EVENT: A DAY ON THE GREEN
HEADLINER: MISSY HIGGINS
SUPPORTS: RUBY FIELDS / DAN SULTAN
DATE: NOVEMBER 23RD 2024
REVIEWER: HAYLEY TREADWELL
PHOTOGRAPHER: ANDREW TREADWELL PHOTOGRAPHY
After a week of rain in brisbane i didnt know if A Day on the Green would go ahead today, so I had my gum boots at the ready! But as Queensland does, the weather changed mid morning, the sun came out and we saw blue sky! It ended up being the perfect weather for an afternoon and evening full of great Australian music!
Opening up the day was singer song-writer Ruby Fields. I hadn’t seen Ruby before and I quickly fell in love with her music style!
I loved her reminders to the crowd to use our imagination for the drums etc, but to be honest I thoroughly enjoyed the stripped back acoustic set she performed. It was fun and upbeat and a great way to kick things off.
Up next we got smooth tunes and grooves from Dan Sultan. What a powerful voice he
has! And accompanied by his brilliant band the crowd was dancing along as the sun set leaving the vibes high!
We were fortunate enough to see ‘The Second Act’tour earlier this year at QPAC. but that made me no less excited to be seeing my favorite Aussie performer again!
And given Missy and her amazing band just won ‘Australian Live Act 2024’ at the Aria’s, my excitment to see them celebrate this moment on stage was huge!
Missy Higgins, our newest Aria Hall of Fame inductee, took the stage for Act 1 wearing the gorgeous tassled suit she perfomend in at the Arias, exclaiming to the crowrd ‘when will i get the opportunity to wear this again’.
She told us to expect a mix of old and new in
this set and then opened the show with and oldie, but a goodie ‘The Battle’ followed with another, ‘Everyone’s Waiting’ which Missy told us was about her wanting to give up music and telling her manager she wanted to do something to change the world. For me, and I have absolutely no doubt many others, your music has changed our world! Your songs have helped me feel joy, heartache, happiness and pain. Music is so healing in that way and your gift is so special.
You could really feel that as the crowd cheered loudly at the first new song ‘The Broken Ones’ and I was pleasantly surprised to hear so many singing along. With each song, Missy told us the meaning behind the music and how they really are the raw and honest truths of her life translated into song.
I have always loved the song ‘Arrows’, but never knew Missy wrote it for her wedding. I was thrilled to hear it live, sitting next to my husband.
But I was also in total awe watching her perform it. Knowing her latest album is about her heartbreak of divorce, how she sings the songs of love she wrote, of the same relationship, well I don’t know how anyone does that, let alone in front of a live audience. There is really something to be admired in someone who can continue to share their stories regardless of how much it may be hard or hurt to do so.
The emotion kept coming with the next song, ‘A Complicated Truth’, and I am certain I was not the only parent on the crowd crying along to this story, understanding it all too well.
I was so happy Missy performed, ‘I Take it Back’ from the Total Control EP, such a strong and powerful song and she performed it with such passion!
Missy closed out the 1st Act with the most upbeat song from her new album ‘Craters’ and then probably the sadest song, but most fitting to end with ‘The Second Act’. Leaving the stage for a short intermission, there was a great energy in the crowd as we all looked forward to ‘Act 2’.
Act 2 is the 20 year celebration of Missy’s debut album, ‘The Sound of White’. To start the set, an old interview with Missy plays over the speakers and we get a little bit of insight as to how Missy’s career started after her sister submitted her song ‘All for Believing’ to Triple J’s Uneaethed contest and from there, the rest, as they say, is
history! Very fittingly, Missy opened the set with that song and then delved into the entire album, mixing up the order and keeping the crowd guessing!
I heard some of the biggest sing alongs to ‘Ten Days’, ‘The Special Two’ and ‘Scar’ which got the crowd up and dancing in the aisles!
We got an exclusive preview at Missy’s ‘Cat Version’ of ‘Don’t Ever’ which had us all laughing (I’m keeping my eye on tiktok just incase we get a full version), I loved hearing about Missy’s younger days singing in jazz bands before she broke into ‘Casualty’, and as a perfect ending to the night we all sang along to ‘The Sound of White’ and then we were on our feet dancing in the aisles again as Missy surprised us with one extra song, ‘Steer’. What a great way to end a fantastic evening.
Missy Higgins is an absolute powerhouse in Australian Music. I have watched her perform from 2005 til now and I have enjoyed every show I have seen! She is truly amazing! There are 5 encore shows remaining, you don’t want to miss this incredible celebration of music!
To Missy and all your team, the wonderful folks at A Day On the Green, Frontier Touring, MG Live, Mushroom Group, Sirromet Wines and Roundhouse, thank you so much for having us along, we are very grateful to have been at the 1st encore show of The Second Act tour, it was brilliant!
Until the next gig
Hayley x
