Central Coast Stadium
Saturday March 31, 2018 :
It’s not everyday that you get to see a legendary singer-songwriter playing all the biggest songs of their entire career to a stadium full of about ten thousand people. It’s an even rarer occurrence when you get to experience two disco/pop era legends unite under one concert bill. The legendary uber-talented Lionel Richie & Nile Rogers with CHIC performing at an unlikely sports venue – Central Coast Stadium just an hour and a half drive out of Sydney.
Locals and travellers of all age groups in their dancing shoes, filled the stadium in preparation to experience disco darling Nile Rogers with his 70’s band CHIC. “Rock band for the hippie generation” – as they brand themselves, played an array of commercial hits also performed by Carly Simon, Sheila B and the one and only Diana Ross. The set list included Studio 54 dig ‘Le Freak, ‘I’m Coming Out’, Madonna’s ‘Like A Virgin’ and Daft Punk’s infamous ‘Get Lucky’
Nile Rogers – the man responsible for success of the likes of Madonna, Duran Duran, Robert Palmer’s solo career, David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ and inspiring so many more songs and records, shared his stories and his tunes and got thousands of people on their feet with his tight band and gorgeous voices of Folami & Kimberly Davis made the night so special.
Half an hour intermission and the crowd got a bit rowdier and the older generations a bit looser, the light shone on a grand piano at centre stage and the man himself – Lionel Richie in a red sequin jacket – appeared. All smiles and waves as he kicked the night off with ‘Easy'(The Commodores song). “All the hits…All night long” is the name of this huge tour and for what it’s worth, the first few songs already proved that’s what it will all be like.
I can’t tell what this show had more of, old-school 80’s rock sound or classic funk sound that The Commodores were famous for, set list for the night was rich on both. ‘Stuck On You’ got people excited, ‘Truly’ let everyone see the side of Richie we all were most influenced by – his romantic side. ‘Three Times a Lady’ was received with an epic singalong and a sea of smartfone lights waving in the air. Richie is, again, a master of romance and the nostalgia of it was heavily floating in the air tonight. He probably soundtracked your own falling in love period and put ideas of procreation into the heads of thousands of people who ended up bringing probably a third of his audiences into the world.
The production and visuals supporting funkadelic ‘Brick House’ took us back into the fashionable funk and soul 1960’s aesthetic and it was so on point. Richie’s costume change for slower ‘Say You, Say Me’, the beautiful disco ball and multiple screen arrangement left fans in awe. While you come to a realisation how many hits Richie actually has and how you know every single one of them, even if you aren’t a massive fan – Lionel Richie cracks a few jokes about how three generations of fans are here and how kids are embarrassed of their dancing moms and even grandmas, reliving their youth, while younger generation of fans can also relate because all these hits were the songs that soundtracked long road trips and possibly their entire weekends.
When the crowd calmed down, Richie proclaimed: “The same question I ask every show before I do this particular song and every time the answer is “No”. So I ask this question again tonight : “Is Diana Ross backstage?” “No,” announces the drummer. “So tonight every lady in the audience is Diana Ross and I sing this song with 10,000 Diana Ross’.” Proceeding to a short version of ‘Endless Love’.
The first notes of ‘Hello’ left everyone screaming and singing along, a seated show turned into “all rise” affair, especially followed by dance floor anthem ‘Dancing On The Ceiling’, which was also supported by great, bright visuals and a constant scanning of the audience that appeared on screen and lost their cool seeing themselves behind Richie and Co.
The biggest and arguably best song of the night was ‘We Are The World’ which Richie dedicated to all the greats who passed away recently, including his dear friends David Bowie, Prince, BB King and Michael Jackson. Never in a million years I thought I’d be able to hear this song live from one of the people who wrote it – the experience was mind-blowing, heart-warming and beautiful.
‘All Night Long’ as a closing song of the night got absolutely everyone on their feet and dancing. The backing band looked energetic and Richie truly made sure everyone had fun “All night long…”
Lionel Richie – the man of impeccable vocals, harmonies and never-ending talent delivered a dazzling and exciting, but also most recognisable and relatable show for all ages. And damn, he did it beautifully, one would say better than he should have after over four decades in music business as one of the biggest, multiplatinum solo artists of the 80s.
Reviewer + Photographer : Annette Geneva
LIONEL RICHIE
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CHIC
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