QUDOS Bank Arena, Sydney
Wednesday February 28, 2018 :
When an artist’s reputation for performance is as boundless as self-described ‘icon’ Robbie Williams, expectations heading into any show are going to be high. And when said decades-spanning hit maker returns to Australian shores with a world tour billed as the ‘Heavy Entertainment Show’, it’s pretty hard to envisage yourself not having a good time. When just about every single person walking into Qudos Bank Arena on Wednesday night would have known they were in for a treat, the question was how good was this show going to be?
With Melburnians, The Bamboos, having limbered up the crowd with bluesy funk, it wasn’t long before the voice of Michael ‘Let’s Get Ready to Rumble’ Buffer, rung out, asking us all to stand for the “National Anthem of Robbie”. The sold-out crowd dutifully obliged and, to the tune of ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ we all sang along, “God bless our Robbie / He is King of Song / He can swing like a bastard / And can rock all night long”. We were on our feet already and the man wasn’t even on the stage yet. With formalities out of the way, Buffer was back to introduce tonight’s headline act, “the Undisputed Heavy Entertainment Champion of the World”.
Hype already high, Robbie, flanked by six dancing girls wearing booty shorts, sequined sweaters and boxing gloves, walked head down onto the stage, draped in a red satin robe with a sliver Eye of Providence on his back, staring out at the crowd. With his gang of girls twerking and shadow boxing around him and supported by a 10-piece band, Robbie kicked the night off with a bang, fittingly, with ‘Heavy Entertainment Show’ – “Welcome to the Heavy Entertainment Show / I’m a volcano that’s about to blow / This is how I’d like to say hello”. First song in, and he was already flashing the crowd, showing off the tiger underneath his kilt. Cheeky.
Next up? An invitation, with ‘Let Me Entertain You’, giving his three fantastic backing vocalists and the fellas on brass a chance to really warm up the pipes. Strutting his way along the catwalk above the crowd, both arms already raised in glory, Sydney had given him a welcome so warm it felt like the end of a set. The applause after this one ran for a solid minute.
‘Monsoon’, from 2002’s Escapology, and Big Band classic, ‘Minnie the Moocher’ followed, showing off Robbie’s twin loves of pop and swing, then, throwing it back to the ’90s, Robbie delivered the first of what would be a few unexpected covers of the night, George Michael’s pride anthem, ‘Freedom’. “I loved George Michael, he was like a God to me,” Robbie told the crowd, reflecting on the first time meeting his hero at the MTV Awards in Berlin in ’94. “I’m not gay, but if I could suck one cock…”
From blow-job banter, it was just a quick skip to a newer track, a heartfelt ode to his wife and kids, ‘Love My Life’, which he, of course, performed six-feet above the crowd while perched on a giant boxing glove. This show really was full of surprises. Perhaps most of all for three ladies who got some extra attention from Robbie throughout the night. First came Clair, who brought along a “Robbie sign my boobs” sign, and despite her looking just like Rob’s sister and failing miserably at a finish-this-lyric challenge, her wish was granted. Next was Carlie, “the girl with the orange bra straps”, who was plucked from the crowd to be the serenadee during Robbie’s rendition of ‘Somethin’ Stupid’. “Is Me Too a thing here,” Robbie asked Carlie’s hubby with a wink as he whisked her off. Then it was Sue, an older fan who’s shirt proclaimed that this was her forty-fifth Robbie Williams concert. She no doubt had her year made when Robbie dedicated ‘She’s the One’ to her.
An appearance from Rob’s dad, Pete Conway, a comedian and entertainer in his own right, was yet another surprise moment, and it also gave us a second unexpected cover, guaranteed sing-a-long starter ‘Sweet Caroline’. The pair singing together on a two-seater sofa, Robbie in his tank top and kilt and Pete in a spiffy suit, was a real special moment, and super cute.
The rest of the set was filled with hits, as you’d expect of an artist with a career as sustained as Robbie’s – ‘Come Undone’, ‘Millennium’, ‘Kids’, ‘Feel’, ‘Rock DJ’. This show was definitely a one-two punch of entertainment, not a single dull moment (expect maybe with the exception of ‘Rudebox’).
The night could have ended here without complaint but instead we were treated to a truly spectacular encore. Returning to the stage, a thoroughly gracious Robbie thanked the crowd, and thanked Australia for supporting his music. “Australia has taken this song into its heart like nowhere else on earth,” he said, before delighting us all with ‘Better Man’. Phone screens lit up the arena and there were even more out for the next track, clear fan favourite, ‘Angels’. The final surprise cover of the night again showed Robbie’s love of Australia. Men at Work’s ‘Down Under’ had everybody dancing, and there’s something especially entertaining about seeing a lad from Stoke-on-Trent deliver the Vegemite sandwich line. Winding down, the final performance of the evening, as fittingly as how things began, was a beautiful rendition of Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ – “The record shows I took the blows / And did it my way.” Robbie went out swinging, a champion performance from beginning to end.
Reviewer : Amelia Parrott
Photographer : David Youdell
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