cale turns into Jerry Lee Lewis
Chorale: “A song written on New Years Eve for CBGBs”
At the end of the concert, as in Brisbane, Cale and the band patiently signed t-shirts, cds, and bits of paper for all the fans in the lobby of the theatre. What a fine way to round off an excellent concert.
It was indeed a well spent evening of superior entertainment from one of the last artist/performers from the 1960s with any kind of credibility left in 2007. The Australian tour looks like a winner, go see him now!
# John Cale: Melbourne 10/11/2007
11/11/2007 1:13 AM by
John Cale played at the fabulously Moorish/Baroque/mock classical Forum Theatre last night. The crowd was on the small side, or perhaps it was too big a venue: in any case he was, up to a point, in fine form: some of the new arrangements such as 'Heartbreak Hotel' were slightly disconcerting, but the new material was excellent, especially 'Hey Ray. Though it was odd to look from John to his band's youth and back, they were great especially the drummer who was lithe and loose limbed as well as kerthumpingly emphatic., and when the set took a quieter turn they had the subtle smarts as well...
I had to stop myself thinking of his gig here on the ' Fragments of a Rainy season tour in '93, which utterly gobsmacked me, but here there was, instead of steady foreboding and affect: change and decay and fun and aggro.....
It was worth the ticket price just for the version of 'Leaving it up to you' and the lack of density down front made it easy to stand and look, really look, at John. 'Chinese Envoy' was gorgeous, as was 'Ship of Fools'
His voice did seem to get lost a bit, but then at the end you realised why: his voice was going. He apologised after the last number, and said 'Thanks Melbourne; sorry, I owe you one: I'll come back with a new voice' and they went off, leaving a rather disconsolate crowd, as I think the set was shorter than in previous cities, and there was obviously not going to be any encore....but it did end with Venus in Furs, gloriously
# re: John Cale: 2007/11/07 Brisbane setlist
11/26/2007 2:53 PM by
It DID start out with Heartbreak Hotel, but in an almost unrecognisable version, testament to Cale's inventiveness.
# re: John Cale: 2007/11/07 Brisbane setlist
11/11/2008 11:10 AM by
The Brisbane Tivoli concert was taped from audience 100 mins.
# re: John Cale: 2007/11/07 Brisbane setlist
11/11/2008 11:11 AM by
and yes it did start with Heartbreak hotel.