JamieCullum.com

Tuesday 20th April 2010 - Sydney - Australia.

Jam-packed and hot and sweaty at The Basement as the audience eagerly anticipated the pocket rocket himself. Superb, haunting vocals of the support artist held us suspended for a while, but you could feel the momentum building as the moment for Jamie and his band to burst on to the stage was not far away. We were not disappointed. What followed was more than two hours of fast, furious and lively entertainment. Jamie performed for the whole bracket - what stunning energy. People of all ages could be seen tapping feet, clicking fingers, clapping hands, drumming out a rythm on tabletops and railings alike and generally moving and grooving to the beat. The band are all fine musicians in their own right, even the playing of a shaker (shaker, shaker, shake, shake, shake) had the audience whooping and hollering. Great drums, trumpet and double bass playing abounded. It was wonderful to see Jamie so switched on with his audience, an audience that clearly got where he is coming from musically and spiritually. An ad-lib jive session took place amongst the audience towards the end of the show with Jamie coaxing the whole band off stage to set up around him as he gave a stupendous performance of Cry Me A River. The band jammed on and on...the audience went nuts for this. The venue is intimate enough to allow to you to feel that you are really 'there' with the performer. What a way to spend your birthday. The best, for me, was I'm All At Sea and the final song, the theme song from Gran Torino. Fantastic. Thank you Jamie and band for giving three performances in Australia, two of which were held in Sydney. Hope your delay from London skies is not too prolonged. Enjoy your visit to Oz.