by Nicole O'Brien

A few people have already given their views on the show and I can only add this - it was amazing!!

The joke Niall told was close to as follows (imagine an Irish accent and excuse the language, it's the word he used):

You know this muscle in your eye? Well, it's connected to the one at the base of your arse. (Pause) Because you know when you scratch your arse, you go like this (he proceeds to scratch and squint -- the squint being the joke)

It's very visual and wasn't very funny to start off with, so putting it in print just wrecked it completely.

Nick was there, he was sitting three rows in front of me, and arrived late, having to squeeze past my friend's crutches, which her sister held up in the air everytime someone walked past. The basketball subbing thing was a running joke throughout the night, with Neil deciding he couldn't be subbed because he was the captain, Liam thought that he was the vice captain and Neil said "Don't count on it, more like the towel boy" or something like that. The band were all giving him a bit of cheek, which was fun, but for the most part they were too far away from the mics to be heard.

Given the discussion on the meaning behind and motivation for certain songs I thought I'd tell you what Neil said about a few of them at the concert last night (those I remember anyway and I'm paraphrasing here, obviously).

"Sinner" -- "This is dedicated to all the altar boys out there, and anyone who has done their first communion, and all the people who have been to confession in the last 12 months, and that includes me"

"Not the Girl You Think You Are" -- "This is dedicated to all the women out there, except for Pauline ..." (applause) "... Or maybe it's especially relevant for Pauline."

"Souvenir" -- "This is a song that Liam and I wrote." No further info.

"Truth" -- "This is about having someone to bring you back to earth ..."

"Dream Date" -- "Do you ever watch TV and wonder what's going on in the world out there? ... You know when you're just sitting in front of the TV not acting or moving ... or interacting, the dream-like state you get into ... This is about those times you fall asleep with the TV on and wake up watching static...."

I can't remember if there were any others.

Other "celebs" there included Nick Carrafa (Acropolis Now, Wogs out of Work) and Elaine Smith (??) (was Daphne in Neighbours).

Those who have said that "Message to My Girl" is worth the price of admission were right! It gave me chills. Bic Runga was great, I am going to try and find her album. It was fantastic to see Tim! "Suffer Never" was beautiful. I don't know if anyone else had this problem but I was having a lot of trouble hearing Tim's voice.

The "sing-a-long songs" were "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Weather With You." Does anyone know who that lone voice was in "Don't Dream It's Over?" It was beautiful. And I have now fulfilled my ambition to sing in the State Theatre (even if it was from the stalls rather than the stage :) )

All in all it was a fantastic show. I wish I had gone to Wednesday's show as well now. To all those who are yet to see Neil, enjoy!