It is a Tuesday night in Perth city, it is busier than usual with a hint of excitement, kick off for this amazing 27 date tour starts here in Perth. In the west we seem to be skipped over for international grade Artists, but this is one of our own….. many of us have grown up with this icon’s music in our lives and we are keen to share a moment with Darren Hayes at RAC arena.
This tour has been 10+ years in the making, residing in LA it had been quite a while since Darren had graced our shores, fans were thirsty, eager to indulge in musical time travel and re-live just what Darren’s music meant to them.
The support for the evening was Bachelor Girl – another lyrical chapter of my upbringing. I don’t know anyone that has not sung along to the catchy tunes of a this original talented duo. The crowd was littered with smiles when Tania and James swanned onto the stage with the rest of the band, an intimate setting guaranteeing that tonight’s performance was going to be personal and memorable. Tania smashed it out of the park, note after note of classics coupled with plenty of crowd interaction the night is off to a cracking pace. Highlights for me – ‘Treat Me Good’ the crowd singing along was amazing, ‘Permission To Shine’ one of my favourites and I was not alone in singing it. I loved the new song ‘Calling Out Your Name’ being released on the 3rd Feb (we got a sneaky live version of that) and I loved just how beautiful Tania looked in that sequined jump-suit plus the dapper James (that velvet suit jacket was on point). An amazing opening performance from this slick outfit that sound amazing.
The change over was quick, fans had scrambled back from the bar, drinks in hand with smiles still plastered over their faces. The lights dipped and the arrival of the Darren Hayes Train had hit Perth Station….. express, no stops!!! This train was filled with hits ranging from his solo career including his last 5 studio albums – the latest being ‘Homosexual’ and a bevy of Savage Garden tracks. The fans were in for a 2-hour treat.
For me this ride was a mixture of release, acceptance and enjoyment. Darren looked at ease on stage, born in the moment, a natural performer one could almost believe it was an easy journey for him but he left the door ajar for just a moment during the performance – the crack in the doorway allowed an emotive story to spill out about his struggle with the break up of his first marriage. It was a touching reminder that artists are human as well – sometimes we as fans forget.
There was a healthy balance of crowd interaction and theatrical story telling to keep the fans engaged. He owned that stage and performed on it like it was a rental, there was no way that he was getting his deposit back and quite frankly he didn’t care – he just wanted to share the moment with his loyal supporters and leave everything at the door. 2 hours of hits with a few costume changes in the mix kept us all guessing, along with an occasional random telephone call (you will need to catch the next gig for that one to make any sense).
Highlights for me throughout the performance – I can’t go past ‘The Animal Song’ and the ‘To the Moon and Back’ which were early in the set. ‘Insatiable’ was a crowd favourite along with the ever popular ‘I Knew I Loved You’ and the arena erupted when ‘Break Me, Shake Me’ was belted out of the speakers but the encore produced the goosebump moment for me of the Darren Hayes train ride……..there was no one in their seat for ‘I Want You’, all the faithful were dancing and singing along having the time of their lives.
All in all Darren’s vocals were just outstanding, as good as I remembered last time, his stage presents was captivating, story telling and crowd engagement superior and I felt like this is where he needed to be, on a stage being himself… just that damn entertaining. You can see why he is one of Australia’s most successful artists. I can strong recommend this show, catch it while you can, you will be bitterly disappointed if you don’t!!!
Photos by Hunter Brothers Media
GALLERY
