Don McLean, Newcastle City Hall, April 15
So often the vibe in the audience matches the vibe onstage. Rest assured, the majority of ticket buyers at this show looked pretty close to the age of the star on the stage.
It certainly meant for less distractions - no sight lines full of phones held up taking pictures all night. No hooting and hollering or "I love you, Don" call outs.
It was a polite and appreciative crowd, for the most part.
McLean hit the stage promptly at the advertised 8.15pm time slot. He was accompanied by a travelling band of five, including his long time keyboard player Tony Migliore.
Dressed in a black western shirt with a touch of colourful piping, and showing a mop of black hair on top, McLean did not wonder far from the front of stage microphone at all during the night. Nor did any members of his band move from their set stage locations.
McLean is a storyteller, in words and song, after a crisp opening with Doggone Lonesome (made famous by Johnny Cash, written by Hank Williams and Jimmie Davis), he laid down a a trio of his own songs - Winter World, Lucky Guy. Botanical Gardens and And I Love You So (written by him, sung by many, most notably Elvis Presley).
In between, he delivered banter - about how he came to write these songs or why they were special, or just plain sounding off with his own one liners, like saying he hates rap music.
McLean made it clear this was his last major tour of Australia - after Brisbane, Caloundra, Toowoomba, Gold Coast, Coffs Harbour, Tamworth, Newcastle, Canberra, Hurstville, Chatswood, Rooty Hill, Hobart, Launceston, Wollongong, Melbourne and Geelong, he's done here.
And he provided a few reminders of what he's been up to in recent years: making an American Pie documentary (The Day The Music Died) - and creating children's books (Don McLean's American Pie: A Fable).
Moving on, McLean played Crossroads and Castles in the Air before he covered Fool's Paradise (famously sung by Buddy Holly).
He also dropped in a new song, American Boys, which sounded like it was written 60 years ago and would have fit the times perfectly. It will be on a new album, coming out soon, he said.
He hit a vocal high point with his rendition of Cryin' (written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson), which was a hit for McLean nearly 45 years ago.
No doubt, his huge hit, American Pie, was the favourite with the audience - it led to standing ovation at the end of the show.
And that finale was it - no encore.
Some fans bemoaned afterwards that McLean had not played Vincent, of his most enduring popular hits.
