Greg
Page, Mick Gerace & the TCB Band concert review
Lucky
Sydney gets a real treat! In an exciting one-off Sydney event,
James Burton & Glen D. Hardin from Elvis’ TCB band combined
forces with Greg Page (Yellow Wiggle) and Mick Gerace to highlight
what is so important about Elvis and his music.
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The
first half of the night featured Greg Page performing
a selection of his country music favourites.
Not
only did Page have the excitement of being on stage
with two of the world’s finest musicians, but they were
also supported by a fabulous 10 piece band & a 12 piece
string section.
The
full sound was superb, and this was a rare opportunity
to appreciate several Elvis songs, that he had never
performed in concert himself, being played live by his
own fabulous musicians.
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It
was a delight to hear songs like ‘Bitter They Are, Harder
They Fall’ & ‘She Thinks I Still Care’, and the orchestra
also provided that extra special feel to delicate songs like
‘Mary In The Morning’ & ‘Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain’.
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James
Burton’s excellent guitar picking blended nicely with
Ed Bates’ steel guitar, while Chantelle Ormandy also
added some soulful backing vocals to the overall sound.
‘Loving
Arms’ was beautiful and included some tremendous delicate
guitar playing from James Burton, while ‘Bridge Over
Troubled Water’ showcased Glen D. Hardin’s excellent
arrangement.
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Greg
Page told some fine stories and was astoundingly self-depreciating!
He told the audience that he couldn’t even try to sing like
Elvis, while at the same performing admirable renditions of
rare Elvis numbers and also focussing on other country artists.
His version of Bob Willis’ ‘Time Changes Everything’ was a highlight
and the crowd sure appreciated him rockin’ out with ‘Lawdy Miss
Clawdy’, and also getting "a little bit raucous" on ‘Honky Tonk
Women’!
The
finale of ‘Sweet Caroline’ had the whole audience singing
along, and even the Elvis look-alike dropped his cool and
joined in, waving his hands in the air! This was sadly the
last night of Greg Page’s tour through country New South Wales
and he deserves a commendation since ticket sales from the
tour, along with profits from the sale of his new ‘Taking
Care Of Country’ CD, are all going to fund charities in the
country NSW area.
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Mick
Gerace presented his "In The Spirit Of Elvis" show as
the second part of the concert. With the country-music
side of Elvis already featured this gave Gerace the
chance to push the musicians even further.
Playing
to a home-town crowd, Gerace was on top form and I have
never seen him so loose, confident and performing so
well. He bounced onto the stage, full of energy & ready
to rock.
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His performance was inspiring and this encouraged James Burton
& Glen D. Hardin, along with the rest of the band, to rise to
the challenge. Tonight all the songs, including ‘The Wonder
Of You’, ‘Proud Mary’, ‘Just Can’t Help Believing’, were performed
with that little bit extra.
Gerace
allowed plenty of space for James Burton & Glen D Hardin to
show off their fabulous skills while he also had a lot of
fun - and it was very infectious! ‘Big Hunk ‘o’ Love’ got
the added line of "I got a wishbone in my pants" and there
were grins all around.
It
was truly like an Elvis "closing night" concert, where the
pressure is off and the band can play just for the joy of
making great music. ‘Polk Salad Annie’ was one highlight where
Mick stepped back and let the band rip. With James Burton
picking some fine guitar, Mick let him keep on playing and,
with a shrug of his shoulders, playfully said to the crowd,
"I’m just going where he’s going!" ‘Steamroller Blues’, ‘American
Trilogy’, ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ - all the favourites were packed
into an amazingly tight set. A
new addition was an excellent rendition of ‘Hurt’, an appropriate
nod to Elvis’ feelings in his final years.
This
was a night where the TCB Band & Mick Gerace performed like
never before. They were cookin’ to perfection and it was a
sizzling performance that would give any Elvis performer,
or imitator, a real run for their money.
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