What do you get when you combine the Enmore theatre with four Aussie music legends and an insurance company designed for pensioners? This is no joke, the answer is a seriously good night of brilliant entertainment.
What a line up they have collected for the APIA Good Times tour, Daryl Braithwaite, Kate Ceberano, Jon Stevens and John Paul Young, Aussie music legends who rules our charts during the 70s, 80s and even a little of the 90s. All known for being amazing live performers, you just knew you were in for a special evening. And that's what was delivered, and then some. By the end of the show when all four came together on stage, everyone was out of their seat, singing, dancing and screaming. For a show geared at "older" folk, it certainly did rock on a very big scale.
John Paul Young came on first, and I'll be honest, I always knew his material was going to be the stuff I knew the least - I'm 41 next month, and he was biggest in the 70s. However, I was still blown away by his set. He is still a brilliant vocalist and a natural on stage, he was both charming and witty. By the end of the set I started knowing a few songs, "I Hate the Music" and "Yesterday's Hero", and both were amazing. JPY clearly enjoyed being there and the audience loved him. The drunk lady next to me knew every lyric, well at least she thought she did as she sang very loudly. JPY opened the show wonderfully.
Next up was Kate Ceberano, the artist I was most looking forward to see and she did not disappoint. Kate's voice is simply ridiculous, she is an amazingly talented woman who is a joy to watch and hear. She opened with the beautiful "Brave", and it was my turn to know every lyric - take that drunk Canadian Club drinking woman. She followed it up with the kitsch but brilliant "Pash" and her solo debut corker, "Bedroom Eyes". She is a natural on stage and playfully teased a younger guy in the front row, even singing him a few bars of "Young Boys Are My Weakness". That was the song I was dying to hear, it's a shame she didn't sing that or "Trust Me" from I'm Talking. Her set really did fly by, she sang a few covers including her beautiful rendition of "I Don't Know How To Love Him", a striking cover of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", which was a favourite for the night and she combined "Song Bird" with her own, "Love and Affection" and it was quite simply perfect. How I adore you Ms Ceberano.
After a small break (us oldies need our toilet break ... and our wine), Daryl Braithwaite exploded into the theatre. He is a true rocker from way back, getting the audience on their feet and making the security give up their superfluous attempt at stopping people dancing at the front. Daryl still sounds great and he took us through a great selection of solo tracks and some from Sherbet. He was also a great storyteller, delivering on a number of the jokes JPY had started early on in the night. "As the Days Go By" sounded great, and I was hoping Kate would join him for "The Horses" and she did, and together their were amazing - it was also wonderful to hear the crowd sing along. I expected that to be my favourite from his set, but "One Summer" was just so good I have to put that as my favourite. By this stage, the audience were primed and we were having a blast.
Last up for the solo sets was Jon Stevens, and I guess that was because they knew he was going to be loud, big and truly rock. He exploded out on stage with an amazing presence and a brilliant voice suited for belting rock tunes. We got to hear Noisework's biggest tunes, "No Lies", "Take Me Back", "Touch" and my own personal favourite, "Hot Chilli Woman". These were like seeing an old friend after many years, they brought back so many memories and were genuinely exciting. We were also treated to a beautiful cover of INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart", a band he toured with for a few years. Having never heard the song live before, it was truly beautiful. Jon is a passionate man, lamenting the lack of radio airplay for older artists, even giving out copies of his new album to all the audience members as we left. He was the perfect way to finish the solo portion of the night.
Then came the part we were all excited to see, the four sharing a stage. Kate came out first singing "Everything's Alright" from "Jesus Christ Superstar", the song went top ten for her, so it was great to hear it again. Jon was out next to sing his part from the song and JPY filled in excellently for John Farnham. The four performed together and it was incredible. Next they performed Sherbet's "Howzat", the crowd went crazy. The crowd got even louder when the four dove into "Love is in the Air". For the encore, they pulled out the Aussie classic, "Good Times" and there was a blur of lights, screaming, singing and dancing. The crowd were in a frenzy and the evening was quite simply perfect. I wasn't sure what to expect from the show, but what was delivered was a truly special evening I won't be forgetting in a long time!
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