The Cairns Review

Cairns Civic Theatre 24th of July 2013

There is no doubt Paul Kelly is one of Australia’s most prolific and talented songwriters and with his picture now on a stamp a true living legend.
His show at The Cairns Civic Theatre was a sell out and is the start of his “Spring and Fall” tour.

The show starts with Kelly explaining the format for the evening, the first part being the full album “Spring and Fall” and the second part will be songs from Kelly’s back catalogue.

Having never heard the album it was a unique way to be introduced to a new album, listening to it in its entirety as intended as a live “song cycle” and there are some great songs in there.

Being a new band with two female members it is a change from Kelly’s last band the Stormwater boys and the mood that is created is softer and more tender and the female voices in the harmonies was beautiful. This being their first live show as a band is a testament to their professionalism and rehearsals which has made them such a tight outfit.

The second half of the show was an exploration and reinterpretation of Kelly’s extensive back catalogue, there were many surprise inclusions such as the long ballad “Bradman” and some lesser known tracks such as “Our Sunshine” .
You can only fit so many songs into a 2.5 hour set – and with so many songs to choose from even this long show can’t include everyone’s favourites. Of course Kelly isn’t shy of an encore coming back for two and finishing with a soulful a Capella version of “Meet me in The Middle of The Air”

The ticket price at $80 was pretty hefty but there would not have been one person in the audiences who didn’t feel they got their monies worth.

Let’s hope it isn’t 5 years until Paul Kelly plays again in Cairns.

Paul Kelly’s New album Spring and Fall is out now and can be bought directly from paulkelly.com