In the past year Michael Palin has rediscovered the joys of live performance, finding himself relearning lines about dead parrots and Spanish Inquisitions that he’d written long ago for 10 Monty Python live shows at the 02 Arena in London in July.

Michael Palin – Live on Stage combines Michael Palin’s love for travel & comedy. A whistle-stop tour of the globe, reliving the highlights, the lowlights, the adventures and stuff-ups of his extraordinary life travelling the world to mark the publication of Michael’s 3rd volume of Diaries 1988-98 Travelling to Work and some of the amazing moments  of his comedy career as a member of Monty Python whose sketches The Argument Clinic, Dead Parrot, The Lumberjack Song and The Spanish Inquisition have taken on legendary status the world over.

Join Michael Palin and host Adam Spencer, live on stage, in Auckland, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in February/March 2015.

“I always wanted to be an explorer, but it seemed I was doomed to be nothing more than a very silly person.”

Michael Palin – Live on Stage
Auckland Tues 17 Feb 2015 ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre
Adelaide Thur 19 Feb 2015 Festival Theatre
Perth Sat 21 Feb 2015 Riverside Theatre, PCEC
Sydney Wed 25 Feb 2015 State Theatre
Sydney Thurs 26 Feb 2015 State Theatre
Brisbane Tues 3 Mar 2015 Concert Hall, QPAC
Melbourne Wed 4 Mar 2015 Plenary, MCEC
www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Palin-Live-on-Stage

Now marking forty years from its initial release on July 7 in 1974 comes an expanded version of Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis with both extra tracks and a complete second version of the show from a test run through that was recorded. Drop into any Elvis live recording from this period and you get a real mixed bag. First it must be stated that Elvis always surrounded himself with kick ass musicians and this period was no exception with a powerhouse band that included guitar legend James Burton. Now in regards to how much swivel hips actually let the band burn it down, he keep them on a pretty short leash.

Elvis shows were always populist endeavours and for every moment of greatness there were equal moments of real cheese, like the stop and start nature of Fever, designed just to let the ladies in the front row get their scream on. Elsewhere there are charts written for horns and background vocals that are not exactly pushing the boundaries but they start to make sense when you get into the showman mindset. As an exercise in nostalgia they were representative of the times.

Listened to all this with today’s sensibilities requires you to look a little more closely. For under the surface lies a singer who still had his vocal chops and while his song selection was often times suss, he imbued the material with a unique delivery all his own and cooking beneath him was a band that knew how to groove and get away with some real musician moments while not freaking the boss out. For those with even a passing interest in giving Elvis and his live music a go, start with Elvis: The ’68 Comeback Special and then spin this release. After that you can drop in just about anywhere to complete the picture.

Rob Hudson
www.elvis.com