I was supposed to see this concert last year, but Judith Durham was taken ill with a brain haemorrhage and for a while it was uncertain whether she would sing again. Thankfully she made an excellent recovery and after a delay of only a few months the tour was rescheduled.
The Seekers are a band that I am aware of due to my dad. Music has always loomed large in our house and dad would often sing us to sleep (or play his guitar for us) with folk hits from the 60s. So accompanying him to and sharing this concert was pretty important to me.
The band were brilliant. Judith's voice sounded strong and clear throughout the show. There was an interval and another little break for her in the second half where Keith, Bruce and Athol entertained us without her. The pure joy on her face at being on stage and the affection that the band have for her shone for the duration of the whole show.
There was a wealth of beloved songs in the setlist. The highlights for me were Morning Town Ride, the Gospel medley leading into the interval and Red Rubber Ball (co written with Paul Simon by Keith).
Vintage footage was projected behind the band throughout the evening, and although it was clear that everyone has aged in the last fifty years it was nice to see how gracefully they had done so.
I can't fault the performance, it was better than I had allowed myself to hope it would be and evoked so many memories for me and I'm sure it did the same for my dad. The tour is being billed as the Farewell Tour and it's one heck of a way to bow out.
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