The Fabulous Caprettos, that band of musical renegades joined together with the aim of creating a night of incredible entertainment and hit songs, rolled into Perth for the first of two nights. Leaving their spiritual home of Astor Theatre and heading to the larger Crown Theatre this tour, the ‘GOATS’ as they are more commonly known, were joined by a new face (for WA shows only), that of The Black Sorrows king pin, Joe Camilleri.
Tonight’s support was from the wonderful Perth singer/songwriter Jason Ayres. I have had the pleasure of seeing Jason in many guises: solo artist, duo and now with a wonderful rhythm section comprising of bass player Erin Gooden (Legs Electric) and drummer Mat Ferguson. This gave Jason’s music more depth and fullness than previous shows that I had seen and lifted his songs to another level. Showcasing some new material from a forthcoming album set to drop in 2025, Ayres showed once again he is comfortable performing and connecting with larger rooms, as he soon had the Crown crowd applauding velociously at every opportunity.
Kicking off with ‘Troubles of my Own’, Jason breezed through a five-song set which included a wonderful cover of the Chris Isaak ‘Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing’ and closed with ‘Coming Back to You’, a track from the aforementioned album… and the crowd loved it! Excited to watch what 2025 has in store for Jason Ayres.
As the house lights dimmed, the shadowy figures of drummer Jackie Barnes & bassist Jason Vorherr took their places before thundering the rhythm section into gear as The Fabulous Caprettos entered the stage. In Gleeson, Morris, Thistlethwayte & Jones we are blessed with an incredibly talented collection of song writers & musicians, who have contributed to this countries music scene over so many decades. It’s not only a line up that oozes incredible talent but also delivers a six-man harmony machine with both Barnes & Vorherr both outstanding vocalists in their own right.
The show has stayed a pretty similar format to previous years but when you have four songbooks that consist of some of the biggest hits from the last fifty or so years, who’s complaining? Certainly none of the large crowd who had gathered tonight in Perth’s premiere theatre. The GOATS not only perform these hits with vocal supremacy but also as the full ‘house band’ and there is certainly plenty of off-script camaraderie to entertain between songs.
The rock element for the evening was brought, once again by the charismatic naughty schoolboy, Dave Gleeson with his unpredictable, but wonderful stage presence; its could be a flash of Riverdance or a sudden cartwheel – you just never know but his prowess on a tambourine should not be sniffed at. Picking songs from his back catalogue from The Screaming Jets, Gleeso lead the way through instantly recognisable tunes such as ‘Shiver’, ‘Helping Hand’, ‘Better’ and ‘October Grey’, which was tonight “dedicated to a dear friend”.
Jack Jones continues to show when he is renowned for the sweetest of voices but also for know his way around a fretboard as we were treated to some incredible guitar work. His Southern Sons back catalogue was plundered once more with songs like ‘Lead Me To Water’, ‘Hearts in Danger’, ‘Always and Forever’ and the breath-taking ‘Hold Me In Your Arms’, which still leaves the room so silent you can hear a pin drop on the Crown Theatre carpet! And he summed up the talent on stage beautifully when he said, “The trouble with being in this band is that you always have to follow one of these guys!”
The most senior member of the collective, Russell Morris, is as youthful now as he was in the heady days of the 60s and 70s, when he dominated the Australian charts. ‘Hush’, ‘Baby Blue’, Sweet Sweet Love’ and ‘The Real Thing’ still remain timeless and received huge adoration. As the unofficial leader of the GOATS he guides the chit chat, drop one liners and tongue in cheek comments all the while make the whole thing look so easy.
The baby of the group, the extremely talented multi-instrumentalist Rai Thistlethwayte brings his modern jazz influences to the table with a host of Thirty Merc hits including the brilliant ’20 Good Reasons’, ‘Mousetrap Heart’ & ‘In The Summertime’, as he jumps between his keyboard and guitar. His unique stance and inability to stay still is eye catching as he playfully sings to the crowd at every chance. His recent tour to the US with Sam Hagar, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani and Jason Bonham shows just how highly he is regarded amongst not just the Australian music community but also across the world! A real home grown talent.
WA had the added bonus of a GOAT-in-training, with Black Sorrows legend Joe Camilleri hitting the stage for a few songs which included ‘Harley & Rose’ and the superb ‘Chained to the Wheel’. This gave the set a whole other dimension to what we have seen & heard before. Switching between his guitar and trusted sax Joe looked to be having a blast and judging by the audience, they did too. Closing with Morris’s ‘The Real Thing’ The Fabulous Caprettos left to a rousing reception prompting a hasty return to deliver the only encore of the night, ‘We Gotta Get Out Of This Place’. And I’m sure they would have gladly played more had the time allowed it, as it closed a twenty-three song set, as The Fabulous Caprettos left to a standing ovation from the Perth crowd.”
With thanks to Starr Special Events for the media access and to Crown Theatre.
Photos by Hunter Brothers Media.
GALLERY
