Neil Finn and Paul Kelly- Return To The Palais

Mary and I returned to the Palais Theatre tonight for the second run of dates in Melbourne and show number six of Neil Finn and Paul Kelly's tour.  A big thank you to my friend Ben for getting us tickets (as well as for Fran and her sister).  Since they have been on the road for a couple of weeks I was curious to see how things had evolved since I saw them at the start of the tour in mid-February.

Lisa Mitchell was the opening act again and seemed to be more chatty tonight.  She played a couple different songs from the previous nights, including "Bless This Mess."  My highlights of her set were "Coin Laundry" and the closer "Spiritus."

Neil and Paul once again emerged onto the dark stage with lanterns and shook hands in the middle before playing Paul's "Don't Stand So Close To The Window."  The set list was pretty much the same as the previous two shows I saw, with a couple of changes to Paul's songs, including the addition of "From St Kilda To Kings Cross."  You could tell the whole band was much more comfortable with the songs and now able to add their own special touches to each number.  A lot of my favorite moments remained: the variety in the selection of songs from Neil's back catalogue, Neil's breathtaking version of "(You Can Put Your) Shoes Under My Bed," and the energy of so many of Paul's songs throughout the set.  Neil had a ripper of a guitar solo during "Distant Sun" and Paul's playing of the opening guitar riff on "Don't Dream It's Over" adds a whole new dimension to the song.  I feel very fortunate that I got to see three of the Melbourne shows and be able to watch these legendary songwriters perform with each other.