Amanda Palmer - Sydney - February 01 2024

When Covid hit, Amanda Palmer was waylaid in New Zealand for two and a half years. Within weeks her marriage was over and depression set in. Despite her isolation from everyone she knew, her friends all advised her not to return to New York where tens of thousands were dying. As the old adage goes, what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger, and Amanda certainly has emerged stronger from her years spent beneath the long white clouds of Aotearoa, releasing an EP called “New Zealand Survival Songs”. This Sydney performance was one of five concerts in Australia and New Zealand providing Amanda with the opportunity of a ‘quick catch-up’ with her friends and fans in both countries. The Sydney show was divided into two sets with a wide range of songs, from older solo albums, The Dresden Dolls, a couple of covers, and even an as yet unreleased number. But naturally, the night centred on the New Zealand Survival songs, and it was these that I wanted to capture on video:
The Man Who Ate Too Much (00:16)
The Ballad of the New York Times (09:14)
Coin-Operated Boy (17:58)
Goes Without Saying (23:29)
Whakanewha (26:45)
Little Island (32:58)
Creep (40:53)
Special guests were Brendan Maclean and Sarah Belkner, who joined Amanda towards the end of the second set, taking the night’s performance even further into the stratosphere.
Amanda Palmer is yet another artist I only discovered when their tour was announced. In fact, I was so late discovering her that all the good seats had gone by the time I decided that I really wanted to see her. The first song I heard of hers was “The Ballad of the New York Times” and I was immediately struck by its brutal honesty and emotional vulnerability. It’s certainly the best song about the Covid experience that I’ve heard. Thankfully, I did manage to grab a decent seat right at the last minute and I’m so glad I was there.

[@Peter_LiveMusic]

Amanda Palmer website - it’s all here: amandapalmer.net
Facebook: facebook.com/amandapalmer/
Instagram: instagram.com/amandapalmer/?hl=en

[@abstractbliss]

Thank you for sharing this. Whakanewha is absolutely beautiful.

[@Peter_LiveMusic]

It was a wonderful night. So pleased that I decided to go along at the last minute. Yes, it's a beautiful version of Whakanewha. I love all of her New Zealand Survival Songs. Thanks for commenting.

[@cariad123]

Thank you for posting this ❤️❤️❤️

[@Peter_LiveMusic]

Glad you liked it. It was a really great night.