Material Girl | We will now appreciate live music like never before

Turns out we're on the same page.

In fact, we're on the same page as hundreds of thousands of others who have done just that.

The tune by American singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks from her 1981 solo studio album Bella Donna struck a chord with a new audience as well as those of us revisiting her coming-of-age anthem.

The lyrics were written by Nicks to express her grief after the death of her uncle Jonathan and the murder of John Lennon, which happened during the same week of December 1980.

Regrettably, that bit was actually news to me but I have always loved the sweet guitar riff.

Edge of Seventeen is just one of many 1980s jams in the latest season of The Crown, especially in the moments featuring Princess Diana. Call Me by Blondie plays as she answers the phone; Girls on Film by Duran Duran plays while she skates through Buckingham Palace (please let that be true!); and Elton John's Song for Guy plays when she's dancing alone.

When Fleetwood Mac - including Nicks - announced its headline tour of Australia last year, I was already there in my mind.

I was so there, I actually forgot to buy a ticket.

When the sold-out tour - with Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie, alongside newcomers Neil Finn and Mike Campbell - hit Melbourne in winter/spring 2019 I was in a very sad way, obviously not there in the audience.

I heard it was a brilliant show, which only made it 10-fold worse!!

MORE MATERIAL GIRL:

Closer to home, I was still lucky enough to see Deborah Conway perform in Wangaratta and Amy Shark in Wodonga.

Ahead of her Wangaratta gig in mid-2019, Conway said while music was everywhere, it was not often that people experienced live music.

"In 2019, when music streaming forms the soundtrack of our lives, the live music experience remains a precious, potentially life-changing event," she said.

"Live music is really good for the soul; it's an uplifting and galvanising experience."

There is nothing like a global pandemic to give us a timely take on just how uplifting and galvanising live music and theatre can be. Full of soul-goodness!

Now for the first time since March live music is returning to the Border.

Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins played two sold-out concerts at Albury Entertainment Centre last month.

Then on Sunday The Whitlams frontman Tim Freedman returned to the SS&A Club Albury with his new solo show for the first time since the band packed out the place in mid-2018.

In line with COVID-19 restrictions, it was a smaller audience, seated, theatre-in-the-round-like, if you like.

There were no tall people obstructing your view or others seated too close in front of you with vision-hindering messy buns on top. Showing my age, I didn't miss the mosh pit for a moment.

Freedman's easy banter with the audience was first-rate, especially after three shows in Canberra the day before in a week-long jaunt. He played the classics from The Whitlams repertoire - No Aphrodisiac, Blow Up The Pokies and You Sound Like Louis Burdett - as well as new material from an upcoming album.

"The Whitlams haven't made an album for 14 years," he said. "It's pathetic!"

"But we've got something coming out next year."

To audience applause, he quipped: "You haven't heard it yet!!"

Don't put off going to a live show.

Fleetwood Mac seems like a world away now.

PS. If you have Edge of Seventeen and Blow Up The Pokies stuck in your head now, you're welcome.