The rise of technology has largely changed the concert-going experience. I often see people snapping photos on their phones or recording entire songs to watch later. In some cases I even observe people checking Facebook or messaging friends during lull moments. We’re so tied to the technology that taking a couple of hours out from it seems unthinkable. So it was refreshing to attend a show on Wednesday night where we told to put the phones on airplane mode, that we should take time out from the virtue signalling, that the sports scores wouldn’t change because we weren’t monitoring them. Thank you, Tim Minchin for creating an environment where we were all in the moment.
Of course, that means no photos, except for the one above I snapped while others were finding their seats. So you’ll just have to imagine his glorious ginger mane, his lean frame clad in black jeans and graphic T-shirt, those sparkling blue eyes framed in guyliner. You’ll have to imagine how furiously he banged on the piano. How he struggled to keep still when he was chatting to us, so he spent the time pacing the stage or performing lunges.
My husband and I have always enjoyed seeing Tim perform on comedy galas and the like, but this was our first introduction to his shows. Given the enthusiastic responses to different songs, I think we might have been in the minority. I kind of liked that though. There’s nothing quite like hearing punchlines for the first time. The laughs came thick and fast, but there was also time for Tim to sound off on the workings of modern society, how we treat one another, and the church. He touched on the George Pell ruling, although he wouldn’t play “that song,” feeling it has served its purpose. Although as any Tim Minchin fan knows, there are plenty of other songs with religious commentary that can still stand in. There were those moments that set my mind whirring, and others where Tim was declaring his love of cheese in a funk-soaked musical number.
While his was the name on the posters, this was no one-man show. He assembled a fantastic band, including Jak Housden (The Whitlams, The Badloves) and one of the tightest brass trios I’ve heard in a while. Even RocKwiz’s Dougal was on hand. I suppose he needs a gig since its axing! It all amounted to a whole lot of fun, laced with some serious social and political commentary. As the poster says, Tim Minchin is “Back,” and given the world’s current climate, just in time too.
Image source: own photo