Adelaide - REVIEW - Erika Ferguson - 15 February 2008 Nigel Kennedy with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra - Festival Theatre A primeval scream from backstage startles the chattering crowd to silence and we know that it's about to begin – Nigel Kennedy is in the house. Moments later Team Kennedy filter on to the stage, faces beaming, so we can only imagine the substance of the Kennedy pep talk in the pre-show huddle! (Courtesy: www.bass.net.au) The Festival Theatre is packed and by some seating allocation miracle which only comes along once in a lifetime, I am approximately 3 metres from centre stage and directly in line with the First Violin, so that there is not a blink, not a change of expression, not a bead of sweat, that goes unnoticed. The performance is exhilarating, moving, totally enveloping. A tear trickles down my cheek as I remind myself just how lucky I am to be here and to absorb every amazing moment on offer, made even more special because I have flown in today from Perth, Western Australia, especially for this concert (yes, I am "Lament From Perth" !). Unlike the open-air Vivaldi concert on a warm Perth evening in March 2006 where an outrageous Nigel ran amok (to the delight of a responsive audience I might add), tonight he is on his best behaviour …."I can't swear tonight 'cos 'er muvver's in the audience!" he explains, aiming his bow at an orchestra member. However his relaxed banter with both the audience and the orchestra make us all feel as though we are Nigel's new best friend. The Team dare not take their eyes off their inspirational Captain and though I am only guessing, I would imagine that each one of them would later say that they have never personally played better or with more passion than under Kennedy's leadership, urging them on to excel, to give more. Nigel's generous praise of this fine group of musicians would have had them believe that they, in fact, were the stars of the evening. For such a superstar to admit to "the geezer doin' the writing" that he had "missed a few notes" because he was distracted by a wallet lying on the floor at the feet of a cellist, was pure genius and a testament to both Nigel's humility and self-imposed demand for perfection. Said wallet was to be later dribbled around the floor soccer style, to the delight of absolutely everyone. Nigel could do no wrong. We would have all volunteered to bring him the beer he so desperately craved at the end of the evening, however as he led his Team off the stage Pied Piper style, we knew that the 2 year wait had been rewarded with 3 hours of everlasting memories of a very special man and his amazing music. Erika Ferguson 19 February 2008 (Logo courtesy: http://www.aso.com.au/ Adelaide Symphony Orchestra)