The Palais Theatre in Melbourne was host to what some consider one of the greatest voices in contemporary music, Josh Groban. This tour marks only the second time the American talent has hit our shores in his 12 year career.
Josh Groban. Photo by Ros O'Gorman.
His latest release “All that Echoes” released in February, respectfully debuted at # 11 on the ARIA chart which is his highest to date, while in the U.S. Groban tapped yet another # 1.
The show opened with the strong upbeat track “Brave” directly followed by one of his previous singles “You are Loved”. Then Josh began a bit of banter with the audience which seemed to go over a treat. He seemed to be especially enamored by a guide dog called Nancy that one of the guests had in attendance, which got a few mentions throughout the show and the crowd adored.
After performing “February Song” on piano followed by the beautiful Spanish “Alejate” from his first album, Groban made reference to the venue referring to the Palais’ dome as “God’s Nipple” which was well-received by the audience laughter that followed. Then he performed the track “Happy in my Heartache” from the new album, which was also recently featured on an episode of the popular television series, CSI NY, in which Josh actually guest- starred.
Josh then further engaged with the audience with a short Q&A (question & answer) segment where apparent fans emailed in questions in advance which he read out and answered back to them from the stage. After performing three new cuts from “All that Echoes”, “The Moon is a harsh Mistress”, “Sincera” and “Hollow Talk”, Josh vacated the stage to allow his band to perform a vibrant rendition of the classic “Live and Let Die”. Groban then suddenly re-appeared behind a drum set performing “Voce Overture” followed by “Voce” with strong crowd participation on the handclaps. Then, a voice in the crowd shouted out asking for one his drumsticks, to which Josh obliged, and then gave the other to Nancy the dog (again winning the crowd over).
He then performed another track off his current release which was the Oscar winning song “Falling Slowly” from the Irish film “Once” followed by the very popular classic “Vincent” – which received strong applause at it began as it seems to have become a fan favorite. Josh then performed one of his earliest hits that helped launch his career from back in his “Ally McBeal” days with “To Where You Are” and then ended his set with his current Australian single, the Stevie Wonder song, “I Believe” upon which he was joined by the Melbourne Royal Philharmonic Choir.
For the encore, Josh dedicated his song “Awake” to the people of Boston then ended the show with the international hit “You Raise Me Up”, asking the audience to join in, as well as the Melbourne Royal Philharmonic Choir.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable evening of some fantastic music by a very talented performer and the standing ovation he received was well justified. He said he won’t take 6 years to return to us again like last time, so we can only hope!
K. Black
Set List, April 23, 2013 – Josh Groban, Palais Theatre, St. Kilda, Melbourne Australia
Brave (from All That Echoes, 2013)
You Are Loved (from Awake, 2006)
February Song (from Awake, 2006)
Alejate (from Josh Groban, 2001)
Happy In My Heartache (from All That Echoes, 2013)
Alla Luce
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress (from All That Echoes, 2013)
Sincera
Hollow Talk
Live & Let Die
Voce Overture
Voce (from Illuminations, 2010)
Falling Slowly (from All That Echoes, 2013)
Vincent
To Where You Are (from Josh Groban, 2001)
Machine (from Awake, 2006)
I Believe (from All That Echoes, 2013)
Encore:
Awake (from Awake, 2006)
You Raise Me Up (from Closer, 2003)
UPCOMING AUSTRALIAN SHOWS for Live Nation are:
23 Apr 2013
Tue
All That Echoes Tour Josh Groban
Sydney Opera House Concert Hall
Sydney
24 Apr 2013
Wed
All That Echoes Tour Josh Groban
Sydney Opera House Concert Hall
Sydney
26 Apr 2013
Fri
All That Echoes Tour Josh Groban
QPAC Concert Hall
Brisbane
27 Apr 2013
Sat
All That Echoes Tour Josh Groban
QPAC Concert Hall
Brisbane
