Michael Buble’: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne 2011

The first time I heard this man live in concert was back in September 2005. Hamer Hall, my favourite Melbourne venue for music. The acoustics were incredible. Of course, I had full hearing back then too. But the warmth of the jazz band filled not only every niche in the room but crawled its way inside my body too. The sounds bounced off the walls with nowhere else to go but within. I felt the music from head to toes and had to shed several silent tears for the sheer power of the sounds being expelled from the room. Michael Buble' won me over that night – not just for his charm and his humour, but for the respect he showed for his band … and the respect he showed for the original singers of his cover tracks. I confess my Frank Sinatra CDs became a little dusty after that night.

Then there was June 2008. Michael Buble' at Rod Laver Arena. I was completely deaf in the left ear. Partially deaf in the right, with a hearing aid. But nothing was going to stop me from going to the show. There was no program or volume setting on that aid that could make it sound decent – but I cared not. At that stage, I’d never heard of a cochlear implant. I was hanging on to whatever sounds I had with every ounce of courage I could. I had a huge, genuine smile on my face all night. Couldn’t understand a word he was saying between songs, but the music was recognisable and fun. A little distorted … impossible to connect with it because it sounded so distant … but I could still sing and dance along and I was happy with that. Four months later, I lost almost all hearing in the right ear too, and I figured I’d never hear a Michael Buble' track again … let alone go to another one of his concerts. 

Fast forward to Rod Laver Arena, February 22^nd, 2011. Only ten months since my CIs were switched on. A concert tour for a CD that I’d only ever heard with bionic hearing. Jazz music. Live jazz music at that. Could have been a recipe for disaster … but oh, it so wasn’t!

I’m not really into R&B music, but the support act, Naturally 7, are really fun to watch ... and listen to! They use their voices to replicate the sounds of instruments – percussion, guitar, clarinet, bass, trumpet, etc – a form of music they describe as ‘vocal play’. It is impossible to believe there are no instruments on stage. From a CI perspective, this should, in theory, make it really difficult to distinguish the tones. Watching them live works OK though – they were often replicating the movements of their invisible instruments. (Picture the bass player gliding a pretend bow, or the drummer pounding away at the air.) It also helped that the musicians were often given a spotlight for solos. I really loved the depth of Hops', the bass player's, voice. I normally don’t hear bass sounds in music very well, but his voice was no challenge. I could feel the vibration, plus I was getting punched and kicked from little the little one inside. (He settled right down for Buble' though – music so familiar to him it must have a lullaby effect!) 


Naturally 7 were also Michael’s support act in 2008. Jase asked me what they sounded like, in comparison to back then. From memory, their individual voices better matched their ‘instrument’ back then. (Bit of a surprise, given how poor my hearing was, but it was natural hearing nonetheless.) But the overall music sounded far better to me this time around – there was no distortion, the sounds were smooth. The sound processors crackled sometimes, when the sound got too loud. (For those interested, I used Cochlear’s ‘Noise’ program – volume 1, sensitivity 12. Could have dropped the sensitivity, but didn’t bother. These settings allowed me to hear Jase, my sister and brother-in-law talking to me throughout the concert too, so I was happy!) Hats off to Naturally 7 for getting the crowd nice and revved up for Buble' too! It was so nice to see the crowd on their feet at the start of the show, instead of just at the end! Being 8 months pregnant, I compromised their jumping requests for some mild bouncing and head nods instead. ;-)

Michael opened the show with Cry Me a River – one of my favourite songs off his new album because of the powerful volume build-up in the introduction. Hearing this live was incredible! I definitely felt the sound building up. His voice? Exactly the way I remember it – it sounds that way off a CD too, of course, but I wasn’t sure whether it would be distorted by the microphone. And that was another pleasant surprise – I used to have trouble hearing people speak through a microphone. At the BEI concert recently, I noticed I could hear the speakers word-for-word through the microphone – but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Last night confirmed that there has been a definite improvement there. I’d say I caught about 97% of what Michael was saying between songs. This made for an overwhelmingly better concert experience than last time, given the way he goofs around and chats to people in the crowd. A person with cochlear implants may not always be able to connect with the music, so it’s wonderful to be able to connect with the performer.

Michael himself goes out of his way to make this even easier, of course, and last night was no exception – what with one of his band members playing a solo from the upper stands during Song for You, and Michael himself performing a few songs on a smaller stage towards the back of the floor area. (‘Ha … think of all those people in the front row who paid a whole heap of money for their seats,’ he said, cheekily. ‘But you know what, all these people back here paid good money for their seats too!’ Then spotlights lit up the stadium during Home so he could see the rest of his fans properly. I couldn’t stop smiling at the powerful cheer that rose up around the crowd!)

Could I connect with the music? ‘Yes’ in that it was instantly recognisable, enjoyable, and produced an emotive response of some sort – usually happiness. We were out of our seats a lot last night! A general ‘no’ in terms of being able to feel the music from within as I did back in 2005 – could be the venue maybe? I think the sound processors tend to quash that effect though, when you are using a noise filter – sounds are compressed to an identical volume. But take the noise filter off and you’re left with distortion when the music is that loud, so I’d rather not! I really loved the way the brass instruments stood out. The piano also sounded beautiful – no surprises there, given my background. (Some day, I might share the story of how my own piano and Alan Chang / Michael Buble’s piano from the 2008 concert, are acquaintances, he he he.)

As always, Michael acknowledged every single member of his band, giving them a spotlight and introducing them to the crowd. He even stepped off into the darkness and gave them a solo. Wonderful! The jazz band together sounded like, well, like a jazz band – fortunately not like pots and pans banging, as some CI recipients report. Just missing some of the bass I remember from natural hearing days.

Other CI observations? The songs he performed from his previous albums were a lot easier for my brain to cope with, given they’re embedded in my memory from a time before I went deaf. But the new stuff was familiar to me also – that’s a result from training my brain by listening to his new album on ‘repeat’ over and over again before the concert came around. I was really surprised that I could tell when Michael changed stuff slightly – Mack the Knife seemed to sound a lot more mellow than my CD version, for example, with a melodic piano part through it. There were some minor, subtle changes to I’ve Got the World on a String too, in terms of the timing of some of the lyrics and their melodies.

A born entertainer and impersonator, Michael does a lot of ‘voices’ too. He does a great Michael Jackson, for example. I was able to tell when he’d shifted his voice around which is, I guess, indicative that my brain is reproducing the pitch of what it hears relatively correctly – rather than simply overlaying the memory of a sound from long ago. (This has been a relatively recent improvement for me too – I can now tell when Jase is coming down with a cold, for example.)

The highlight of the night for me? Definitely when Michael impersonated Ferris Bueller singing Twist ‘n’ Shout from the float scene, complete with dance moves and all! 

We had pretty good seats on the floor anyway, but my sister and I headed closer to the stage towards the end … time to dance along with the serious fans!! I went back and got our respective husbands after a couple of songs … ooh, did Michael just glance at them nervously? Might’ve thought they were going to throw their boxers at him. ;-)

What an amazing, unforgettable night for me – not only because of the show that this man put on, the incredible music, the wonderful company of my husband, sister and brother-in-law … but, obviously, because I could hear it.

Is it any wonder I can’t stop smiling today? :-D

My decorated processor covers!

Hops, the Naturally 7 'bass' player

The jazz solo!

Michael and the band

Seeing the instrument on the big screen is sure to help a bionic listener!

Michael interacting with the crowd on the smaller stage near the back

Time for the crowd to help him sing Home!

We sure were Feeling Good near the front of the stage!

Curtains close on the band and Michael sings his amazing acapella version of Song For You

PS: Michael, if you cover Sinatra’s ‘Night and Day’ (or better yet, Cole Porter’s version!) I will no longer have the need to pull out those dusty old CDs anymore!! Next album maybe??