In the absence of security, I made my way into the night, with 40 000 others, to Edihad Stadium for the George Michael concert. Nostalgia lingered in the warm Melbourne night. My reasons for wanting to see George Michael went beyond his exceptional voice – it was also to reconnect with memories of dress ups and cat-walking around the living room with my cousins to George’s ‘Too funky’.
‘Here I am, Australia,’ he sang from stage wings as the lights in Edihad dimmed to cameras and mobiles sparkling like Christmas lights. His performance certainly resonated with that statement – here are my songs, songs drawn from my life, a life I’m proud of, a life I stand by. He seemed a little reluctant to hit the high notes to begin with – instantly I was sceptical. I don’t usually attend concerts in large stadiums; not only do they lack in intimacy, but the acoustics in the arena require an exceptionally powerful voice. It didn’t take George long to settle in and the performance quickly escalated to each song being on par, if not better, than his recorded voice.
Images of a youthful George playing guitar and singing ‘Faith’ towered behind the T-shaped stage and were contrasted against an almost fifty-year-old, pot-bellied George dancing live on stage. It was worrying to be confronted not only with George’s ageing but also, my own. George’s energy and timeless moves catapulted me back to the 80s and 90s and had me leaping from my chair, dancing and singing, contemplating ‘Fastlove’ and reminiscing over ‘Careless whispers’ – he had me reliving my life all over again.
George was amazing, but what was even more amazing was his ability to enthral and entertain such a large crowd to the point where I think I’d struggle to find an unsatisfied attendee. His voice was smooth, his emotional connection to each song adding layers of shading to his voice. He was teary during ‘You have been loved’, a song he wrote for his deceased partner. What was unexpected for me was the inspiration and empowerment I felt as an artist seeing George perform – his music is unapologetic, honest, and never shies away from truth, despite the consequence or public scrutiny. It affirmed my belief that the most powerful art is that which stems from ‘truth’. Then it is up to the audience to interpret that art, and make it relevant to their own lives.
Midway through the night George bitterly dedicated ‘An easy affair’ to media giant Rupert Murdoch. In 2006, George publicly called Mr Murdoch ‘The devil’ because he was unhappy with the way he was portrayed in the media, particularly over the 2006 scandal where George was found slumped over the wheel of his car in possession of cannabis. George has always been open about his drug use and has never seen it as a problem or an addiction. Before singing ‘An easy affair’, George proudly declared that he’s performed 114 shows over three years without one bad review. ‘I’m doing well for a drug addict,’ he said. ‘If I’m a functioning drug addict I’m the best functioning drug addict you’ll ever meet.’ The lyrics of the song say ‘don’t let them tell you who you are is not enough’. His statement resonated with the mood of the performance – this is who I am, and I’m not changing for nobody.
George closed his performance with the song ‘Freedom’. There’s no doubt he delivered a performance beyond expectation.
First published on Overland 3/2/2010
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Click here for the interview.
As an aspiring writer, it’s helpful to have successful published writers believe in you and your writing. When I approached Christos Tsiolkas at an ‘in conversation’ at Readings in Carlton I never would have imagined almost two years later that I would have gained not only an inspirational mentor, but a good friend. Apart from providing feedback on multiple drafts of my manuscript, Misplaced, he’s also talked me through dark moments in my writing, and provided wisdom on the challenges of the publishing industry.
Mid last year, I did a forty-minute interview with Christos, asking him questions that would help aspiring and emerging writers. An article, based on the interview, ‘Christos Tsiolkas on Faith’ was published in the Emerging Writers Festival’s The Reader. I was only able to cover about one third of the content discussed with Christos in the article. After listening to the interview, I thought other emerging and aspiring writers would find it helpful and insightful. Thank you to Christos for allowing me to release it.
It was a sunny, spring day when Christos and I had coffee. We sat outside a small café in south Melbourne, so please forgive the cars driving by, and also my interruptions – I never intended the interview to be released. Christos covers a lot of ground in this interview and is open and frank about issues such as creative writing courses, rejection, getting published, bad reviews, and advice on making a career out of writing. Enjoy.
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This article has been brewing in me for three years – that’s how long I’ve been a mother for. I’ve thought long and hard about writing this article. Many have advised me against it. But ultimately, the importance of initiating discussion and change for the better outweighs my reluctance and fear. Outspoken mothers these days are too readily labelled as whiny and put in their place with the statement ‘it was your choice to have a baby, so deal with it’. Well frankly, I’m not going to shut up and walk away, not this time anyway.
After I spent forty-two hours in labour and had my abdomen sliced open, I was expecting society to embrace me; instead reality dished me a cold slap in the face. First came breastfeeding. Society was telling me I should, that it was best for my baby. But it was harder than labour. People stared at me. People asked me not to breastfeed in front of them. Someone told me it was child abuse. I stayed home as much as I could while I breastfed – an entire year. If I did go out I was reduced to feeding in tiny rooms, or crouched over my baby, and if you’re not relaxed the milk just doesn’t come.
Outings: I’ve had a waitress shrug my comment off when I explained there was a fish bone in my daughter’s flake even though she said there were no bones in the fish. I’ve had a woman approach me and my daughter at the Dali exhibition – which was set up to encourage children involvement – and remark disgustingly, ‘Why would you bring children here?’ like my daughter was a dog or something. I’ve had single girlfriends complain of mothers and prams and why we walk so slow and why we leave our Christmas shopping to the last minute and take up the shopping centres with our prams.
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Freedom
March 28, 2010 at 3:41 am (Creative commentary, Reviews) (george michael, george michael concert, george michael concert melbourne, inspiring musicians)
In the absence of security, I made my way into the night, with 40 000 others, to Edihad Stadium for the George Michael concert. Nostalgia lingered in the warm Melbourne night. My reasons for wanting to see George Michael went beyond his exceptional voice – it was also to reconnect with memories of dress ups and cat-walking around the living room with my cousins to George’s ‘Too funky’.
‘Here I am, Australia,’ he sang from stage wings as the lights in Edihad dimmed to cameras and mobiles sparkling like Christmas lights. His performance certainly resonated with that statement – here are my songs, songs drawn from my life, a life I’m proud of, a life I stand by. He seemed a little reluctant to hit the high notes to begin with – instantly I was sceptical. I don’t usually attend concerts in large stadiums; not only do they lack in intimacy, but the acoustics in the arena require an exceptionally powerful voice. It didn’t take George long to settle in and the performance quickly escalated to each song being on par, if not better, than his recorded voice.
Images of a youthful George playing guitar and singing ‘Faith’ towered behind the T-shaped stage and were contrasted against an almost fifty-year-old, pot-bellied George dancing live on stage. It was worrying to be confronted not only with George’s ageing but also, my own. George’s energy and timeless moves catapulted me back to the 80s and 90s and had me leaping from my chair, dancing and singing, contemplating ‘Fastlove’ and reminiscing over ‘Careless whispers’ – he had me reliving my life all over again.
George was amazing, but what was even more amazing was his ability to enthral and entertain such a large crowd to the point where I think I’d struggle to find an unsatisfied attendee. His voice was smooth, his emotional connection to each song adding layers of shading to his voice. He was teary during ‘You have been loved’, a song he wrote for his deceased partner. What was unexpected for me was the inspiration and empowerment I felt as an artist seeing George perform – his music is unapologetic, honest, and never shies away from truth, despite the consequence or public scrutiny. It affirmed my belief that the most powerful art is that which stems from ‘truth’. Then it is up to the audience to interpret that art, and make it relevant to their own lives.
Midway through the night George bitterly dedicated ‘An easy affair’ to media giant Rupert Murdoch. In 2006, George publicly called Mr Murdoch ‘The devil’ because he was unhappy with the way he was portrayed in the media, particularly over the 2006 scandal where George was found slumped over the wheel of his car in possession of cannabis. George has always been open about his drug use and has never seen it as a problem or an addiction. Before singing ‘An easy affair’, George proudly declared that he’s performed 114 shows over three years without one bad review. ‘I’m doing well for a drug addict,’ he said. ‘If I’m a functioning drug addict I’m the best functioning drug addict you’ll ever meet.’ The lyrics of the song say ‘don’t let them tell you who you are is not enough’. His statement resonated with the mood of the performance – this is who I am, and I’m not changing for nobody.
George closed his performance with the song ‘Freedom’. There’s no doubt he delivered a performance beyond expectation.
First published on Overland 3/2/2010
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