Night Of My Life With Olivia Newton John, Belinda Carlisle & Dannii Minogue

What a fabulous day the 1st March 2012 was & one we will never forget.

My Christmas present from Leigh was the tickets to see Olivia Newton John in concert at the Sydney Opera House & tickets to the VIP event afterwards. The week before we left Dannii Minogue announced she was doing a book signing in Sydney the same day & the day before the show, Belinda Carlisle said she was going to the Olivia concert. I met Dannii at a signing 15 years ago & have been wanting to meet her again & get her books signed. As for Belinda saying she was going to be at Olivia & the chance I might meet 2 ladies I idolise on the same night, I was VERY excited.

Dannii's event was at 5.30pm & we were worried about having enough time to get to the concert, but we got there early & had no problems being about 12th in line. Dannii was absolutely lovely, bubbly & chatty when I approached her she said 'Wow Style Queen' (what a compliment!)  & signed her My Style book which the event was for BUT also signed a special edition I had of her My Story Book & her Project D Perfume for me. She was also kind enough to pose for photos with me on my own & with Leigh.

LEIGH & I WITH DANNII MINOGUE

MY AUTOGRAPHED BOTTLE OF PROJECT D FRAGRANCE

Off to the Opera House & Olivia's concert was wonderful, I have seen her in concert twice before but to go to the Opera house & see her with the Orchestra & be in the 5th row was incredible. This sounds very silly, but having loved Olivia ever since I can remember, every time she I see her & she comes on stage I always find I get a few tears. What amazing energy she has & her voice sounds perfect live, you can pretty much name a song of hers & she sang it. I loved every minute & sang along to every song & really didn't want the show to end BUT I knew I would be realising a childhood dream of meeting her after!!


Of course I was on look out for Belinda Carlisle & didn't spot her until we were leaving the concert hall. I went up very shyly & said hello & shook hands & was thrilled with that (she was with someone so I didn't want to bother her).

We went to the separate room for the VIP event with Olivia & Belinda arrived, we think she went & met Olivia privately & when we saw her leaving we went up & asked if not too much trouble, could we have a photo. She was lovely & said no problem. I sent her, her book to autograph to her Melbourne concert last week & asked her if she liked the gift I included, she thought for a second & said 'Oh My God your Nicole!' & gave me a huge hug. We chatted about my letter & she said she couldn't believe she was meeting me (other way around I was thinking!) she hugged me again & said some lovely things to me, to the point I got so overwhelmed I thought I might cry & she also looked like she was going to. She gave me another huge hug & as she was hugging me Leigh said to her ' You have no idea how much this means to Nic' & she said that was so sweet. We told her we would see her on 10 March at her show & thanked her for her time & making a long time dream come true.

MEETING ONE OF MY IDOLS THE BEAUTIFUL BELINDA CARLISLE

We got back in line to meet Olivia & I saw former actor Gregg Cave who now runs Olivia's Gaia Retreat, I had written hm a fan letter when I was 11 years old & he replied so I went up & told him the story & he thought it was lovely and took a pic with me. Very nice man & good fun.

FORMER ACTOR GREGG CAVE WHO NOW RUNS OLIVIA'S GAIA RETREAT

After all that and what ended up being a 2.5 hour wait we finally got to Olivia, I thanked her for doing this & she thanked us for supporting the Cancer & wellness centre as all the proceeds from the tickets to the VIP function were going to that. I had a hug & she signed her Greatest Hits Vol 2 Vinyl, A Two of a kind poster (which maybe she hadn't seen that photo for a while as she said 'wow' & my Grease Sandy Barbie. We chatted & had pictures and her & Belinda are 2 of the most beautiful women I have met.

MY RECORD I'VE HAD SINCE I WAS 5

LEIGH & I WITH OLIVIA

I still can't believe I have meet Olivia & Belinda & in the same night, thank goodness I have the pictures as proof. This would have to be one of the greatest nights I've ever had & one I'll never forget. Thank you Leigh for the best present & making dreams come true AGAIN.

When I arrived home tonight there was a parcel waiting & it was from Belinda, she had signed her book & Cd's I sent her with beautiful messages & included a little note.

I'm still pinching myself & it truly was a night I will never forget.

BELINDA'S BOOK THAT WAS WAITING FOR ME WHEN I GOT HOME

Enrique Iglesias & Pitbull 25 July 2011 Brisbane

On Thurs 21 July I got an email from the promoters of Enrique's concert saying they were having a special deal on tickets for 48 hours, pretty much 2 for the price of one. Things have been bleak to say the least & not much fun has been had or money to spare so we both decided for the price it might be good to have night out.

We wanted to go when the tour was announced but due to IVF funds were low so we had to give it a miss.

We got there & the opening act was DJ Havan Brown who did a set then performed her song "We run the night" & got a good atmosphere going.

Next to hit the stage was Pitbull & I had no idea how many of his songs I actually knew & even the ones I didn't I enjoyed & we were on our feet dancing to the latin/cuban grooves - great when you can enjoy the support act!!

Was really looking forward to seeing Enrique & it was a really basic show, he just arrived on stage in jeans, t shirt & baseball cap & ran around & sang his heart out. He sounded fantastic live & pretty much sang every one of his hit songs. We would be up & dancing & decide to have a rest then the next song would start that we would love & up we would get again. No big staging, costume changes or effects. Just a great singer, full of energy singing his songs, looking like he loved every minuteof performing & giving it his all. It was also the first time in ages I was actually having some fun & I guess the endorphins from the dancing helped.

Havana Brown came back on stage & performed Heartbeat with him & to close the show Pitbull joined him for I like it.  Enrique was great & it felt so good for L & I to have some fun again like 'normal' people.

When I find a setlist I will post it as the one he performed out here is different to his overseas shows.

Enrique & Pitbull close the show with I Like it

Katy Perry California Dreams Tour May 5,2011 Brisbane

WOW is all I can say about Katy's show, I knew it would be good as I got to see her smaller 2009 Hello Katy tour at The Tivoli and I became a really big fan after that performance.

We headed to merchandise first and I got a programme (some of the most stunning photos I have seen of Katy, printed on beautiful super gloss paper and included stickers & postcards), a lanyard to add to my collection I have hanging in my office and a very cool shirt pictured below.

We then decided to dine at Stars restaurant which had a two course meal for $38.50, I had the roasted snapper with saffron sauce, baked fennell and turned potatos while L and our friends had the chicken breast stuffed with a mushroom mousse and wrapped in pancetta on mash and veg. The desserts were the best I have had in ages, L & I got the banana spring rolls (banna pieces wrapped in pastry, deep fried then rolled in cinnamon & sugar) with caramel sauce and vanilla bean ice cream while the others had a chocolate pyramid on a shortbread base filled with berries & meringue (wish I had taken pics like I have been doing lately).

Support act did nothing for me, I was only there for Katy and could not wait for her to start at 9. The stage was covered in cupcakes & lollypops. The concert started with a little film that had her going on a magical adventure with her cat, Kitty Purry through a fantasy land (kinda like the world of the California Gurls clip). The arena also filled with a cotton candy fragrance & then she burst on stage in a jewelled corset & tutu singing Teenage Dream.

I finally found you, my missing puzzle piece, I'm complete

The songs and the costume changes kept coming and every few songs another clip of her adventure was shown. When I saw her in 2009 I was blown away at how very pretty she is in person, even nicer than she appears in her clips. She chats away with the crowd still, just like she did last tour and pulls people up on stage and gets inthe crowd a few times (and gives away several kisses!!) She has a fantastic energy and looks like she loves every minute on stage.

I wanna see your Peacock

Its really hard to pick a favorite part of the show, for entertainment value her performance of Hot N Cold where she makes about 7 costume changes on stage was so cute! Her stripped back version of Thinking of you was just like the last time I saw her. E.T. her current single sounds so good live!

To find a love thats true, you must wear the wig thats blue......

During TGIF (Last Friday night) she asks people via facebook and twitter to send in party pics for her to show on screen during the song and to my surprise 2 of our photos made it to the big screen! Firework means alot to me and I actually cried when she sang it ( I blame all the hormones I am pumped full of at the moment) she even had real fireworks in the performance. Every song worked so well live and I think she should consider releasing her version of Whitney's I wanna dance with somebody.

Fine, Fresh, Fierce.......

The night ended with California Gurls complete with cupcake covered dress & dancing gingerbread men, when the confetti cannons went off she did not just have normal confetti - nope it was heart and lolly shaped!!

Walked out feeling so happy and on such a high, if I can find good tickets I am considering doing something I have never done before and going to the second show when she comes back on the 15th.

Here is the setlist:
Teenage Dream
Hummingbird Heartbeat
Waking Up in Vegas
Ur So Gay
Peacock
I Kissed a Girl
Circle the Drain
E.T.
Pearl
Not Like the Movies
Katy's Jukebox contest - her versions of: Only Girl (In the World)/Big Pimpin',Whip My Hair,Friday
Thinking of You
Hot N Cold
Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
I Wanna Dance with Somebody
Firework
California Gurls

Wicked Brisbane 2 March 2011

On Wednesday night we went to see Wicked, some of you would remember I got the tickets for Christmas.

I first heard about Wicked on my first trip to the USA in Sept 2004, people in LA were talking about it and when we got to New York we tried to get tickets to see it on broadway but it was the hottest ticket in town.

So we have waited patiently for it to come to Brisbane & it was worth the wait.

This is a first class production, the staging is fantastic.  The story of how the wicked witch of the west became that way and her friendship with the good witch (Glinda or Galinda!) is brilliant and very entertaining. If you have never seen The wizard of oz it does not matter at all, if you are one of the millions who have you will appreciate this back story even more.  There is also quite alot of humour and laughs and a few cute references to The wizard of oz (like a key character saying "Theres no place like home).

The performances are brilliant especially the two leads Galinda & Elphaba, both these ladies are great actresses and have fantastic voices. I also have to mention how great the costumes are, this really does transport you to the magical land of Oz. Two of the highlights are the peformances of the songs Popular & Defying gravity.

If you have not had the chance to see this I really urge you to - I can see why it has been such a huge hit. A brilliant nights entertainment and I got through the whole post without making any 'wicked' puns!

Besides getting a programme like I always do I could not resist this plush flying monkey - isn't he cute!

Belinda Carlisle Brisbane 19 Feb 2011

If you asked anyone waht music you would have found on my record player in the 80's they would more than likely name these 3 artists:

George Micahel
Madonna
Belinda Carlisle

I loved The Go-Go's as a kid but it was when Belinda went solo with Mad about you I went totally ga-ga for this former go-go!!

So it was with much excitement that I went to see her Saturday night, never having had the chance to see her perform live before.  It may sound silly but when she first hit the stage singing Runaway Horses it felt a bit overwhelming to see her in person after all the hours I have racked up over the years listening to her music.

I alwys thought she was gorgeous and in person she is and is ageing very nicely (although she does admit to the odd botox) I was surprised at how tiny she was. She was dressed in a plain black top & capri pants and removed her shoes after the first song so she could dance.

She really seems to enjoy performing live and her voice sounded amazing, even better than on cd. She sang everyone of her hits so I was not thinking 'Oh I wish she had done...'

The setlist was:

1.Runaway Horses

2.I Get Weak

3.In Too Deep 

4.California 

5.Mad About You

6.Circle In The Sand

7.Vision Of You

8.La Luna

9.Summer Rain 

10.Big Scary Animal 

11.(We Want) The Same Thing 

12.Leave A Light On

13.Live Your Life Be Free 

Encore:

14.Vacation Play 

(The Go-Go's cover)

15.Our Lips Are Sealed 

(The Go-Go's cover)

16.We Got the Beat

(The Go-Go's cover)

17.Heaven Is A Place On Earth

For her encore she came back and did some Go-Gos classics even announcing 'this next song is NOT called Eric the seal' before starting Our lips are sealed.

I am very surprised the promoter of this tour only had her play small venues like RSL clubs etc... She is a brilliant live performer with a lot of fans. She may not fill an entertainment centre but I can think of plenty of good mid size venues she would fill no problem.  It did not seem right her giving it her all underneath a dodgy mirrorball on this tiny stage.


I can't wait for her to tour again, however as per a previous post of mine I will be going elsewhere to see her even if it means driving to the Gold Coast.

Getting to see one of my idols....

I am so excited!  I just got front row tickets to see Belinda Carlisle next Feb!!!   I love Belinda, she is in my list of female singers I love and I have never been able to see her live.  I have been lucky enough to see other females I adore like Olivia Newton-John, Madonna, Kylie, Gwen Stefani. 

I liked The Go-Go's but I became a huge fan when Belinda went solo, her first album Belinda I played over & over and I used to watch the video for Mad about you all the time.  I admit I even dyed my hair red when she did. 

Unfortunately she is not playing a great venue but I don't care as I am going to get to see her sing all my fave songs!!!

West Side Story 18 Nov 2010

For my birthday in August one of the presents Leigh gave me was tickets to West Side Story, he knows how much I love the film and that I was dying to see the live show.

Unfortunately for me I came down with whooping cough a few weeks ago and did not think i would be well enough to make it, it was pretty touch & go all day but that night I dragged myself out of bed, threw on a maxi dress, pulled my hair back and had to go sans make up (had no other choice as the sweats you get with this are pretty bad).  I decided to avoid mirrors all evening.

All that aside we got there and had great seats in the 4th row.  I was a bit concerned when they announced before curtin that Tony was going to be played by the understudy... but anyway on with the show.

I have always loved the opening, the thought of tough street gangs dancing around New York city is so cool! The dancing was fantastic and so were the costumes.  Seeing some of my favourite songs come to life like 'Tonight', 'America','Somewhere','I feel pretty' & 'Gee Officer Krupke' was so enjoyable.  All the leads were great especially Maria, Anita & the understudy Tony.

If you love the movie then you should go see the live production, it is well worth it.  I was so glad I was able to go, just wish I had felt better.

Scene from dance at the gym

Adam Lambert Glam Nation Tour The Tivoli Brisbane Oct 22, 2010

So last night we went to see Adam Lambert.  We loved Adam on American Idol from the first audition and looked forward to seeing what he was going to do every week.  We he made it to the final 2 we thought he had it in the bag and we were totally shocked when he did not win.  Although he has gone on to have a successful international career and Kris Allen has pretty much dissappeared (Kris who??) I think Adam still deserved to have the title of the winner of Idol.

Anyway there was a big crowd lined up when we got there last night and we found out from security that the show was sold out.  Real mixed bag of people in the crowd too, I was expecting lots of young & flamboyant people and although they were there, I was surprised at the amount of older people. 

Right on 9pm Adam strutted on stage in a feathered top hat with a glitter 'A' on it, a fringed jacket and leather pants with flawless make up.  In person he is very tall, he had 4 dancers with him also.

 The setlist was as follows:
 Voodoo
 For Your Entertainment
 Down The Rabbit Hole
 Ring of Fire(Johnny Cash cover)
 Fever
 Sleepwalker
 Whataya Want From Me (acoustic)
 Soaked
 Broken Open (acoustic)
 Aftermath (acoustic)
 Sure Fire Winners
 Strut
 Music Again
 If I Had You (with band and dancer intro)

Encore: 20th Century Boy

His voice sounded fantastic live, he has lots of energy and an incredible stage presence. He also seems to really love what he is doing.  There were several costume changes and a few chats with the audience. Overall it was a well put together show and I would go see him again for sure.