Old St Paul's

Amanda is such a great storytelling, talented, entertaining and emotionally uplifting performer. Always giving a multidimensional experience: sound, colour, emotion, culture, humour, acknowledged sadness, gratitude and cathartic laughter. So rewarding to share the space with her. And guest Julia Deans was a delightful gem too, such a clear voice! The venue was warm and welcoming, with great acoustics.

Nadia is a very talented performer and has a very pure, soulful voice, even after doing a concert the night before. However, being a public transport user and arriving in good time e.g. 7.10 p.m., by taking an earlier bus than I needed to as it turned out!, I did not like the long wait on the uncomfortable pews at Old St. Paul's, which was a duration of 45 minutes, until the performers appeared on stage late with a brief apology. Oh, rugby was to blame as one of the musicians was an ardent fan as it turned out. And, with the comment, once appearing on stage, that they would not mention rugby, I had presumed the game was not going well! Good points was the fact there was not a long interval as well, but I still would have preferred the earlier time predicted finish, regardless, of facing rugby revelers in town afterwards. My back, also, was getting a little sore by the end of the evening. I noticed that when it was a full accompaniment, Nadia's voice was a little muffled to hear her words clearly, while singing.On her own acoustically, it was fine.I thought she had a dry sense of humour and good presentation of each song. Calming back lighting was nice. What with the long commencement wait, I was wishing I had brought something to read or my ear phones to listen to the first half of the rugby game, too!

Joan and her band gave a stellar performance. The Solution is Restless played live was exciting to hear and the refreshed back catalogue songs left us wanting more . Joan is such a lovely person, her warmth and interactions with her band and the crowd made the evening a wonderful experience. I can't wait to see them again!