2017 ... Footy's back

We're now at what is perhaps my favourite part of the football season. The Nines are done, the trials are finished and the season is about to begin. Now its a blank page, with the great stories about to be written, Over the course of the next eight months we will see legends born, fall, we will be surprised with how well (or poorly) some teams do, and perhaps see a new champion crowned.

The season may end in disappointment, but it begins with hope and optimism.  Best of all, win or lose our team is running around again.

Super Rugby
The Hurricanes started their title defense with a 83-17 win over the Japanese based Sunwolves in the Super Rugby. There's certainly no pleasure in seeing a scoreline like that, and it does spell a warning about the competitions future. I'd predict the Hurricanes make the finals, and they are a good chance to go back-to-back.

NRL
In the NRL, the Warriors will begin the season by hosting the Newcastle Knights next Sunday 5 March.  My prediction is that we'll finish ninth. Foran needs time to settle into the team. We need to start winning most of our home games, and more consistency in our performances. The team needs to stop giving up leads, and beating the team below us on the ladder. If the team can do that, we may just end up in the eight.

For the record, my top eight (not in order): Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Penrith, North Queensland, Cronulla, Sydney City.

AFL
The Women's AFL Season is almost half gone with Brisbane and Adelaide as the top two (both undefeated, Adelaide play Fremantle to finish the round).  I was not expecting this..  so we'll see how it develops.

The Men's Competition is a little further away, with the season beginning on the second last weekend in March. The Swans host Port Adelaide. I feel the Swans should again be top four. The Giants are favourites. It will be interesting seeing how they go as the hunted rather than a hunter.

My top eight, (not in order): GWS, Sydney, Western Bulldogs, Adelaide, Hawthorn, Geelong, West Coast, Melbourne.

Coldplay - review

There are only a few bands that can really pull off a stadium show. Where the music, performance and staging combine to reduce the size of the arena and bring the audience together, and break down the barrier between performer and audience. U2 are one and attending Coldplay's December show last year confirmed that they belong in this category.

The first thing I noticed was Chris Martin's energy, he ran and jumped onto the stage, and didn't stop running for about two hours.  Everyone who attended the show was given a wristband, which was illuminated in different colours at different points of the show, which just looked awesome. The other highlight was the balloons which were released during Adventure of a Lifetime.

Setlist, December 13, 2016
O mio babbino caro (Intro) / A Head Full of Dreams / Yellow / Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall / The Scientist / Birds / Paradise (with Tiësto remix outro) / Always in My Head / Princess of China / Everglow / Clocks / Midnight / Charlie Brown / Hymn for the Weekend / Fix You / Heroes / Viva la Vida / Adventure of a Lifetime / Kaleidoscope (tape) / In My Place / Green Eyes / A Sky Full of Stars /  Up&Up / Christmas Lights.

It was hard to be disappointed with their setlist. They played all my favourites, and a few surprises including 'Christmas Lights' (their Christmas song). They also snippeted John Farnham's You're the Voice at a couple of points during the show. have been together for 20 years now, and it shows in the chemistry they have.

The music and positive energy really filled the stadium and created an electric atmosphere, which I doubt would have been replicated at Homebush.

Bruce Springsteen - review

Last week I went and saw Bruce Springsteen & the E Street band in Sydney. He has always been on my list of musicians to see live, and needless to say I was not disappointed. One of the first things I noticed on the way to the show was the average age of the concert goer. His shows have been described as a religious experience, I might not chose those words, but it was an awesome night, with a crowd who were really into the show.

I really love both his voice and the passion he sings with. Hard to believe at 67 he's still powering on, even crowdsurfing.. I also love how a lot of his songs are telling stories,which less seems less common these days. It was great that he let the songs speak for themselves, which is perhaps more powerful than speaking before or after the song.

What really struck me at the show was the chemistry between the band members. It was awesome to see a tribute to the original saxophonist Clarence Clemens during 10th Avenue Freeze Out. I love Jake Clemen's saxophone, particularly in Jungleland, Dancing in the Dark.  The saxophone adds so much to each song.

Setlist:
New York City Serenade / American Land / The Ties That Bind / No Surrender / Out in the Street / My Love Will Not Let You Down / Hungry Heart / Long Tall Sally / Wrecking Ball / Darkness on the Edge of Town / American Skin (41 Shots) / Youngstown / The Promised Land / Mary's Place / Candy's Room / She's the One / Downbound Train / I'm on Fire / Because the Night / The Rising / Badlands / Thunder Road / Jungleland / Born to Run / Dancing in the Dark /
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out / Shout / Bobby Jean.

There were so many highlights in the show.  I was really excited to hear American Skin, Jungleland, Dancing in the Dark, and really loved New York City Serenade, complete with a string section. The other awesome thing about the show was seeing the energy he put in to connecting with the crowd that night, and making it special.  He played at list three songs from sign requests, and pulling people up onto the stage for Dancing in the Dark.

I certainly would go back and see him again if I got the chance, but the other awesome thing with Bruce Springsteen is that you can buy a CD or digital recording of the show and relive it :)  Personally I wish more bands would do that.

Music ..

Given it is almost February, I thought it about time to write about my favourite music from the past twelve months.

The top five are

5. All Sons & Daughters - Poets and Saints
The album is a journey into the lives and stories of a handful of Christ-followers God used to wake up the world. The songs on the album reminded me that God never changes, but God changes everything.

His Spirit moves among those who seek Him"forged in fires of suffering and brokenness"poets and saints continually redeemed and restored by His grace.

An album which was what I needed to hear through the past year.

4. The Rescues - The Rescues
I just love the sound and harmonies of the band.

3. December - I Will Let You Have Your Say
I first heard December when they penned a tribute song to Alison Stewart in 2015.  Their full length album was released in 2016, and I wrote about it here. Love the concept of the album, and the stories it tells. They also include an awesome cover of 'A Sort of Homecoming' (one of my favourite U2 songs).

2. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
Just a great album it reminds me of both In Rainbows and Kid A. Would love to hear the album played live, but to date their are no rumors of concerts in Australia. :(

1. Switchfoot - Where the Light Shines Through
Easily the most played album of the past twelve months for me. The lyrics really spoke to the circumstances of my life, and the social and political situation in the US.

The songs which really hit me from the album were Where the Light Shines Through, I Won't Let You Go, and Live it Well.

The lines which struck me were about darkness being where we see the light, and from the song Live it Well - I'm living for more than a funeral, I wanna shine brighter than the dawn; is a huge challenge in how I face this year.

Hon Mentions
Audrey Assad - Inheritance - a beautiful collection of hymns an album I've played to preach to myself through the past twelve months.
Lisa Hannigan - At Swim
I love Lisa's voice and this is just a great collection songs.

Others: 
I've excluded these because they are Christmas albums. But Garrell's Christmas album is one of my favourites from the year. The other two I listened to were JJ Heller's - Unto Us and Jenny & Tyler's Christmastime.

The other albums I've listened to through the year were R.E.M's Out of Time (which was reissued during November when it celebrated it's 25th Birthday); the Hamilton musical, recordings of several Bruce Springsteen concerts and Coldplay's A Head Full of Dreams.

The other musical highlights for the year where seeing Glen Hansard and Coldplay. I'll post about the Coldplay concert shortly. As I write this, I have a Bruce Springsteen show to look forward to next week.

There are rumours of a U2 tour, but I will believe that when it's announced. I am looking forward to reading about U2's Joshua Tree tour, running from May to August in the US and Europe. The other great music news for me is that Pearl Jam will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.