Yesterday was a pretty spectacular day. Neil Finn concert, after all!

The early part of the day was fairly ordinary. Got up and had breakfast…rather late but still it was breakfast, particularly as it was my usual bowl of rolled oats with cocoa, brown sugar and milk added. Finished some solitaire daily challenge puzzles on the Microsoft app. Exercise was not quite a usual. Started out using our Wii Fit for half an hour and moved on to an app on my iPad. It was tough but it went well enough. It’s nice having more options than when I was going to the gym regularly.

It was well into afternoon and we still hadn’t seen signs of Lego Lover stirring. I realise this is part of the teenage years but I do feel he takes this rather to extremes. Showered and dressed to go out. Wore a skirt but had no decent shoes to wear with it so stuck with cross trainers. Was reminded by the Scientist it might be good to remedy this situation. Too late on this occasion. Nearly time to go and finally we see signs of the Lego Lover being awake. Time to leave.

Arrive in Perth and park. Realise parking on streets is still free on Sundays. No $11 fee for parking in the parking lot next to the Perth Concert Hall. :) I purposely skipped lunch with expectations of a meal in the city. We walked up Barrack Street and considered a Korean place we’d eaten at before seeing Leonard Cohen a couple years ago. Decided to look further afield. Down through Murray Street and onto William Street where we found ourselves at Jamie’s Kitchen. We haven’t been back since our anniversary last May. I thought it might be rather busy but it the queue wasn’t that long. Lucky us, getting the last free table! It was tempting to go for the same meal as last time but chose a ravioli dish in the entree portion. Meanwhile. bread selection with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Cheap starter that doesn’t fail to satisfy. I could eat a meal of it alone and I’m not really that much the bread lover. My entree arrived and the Scientist’s seafood plank was landed onto the tomato cans placed on the table. Entree was rather small this time and wasn’t quite enough but was totally delicious. I savoured each bite, especially considering there weren’t so many. That’s okay, leaves room for dessert. :D The pannacotta special which I adored  last time was now on the menu but I opted to try the epic brownie this time while the Scientist went for the trifle. Desserts arrived and totally met expectations and more. A most satisfying second visit to Jamie’s Kitchen and looking forward to trying more the next time. I might add the Scientist had attempted to book a table beforehand but they weren’t accepted at that time of day. Left to it, I found my way there anyway. :D If it had been too busy, though, I would have been happy trying sushi next door or another local eatery.

It was now late enough to pick up our tickets but too early for much else. We walked back to the concert hall and collected our tickets and learned our cameras were not welcome this time. Not too unexpected since this was an indoor show but rather disappointing when we had front row and center seats. Ah well, less time looking at the camera and more watching the stage. We walked across the esplanade to the Swan River for a little while then returned my camera to the car. I’d had ideas of staying outside but the weather had cooled considerably and the warmer lobby of the concert hall became our temporary hangout. It was interesting to see the cafe there with food served in one end of the lobby and tables in a side room for dining. They also had smaller treats like Maltesers at a premium cost. More interesting were the small tubs of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream in the fridge. After the super sweetness of my brownie, that wasn’t going to happen. But still interesting to see. The merchandise table was being set up. Not a lot on offer for Neil Finn but a few items that looked decent for support act, Joshua James. Eventually sales began and I chose a tea towel to add to my collection. It’s not as nice as previous ones but it will do. Overprices water bottles purchased and I was surprised at the flimsiness of the plastic. It felt as though it would crumple in my hands despite being full but I suppose it’s a good thing to use less plastic.

Finally the doors open and we show our tickets. Front row seats, here we come! For quite a while we were alone in the front row but most seats except two to the left of the Scientist were filled shortly after the support act began. Joshua James was pretty good…played some good music but a bit limited on the chatter. Interval time. The four people to my right who arrived shortly after the show started were gone already, for drinks, I presume. A few minutes to go and seats were filled except those two at the Scientist’s left. Finally the pair arrived. I recognised the woman from other shows.

The show itself was like a dream. Sitting right there in front of stage I felt I could reach out and touch but obviously resisted the urge. Neil played seven songs from his new album. They sounded really good live. The one song I was hoping to hear was White Lies and Alibis and my wish came true. Perth was the first show to hear Animal vs. Human and it was good. The live factor almost always is a bonus with Neil’s songs. But there was more. Songs from the Split Enz days  like One Step Ahead and Message to My Girl.  Songs from the Crowded House days like Don’t Dream it’s Over on just piano with backing vocals. What a fine performance that was. He went from strength to strength and no weakness on this night or maybe this tour by accounts I’ve heard. Only Talking Sense from the Finn album with his brother Tim was sensational. Solo Finn songs like Sinner and She Will Have Her Way. Two encores and a splendid finish with solo Neil on Love this Life and then  Better Be Home Soon, which meant it was truly over.

Obviously we must be too considerate and polite because the three setlists taped to the stages were quickly extracted by other fans before we had thought of it. Usually we get these at request but we were just that close we could reach for them. Sigh. That’s okay because I have my treasured setlist from his show with Paul Kelly last year, thanks to the Scientist. Crowds left the auditorium taking us with them. We lingered behind a bit and the idea of hanging outside the stage door occurred but we didn’t go there. Maybe a shame as there aren’t many opportunities to hang out there now.

Time to go home.

Arrived home just before midnight. Lego Lover is up. Game Fanatic is up. It’s late so the Scientist is soon off to bed as today is no holiday. Game Fanatic goes to bed and it’s just younger son and me left. It’s a frustrating parenting moment because Lego Lover has now restarted his continuous talk on his favorite subject of the moment. It’s a topic revisited constantly in our house and there’s not much to add. I’m not terribly interested right now as I am still wanting to enjoy the moment. Because he doesn’t understand body language well at all, I tell him bluntly I don’t want to hear about it now. I am still feeling rather annoyed that he barely was up by the time we’d left earlier in the day. At the moment I just want to keep the night alive with the lovely buzz I was feeling. Instead, he paused briefly and carried on. This is how it is with my child with high functioning autism. He doesn’t get what I want and his need is foremost. I abandon my buzz for a bit and hear him out. Eventually he does go away and I feel guilty because this happens often enough with him. My attempts to curb him don’t really work so it is what it is. I love him anyway and decide that even though it’s not my thing he’s talking about, it is his thing and he feels such love and joy of it that I can’t help but be endeared to him. As it is, some of his older habits have fallen along the wayside and I miss them sometimes. I hate to think of the time I will miss these moments, difficult as they sometimes be.