I went to the Jack White concert at the Hordern Pavilion in July. I was reminded about it the other day when a friend wrote on facebook that she just bought tickets for Status Quo next year.
Status Quo was the first concert I ever went to – and it was at the Hordern way back when it was THE concert venue in Sydney. Things have changed since then. The Hordern has gone from being THE venue, to the forgotten venue, but Jack White, being the coolest person on the planet, might have restored it to favour.
One of the really cool things about Jack White is that he banned mobile phones and facebooking from his concert. I wouldn’t have thought that was necessary, that if you pay that much money to see something, you actually want to experience it.
But I was wrong. And I found out how wrong when I went to the Metallica concert last year (or was that the year before?). Those tickets were close to $200 each, and yet as soon as the band came on the majority of people in the place pulled out their smart phones and started taking photos and filming. The couple sitting next to me were so absorbed in their facebooking that I don’t think they watched even 5 minutes of the action live.
At Jack White people did take notice of his request, and kept their phones in their pockets – mostly. I guess you can’t convince everybody. There was a lure to not take photos on the night – professional shots of the concert were (and still are) available free on Jack’s website. And they’re much better than anybody could have taken with their smart phones as you can see from the attached gallery. I wish I could say I took them, but I didn’t. These photos and more are available from Jack’s website.
And that shot of the mosh pit – that’s me in there!
Much to my children’s worry – who were at the concert as well – I was in the middle of the mosh pit! And it took me right back to that first concert I went to at the Hordern. Jumping on the chairs, and rushing the stage, head banging with Status Quo!
Well … for about 10 minutes anyway. Then I realized I wasn’t 13 any more so I probably should get out of there and leave it to those who are still teenagers!
So I moved, but I was still down the front, and it was a fabulous concert. I read a write-up afterwards that said Jack White is effortlessly sexy, and that all the women in the room wanted him, and all the men wanted to be him.
Well – he is effortlessly sexy, but it wasn’t the women who wanted him. The young men, at least those near me, were the ones yelling “I love you Jack” at every opportunity.
I’m still not sure if it made me feel older or younger. The mosh pit was exciting, but for more than 10 minutes it was beyond my skills to handle. Being back at the Hordern was a trip down memory lane. And even being part of the “entertainment quarter” of Fox Studios can’t disguise that it’s just a big barn.
Perhaps the biggest shock on the night came after the concert. Walking out with my oldest daughter (the outdoorsy one) I mentioned that I was 13 when I came to the Quo concert. She looked at me and asked (seriously) “Did your mother know where you were?” Not only did my mother know that I was at a rock concert, but she drove me to the station so I could catch the train into town, and picked me up again when I caught the train home. On my own for the last few stations.
Things really have changed!
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