Michael Bublé – “Crazy Love” Tour
Melbourne - Rod Laver Arena
Saturday, 26th February
- Nicole W
Jokes and Jazz; Buble delivers all for final Melbourne show, February 26, 2011
Michael Buble is a comedian. When I first saw him perform at Rod Laver Arena two years ago, I had been shocked and pleasantly surprised at just how funny and candid he is during his shows. So naturally I was looking forward to laughing until my sides hurt on Saturday night, and Michael did not disappoint.
Michael first addressed the crowd by saying how happy he was to be in Melbourne, his favourite city in Australia, for night number four. “The best night,” he yelled, followed by many cheers. “I didn't even try the first three nights.. I was saving it all for you!”
As the audience continued to laugh, Michael quickly noticed a young girl with a sign, and read it aloud for everyone. “'I'm 18 today can I please have a hug'... Look, if you can get down here, I'll give you a hug.” The girl quickly scurried down to the stage for a big hug and kiss. Michael then autographed her sign, as long as she promised not to hold it up for the rest of the show because “there's nothing better than paying lots of money to see a show where these shitty signs are up.”
His conversation with the audience then became a bit more personal as he announced that he was recently engaged to be married. A few jealous “boos” could be heard throughout the crowd, and Michael was quick to say with a laugh, “Thank you for your support, there.. you sounded like her family when I asked.”
Michael continued, mentioning that the reason he was wearing a ring on his wedding finger was that in Argentina, where his fiancée is from, the boy also wears an engagement ring.”Or she's a lying bitch,” Michael joked, “because not one of you has heard that before!” The crowd burst into laughter. “I'm so scared of her though... I'll wear whatever she wants me to wear.”
Australia has been having some tough times lately with natural disasters, and I'm sure the jokes and amazing musicianship of Buble were much appreciated by the members of the audience that had been affected. “I'm here to let you escape from your problems,” he said. “Have fun tonight, it will be a while until I'm back, and don't worry about anyone beside you. If you know the song, get up and dance!”
One of the best parts of the night is when Michael started talking about his youth and what he wanted to be when he grew up. He revealed that one of his favourite movies was “Ferris Bueller's Day Off”, which happens to be my personal favourite, and the float scene from the movie is what inspired him to want to be an actor.
“And people always assumed that because of the kind of music that I loved when I was a kid that I wanted to be like Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin or something like that... and I love them, very much, but I didn't want to be them, I wanted to be Michael Jackson.” Michael said straight – faced, as the crowd erupted into laughter. “You don't even understand I was so disappointed that I was white, you can't even know.” And suddenly the famous beat from “Billie Jean” began playing and Michael Buble became Michael Jackson, moonwalking and strutting all over the stage as his fans screamed and clapped to the beat.
The party truly started when Michael shouted, “Let's reenact that famous float scene from 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', come on everybody, up on your feet, let's go!” and launched straight into a cover of “Twist and Shout”. It was such a fantastic sight to look over the whole audience and see everyone up and dancing, just having the times of their lives. From that moment until the end of the show, it felt like one massive block party.
Michael ended the show the same way he did on his last tour to Australia, with “A Song For You”, and I will never tire of that performance. When he stepped away from the microphone and then proceeded to sing the last verse of the song as loud as he could for the hushed crowd, that is when you realize just how amazingly talented Michael Buble truly is. I get chills just thinking about the way his voice echoed throughout the arena, so raw and real. Absolutely amazing.
Michael left us with a promise that he will “come back a million times if you'll have me”. Well Michael, I'm sure I speak for all of your Melbourne fans when I say that we'll be here ready and waiting to see you a million times more.