Adele

I walked into the Adele concert in Melbourne curious and walked out converted. Adele has the ability to perform in front of 75,000+ fans and make them feel like she is talking to them in their lounge room. She is one captivating artist.

An Adele show is not just about the songs. She contributes as much about herself between the songs as she reveals in her songs. “You are about to hear two hours of songs about my ex-boyfriend,” Adele said at the start of the show. “I hope you know who I am and what my songs are. There aren’t too many happy ones.”

But there was the occasional.

Sometimes she revealed too much information. After her performance of the Bond theme Skyfall at the Oscars she said, “I shit myself quite literally. There was shit in my spanks.”

Adele may be the biggest act on the planet right now but she did reveal her own obsession with Alison Krause. “She came to my show in Nashville. I followed her into the toilet and told her much I loved her in the toilet,” she said.

It is no wonder Adele rarely does interviews. She has the ability to communicate those small details directly to her fans at the shows.

Therein lied the charm. Regardless of the tens of thousands surrounded me it felt like she was talking to me. I’d suggest every single one of the 75,000+ fans at the show also felt the personal service.

Adele spoke with honesty of the scarcity of her live performances. “I’m not really a touring artist,” she said. “I’d rather be home having Chinese.” When she promised to return to Australia one day she did qualify that with “I have zero percent plans for another tour”.

The show itself is of rock concert proportions. The lights, the fireworks, the screens, the effects are what you would be more likely to find at an AC/DC concert, let alone at an Adele show.

Adele may have even discovered the next Adele at the show.

Adele customized the show for Melbourne with images of the city on the big screen while she sang ‘Hometown Glory’. She then Aussied-up wrapped in the Australian flag towards the end of the show. What was really impressive was that the flag was her ONLY costume change of the night. When was the last time you went to a pop concert where that happened?

Adele’s last Australian show is again tonight in Melbourne. She will then play three shows in Auckland March 23, 25 and 26 then her four last shows of the year in London June 28 and 29 and July 1 and 2.
Adele Melbourne setlist 19 March 2017

Hello (from 25, 2015)
Hometown Glory (from 19, 2008)
One and Only (from 21, 2011)
I’ll Be Waiting (from 21, 2011)
Rumour Has It (from 21, 2011)
Water Under The Bridge (from 25, 2015)
I Miss You (from 25, 2015)
Skyfall (from Skyfall soundtrack, 2012)
Don’t You Remember (from 21, 2011)
Make You Feel My Love (from 19, 2008)
Send My Love (To Your New Lover) (from 25, 2015)
Sweetest Devotion (from 25, 2015)
Chasing Pavements (from 19, 2008)
Take It All (from 21, 2011)
Set Fire To The Rain (from 21, 2011)

Encore:
When You Were Young (from 25, 2015)
Rolling In The Deep (from 21, 2011)
Someone Like You (from 21, 2011)

Photo: Ros O'Gorman