One World Theatre nestled in the Hill Country of Texas near Austin is indeed an architectural beauty. It reminded me of a Tuscan villa, complete with terracotta roof tiles and elegant arch ways. The intimate theatre ,with superb acoustics was where we saw Petula perform on December 3, 2017. There actually were two back to back performances on that Sunday and we attended both.

By 2017, we were well into our “Petula Adventures” and had nearly perfected the art of navigating Europe by train, London by cab, and Australia by plane. But it was in Austin that we added a new mode of transportation to our repertoire –Uber—. I am sure we looked somewhat awkward as we scanned unfamiliar street names outside our hotel looking for our car. Once we found our driver, he took us on a scenic 10-mile journey from the city center, winding through the hills to the  theatre. At first glance, the villa-like structure made us question whether we had been dropped at the right place. As we wandered the grounds searching for the entrance, we spotted Petula’s music director assisting another confused patron. That eased our doubts about the Uber drop-off, and soon we stepped into one of the most unique and intimate venues we’ve ever had the fortune to see Petula perform.

Both performances were exactly what we had experienced so many times before: Petula’s timeless voice, her anecdotes and her ease with interacting with her audience. Although the format and sequence of each of the two shows that day were identical, Petula never makes her performance feel anything but joyful and fresh . That is quite remarkable given the stamina required to perform two concerts with only a short break in between; anyone who has seen Petula knows she gives each performance her all. These two were no exception on that Sunday in the Texas Hill Country.

Two highlights from my perspective of the Living For Today album and concerts were the title track composed by Petula and her musical director Grant Sturiale – the song is notable for the carpe diem theme  and the upbeat sound .  Petula’s rendition of Steve Winward’s “If You See A Chance” is mesmerizing– I absolutely love it and seeing her perform it live was spellbinding. For my husband, the highlight was being invited to hold Petula’s hand during a portion of “Downtown”, a gesture she offers during her performances to someone sitting in the front row –he was thrilled when Petula extended her hand to him during the second performance .

As always, we combined the chance to see Petula perform with an opportunity to tour the local area. Austin is an eclectic city with a vibrant artistic and music community, so we paid a visit to Sixth Street to experience its country music scene. We also caught a performance at Austin City Limits  and visited the city’s famous murals.. Austin is also the capital of Texas and a tour of the capital buildings and University of Texas, were interesting aspects of our time there.

Three years earlier, we had experienced another wonderfully unique venue for a Petula concert; this one was 8,000 miles away from Austin , in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia. The Glasshouse, as it is so aptly named, was a stunning place,  a building literally encapsulated in glass and offering a breathtaking view of the nearby Tasman Sea.

We took in Petula’s concert there on May 7,2014. May is the transition time from summer to winter in NSW and so the weather is cooler. Being from Canada  we found the mid-sixties temperature quite pleasant and were surprised when we got to the theatre to see many patrons dressed in what we would consider winter attire. Our clothing likely identified us as tourists which maybe accounted for several people inquiring where we were from. Nobody seemed daunted by the revelation we had travelled half way across the world to see Petula perform.

 And perform she did—to an especially enthusiastic crowd. This tour promoted her Lost in You album, so besides her classic ’60s hits, she focused on songs from that release. Some of my favorites included “Never Enough,” the title song “Lost in You,” “Cut Copy Me,” and her Gnarls Barkley cover “Crazy.” The songs on this album are some of my favorite of Petula’s newer releases.

The few days that we  stayed  in Port Macquarie were lovely –the tourist season was not completely over and so the local shops and restaurants were open and the coastal beach area still pleasant. We meandered through the area from our base at the Rydges Hotel, which was within walking distance to the Glass House. On the night of the concert we saw Petula take the  stroll from the hotel to the venue, accompanied by her tour director. Port Macquarie was just that sort of casual, safe place. Lovely memory!