I’d completely forgotten about them. The 2Cellos. Not them. But that I’d bought tickets to go see them this month. I bought them in December. Last Year. Another world. Another lifetime. Back then I wasn’t at all sure what I’d be doing on 11 May 2022 but I was taken by the mood.

A mate (I think it was the inimitable EK) had posted a video some years back of the two boys doing their thing when the world first tumbled to their talent. And I was smitten.

I was a fan of Havasi back in the day when it was him and his piano and the drummer from the Hooligans. I saw him again. Bigger venue. Larger audience (2k). Still amazing. But the shinier he got, the less attractive he became. The bigger the audience, the smaller the appeal. For me, at least.

These guys, though, I’ve caught them at the end of their duetting.

Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser, who reunited after a break earlier this year on the 10th anniversary since the forming 2Cellos, will end The Dedicated Tour, which will be their last, at Auckland’s Spark Arena on Sunday, December 4, 2022.

Sad, for me. I’d have loved to have seen them in the early days. Without the lights. And the drums (although their drummer Dušan Kranjc is bloody brilliant). Smaller venue. Smaller crowd. Maybe I’m getting old? Nah. I am old.

Their take on AC/DC’s Thunderstruck has racked up more than 240 million views. Give me a wig and I’d have felt right at home in that audience.

What I love about both Havasi and the 2Cellos is that they’re doing something with classical instruments and modernising their appeal. They’re expressing themselves through music. And yes, that’s what all musicians do. But to think that the cello, invented 500 years ago, can fill stadiums the world over!

A 10-year-old two rows in front of us was rocking it. A mum with three kids under 12 was making her way to the stage. Lots of parent-kid duos were in the audience. Lots of kids in the house. Lots of impressionable minds who might be inspired to pick up a bow and work their own kind of magic.

Which is probably why Hauser’s infantile innuendos got on my wick. What others found endearing, I found annoying. That said, the man is talented. They both are. They’re brilliant.

Strange for me, I found myself recognising the tunes. I can’t think of the last time that happened. I heard a couple of U2 tracks early on and some Michael Jackson and some Rolling Stones. Ooh, does that make me of an era?

They did their gig. And then came back for an encore. They ended with two of my all-time favourite songs:  Hurt and Hallelujah.

Yes. Hearing the audience softly sing the chorus of Hallelujah as thousands of phones lit up the stadium was special. Seeing Hauser visibly relish the moment makes sense now that I know they’re coming up on their last gig.

The camera peeps did an amazing job. The lighting techs, too. Even if I had my hand over my eyes a lot of the time.

But in my head, I was in my wild-flower meadow playing the cello I have yet to buy, learn, and master, with Johnny Cash accompanying me in my head. That feeling – all 4 minutes of it – was worth the price of admission.

Gratefully yours, lads, gratefully yours.

And now, get yourself a coffee or a glass of vino or whatever your tipple is. Sit back, and enjoy the next half-hour as these two tell you how it all happened. You won’t begrudge the time. Honest.