96FM held there ‘Kick Start Summer Concert 2019’ at the Ascot Racecourse Sunday night.
Any excuse for punters to get their Sunday Session on is fine by us, but what better way to do it than to the sounds of some old school Oz Rock. Headliner Jimmy Barnes was there to bring the Rock, Diesel the Swagger, Killing Heidi the feels, Thirsty Merc the groove and Daryl Braithwaite? Well of course he brought the Horses.
The Stanleys opened the afternoon but unfortunately due to typical Kwinana traffic congestion and delays getting past Ascots surprisingly tight security (so Perth), this reviewer missed their set entirely. But from all accounts they got the thumbs up from the queue waiting for bevvies.
Thirsty Merc brought some funky rock grooves to the afternoon with front man Rai Thistlethwayte ably switching between guitar & keyboard. But it was one such keyboard moment that initiated the afternoons first crowd singalong. 20 Good reasons, Thirsty Merc’s 2007 single had couples reaching for each other all over the venue to lock eyes and belt this one out. No lip-synching controversy here. I can regrettably assure you the audience vocals were very real and continued all night! The boys had a good crack at Cold Chisel’s My Baby which was a little messy at times, but all is forgiven with the huge summer anthem In The Summertime rounding out the set and inciting crowd singalong #2. By now the revellers were getting into full voice.
If Ella Hooper is not one of the most god-damned likeable personalities in Australia, I’ll go he for tiggy! Killing Heidi’s weapon of mass destruction was always Ella’s voice, and it has not lost a one ounce of power from the when it first escaped the lips of this 16-year-old girl and shocked the bejesus out of us all way back at the start! Smashing through their set, Superman Supergirl, Mascara, and the epic Weir were KH standouts, not to mention a classy tribute to Rock Queen Chrissy Amphlett with Boys In Town a touching highlight.
Diesel has always commanded attention live and today was no exception. Looking as young & fit as he did when he was in his Injectors days (is he a vampire?) and dressed impeccably from head to toe in black (again, is he a vampire?), the guitar master put on a show for the ladies and guitar nerds alike. Opening with the strutter Lookin’ For Love, Diesel crooned & squealed his way through an all killer set. Don’t Need Love played with slide never sounded so good, Never Miss Your Water & Tip Of My Tongue got the dancers dancing and Come To Me dragged Jimmy Barnes side stage to cheers from crowd. As always, a pleasure to watch.
Darryl Braithwaite came to the stage with impatient punters baying for The Horses. Come on kids, he was never going to lead with that! But for those who didn’t know much about this man other than The Horses phenomenon, they were about to be in for a treat. Daryl has a couple of other songs you might know! As The Days Go By, Howzat, One Summer were all here with DB encouraging the singalongs with some vocal gymnastics for the adventurous. With a huge back catalogue of hits to choose from, Ascot got a good taste, but with anticipation building, it was time to deliver the goods Daryl. Daryl Braithwaite sang The Horses. The crowd sang The Horses, people in their houses around the area sang The Horses. Everyone was satisfied, corks popped, angels sang, take my 120 bucks, I am done!
Put that cigarette out, we get Barnsey too!
Jimmy Barnes is no stranger to a rowdy mob, and Ascot Racecourse was well primed by the time the rock legend hit the stage. Ready for more of the same, the cheering crowd lapped up all their favourites and also some new songs from Barnsey promoting his new album My Criminal Record . Opening with Driving Wheels from his epic 1987 solo album ‘Freight Train Heart’ Barnsey then rolled through some Cold Chisel classics Flame Trees & Khe Sahn just to whet the appetite.
New additions in the form of Shutting Down Our Town written with Troy Cassar Daley about the closure of the Holden Production Factory in Adelaide, I Won’t Let You Down written by Chris Cheney were well received. The foot stomper I’m In A Bad Mood was a beauty too. Ride the Night Away, No Second Prize and Lay Down Your Guns were standouts, but it was Working Class Man that stole the show. Jimmy’s still sounding as angry as ever and really knows how to work the crowd. A ripping encore of Goodbye (Astrid Goodbye) was the perfect way to send home those who came to rock. And an even better way, is to give away a guitar to the young girl in the front row! Nice!
An awesome afternoon full of sun, fun, drinking and arm around ya bestie singalongs, and not a lip-synching controversy in sight. We were there for the memories, the class acts, the warm/fuzzy feels and of course… The Horses!
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Sharon Burgess Photography
Jimmy Barnes
Daryl Braithwaite
Diesel
Killing Heidi
Thirsty Merc
