I have to confess that I am not in the least bit objective when it comes to Amanda Palmer. I have, after all, known her husband for over 30 years, and I have a great deal of faith in his judgement. I was a little nervous when he first told me about her, but having seen her perform live four times now I have grown to love this fierce, fearless and amazingly talented woman.

If you have been to one of Amanda’s gigs before, you’ll have a good idea of what to expect. There were piano songs and ukelele songs. But, as she often does, she opened up with “Wind that Blows the Barley”. St. George’s is a former church. It is known for its awesome acoustics. Singing unaccompanied shows it off at its best.

Of course there is a huge picture of Jesus at the back of the stage. Apparently when Richard Dawkins did a talk there he insisted on having it covered up. Maybe he was afraid it was watching him. Amanda had no such worries. She just played “Jump You Fucker, Jump!” from Peter Cook & Dudley Moore’s Derek & Clive album. That’s the one that sounds a bit like a religious chant and ends, “Aaaaaa-souls” (or something that sounds very like that).

God did not strike any of us dead.

Amanda then launched into “Astronaut” and “Ampersand”, which is enough to get any audience going, and built the show from there. This being Amanda, while she had some idea of what she was going to play, there was always going to be audience interaction. She took requests, and played most of them, even though these days her fans know what is coming and delight in asking for obscure songs from her catalog.

She played “Vegemite”, which made me very happy because I love that song. Sorry, Neil.

Of course the main distinguishing fact about this gig was that Amanda is five months pregnant, seriously in need of naps, and suffering from acid reflux. Most people would take that as an excuse for a little time off work. Amanda is not most people. She just adapted the show to take account of it. There was no crowd surfing. There was, however, a song about pregnancy.

The support crew for this tour includes Whitney Moses, who in addition to organizing the tour is helping Amanda out with all of the pregnancy stuff. Whit is also a really good singer. She and Amanda did a couple of duets, one of which was a song called “Pregnant Women Are Smug”. That’s by an American comedy duo known as Garfunkel and Oates, which is the name of the band (from Art Garfunkel and John Oates, whom they describe as “two famous rock-and-roll second bananas”). These ladies are hilarious, and just as potty-mouthed as Amanda. Here’s their version of that song.

If you liked that, go here and listen to some more of their work. I even laughed at the one in which they make fun of people who like sport. I especially laughed at “The Loophole”, but then I’m a sad history geek who understands how the meaning of the term “sodomy” has changed down the ages.

Thank you, Amanda. It was a great gig. You’ve made my heavy metal obsessed pal, Sarah, into an Amanda Palmer fan, and you’ve made me into a Garfunkel and Oates fan.