What a relief!!! After all of my boasting about Tilley’s and the success that Deborah and Willy enjoy there – it all came together into a package of perfection for the Bitch Listers who had driven all the way from Melbourne for the gig. And what a night!! Dinner was pricey but delicious and kept us sustained until the 9:30pm start time.
With Rupert back at the helm, things ran smoothly, although the recent extensions had Deborah searching for the sound booth in the crowd, unlike previous concerts when artists could make easy eye contact with their sound engineers. Still, the extensions gave the patrons more elbow room, a better chance of buying tickets, and an enhanced sound which Deborah and Willy took full advantage of.
Deborah admitted that she would have to be more spontaneous than usual – “There are a few people here who have seen a few shows already and are getting sick of my jokes.” But none of us had heard the bagging of Kylie and Danni (“Oh, I’m sorry if I’ve offended any Danni fans out there – from the heart of my bottom I’m so sorry!”), or the story about Deborah’s great aunt who moved to Perth at age 92 and said “It’s not the greatest…” “…but it’s not as if I’m going to be living here all my life!”
A quick revelation from a front row groupie – we’ve been over the topic of Willy’s chair dancing… and we’ve all noticed that he now stands during concerts!! The new revelation is that when he performs his guitar solos, he lets out this strained whine that keeps the chord going and joins one riff to the next. Probably one of those concentration traits that one isn’t conscious of, we even thought at first that it might be feedback from the guitar but it was certainly audible. Have a listen next time you can!
While DC and WZ may not have enjoyed the Bitch List’s front row position for the majority of the concert, it was during the encore that appreciation took on a whole new meaning for me. Rach requested her favourite, “Consider This”…. after the usual umming and aahing, (“just because you guys drove all the way from Melbourne for this!”) they agreed, adding “You will be able to help me if I don’t know the words won’t you???” You won’t believe this unless you were there (you will believe it after reading 5 reviews describing the same incident!) but Deborah did not remember the first line of ANY verse, or the first line of the bridge either. Rach came through with flying colours with Mark and I trying to pitch in when things got tough – (THE LIGHTS ARE ON BUT NO-ONE’S HOME was not heard clearly, so there we were, pointing at the spot lights… THE… LIGHTS… ARE…ON…. “Oh yeah… the light’s are on but no-one’s home that I see”) It was just incredible – the crowd was in hysterics, knowing that they were enjoying a very rare moment. Deborah loved it too, especially when we couldn’t remember the last verse either so she just rhymed along to herself
– “I don’t remember the words… to this verse.”
“So we’ll just sing along until we reach… the chorus.” etc.
We had fun singing along in full voice after being quiet for the rest of the gig…. and what a great gig – I’d have to say that the only time I sit with a grin from ear to ear for two hours straight is a DC gig… and tonight’s smile was bigger than ever.
Sarah Groube