Review by Matthew Pledger
Jimmy Barnes strolled out to a sold-out crowd at Auckland's Civic Theatre on Thursday night. Wearing sneakers, a black shirt, and very tight black skinny jeans, he sang every word with every ounce of his soul. At 68 years young he most definitely still rocks!
It's hard to believe that a mere seven months ago the Rock n' Roll legend was in hospital for emergency open heart surgery after a bacterial pneumonia infection had spread from his lungs to his heart. Post-operation, Jimmy wrote on Instagram, "The difficult times have made me realise how lucky I am to be surrounded by my beautiful family and as I sit here in my bed recovering from surgery I am thankful to all the amazing people who have been a part of our lives and to everyone who has sent well wishes and cheered me on throughout the year."
I got a great insight into the type of crowd in attendance when I was at the bar. The man in front of me asked for an entire bottle of Merlot, the response was devastating. "Sorry sir, we are all out of Merlot! The only red wine we have left is the Syrah." Jimmy Barnes and a good red, that's a match made in heaven. As the evening progressed certain people in the crowd seemed to be having a better time than others. I wonder why.
Talking about the 'Hell of a Time' Tour, Jimmy said: "It's going to be intimate and it's going to be a lot of fun. I'm going to play a bunch of my favourite tunes, and when songs are this good it's great to strip them back to the bare bones and really tell the stories. We think it's going to feel like you guys are sitting in our lounge room." He delivered on his promise. Jimmy opened the concert with a more relaxed, piano-led version of 'Working Class Man'.
Jimmy loves to tell a great story, and he remembers seeing Joe Cocker play:
"I was about 16 years old, getting up to no good, we went to see Joe Cocker, we love Joe. It was strange because he was singing and standing on just his toes. It took us a while to realise why, he was just pissed. Later, we went to a club and Joe walked around introducing himself to people, and when they weren't looking he'd steal their drinks. Safe to say we got on well." Laughter filled the room as Jimmy played the gorgeous cover of Randy Newman's 'Guilty', a tune Jimmy sang with Joe Cocker on 'Flesh and Wood'.
There was a beautiful family moment on stage during the performance of 'Still Got A Long Way To Go'. Jimmy did the duet with his daughter EJ and midway through the song, EJ's son Teddy wandered on stage with big earmuffs on. Teddy, four-years-old. stole the show and received a chorus of "awwww" from mainly the female contingent of the crowd. Teddy had a mic stand set up for him as well, albeit the mic wasn't plugged in! Like most four-year-olds he was getting a tad restless on stage, while singing EJ picked him up and held him in her arms, I guess you never stop being a mum! Being in the audience and witnessing such a wholesome family moment was unique and memorable. Not every day you get to see three generations grace a stage!
Jimmy's wife Jane sang Roy Orbison's 'Blue Bayou'! During the instrumental, Jimmy walked over to Jane, and the two shared a moment as they danced in each other's arms. Jimmy finished the song by proclaiming, "That's my girl," and laughed at himself with Kiwi-like self-deprecating humour.
It was well and truly a family affair on stage, and it was Jimmy's eldest daughter Mahalia who was passed the baton for the next track. Jimmy said, "She flew in today, arrived at 6 pm, and went straight backstage, now I'm going to throw her in the deep end and make her sing. Jane and I love hearing this at home; we get all soppy." Jimmy then walked over to his wife Jane, put his arm around her, and watched their daughter sing. In moments like that, you realise not only is Jimmy Barnes a bonafide rock 'n roll legend, but he's also a proud dad and a loving husband!
A highlight of the evening was the 4 piece string section that joined the band for Cold Chisel's 'Forever Now'. Hearing the cello and violins bring a new perspective to the '80s classic makes you appreciate how good that song is.
The bagpipes had their moment too; "I started learning the bagpipes during COVID." Jimmy then said with a smirk, "When I get to 70, which isn't far away, I'm going to walk up and down the river by our place playing them just to piss off the neighbours for fun." Jimmy's still learning, and so Jane took the lead playing the pipes for a few songs!
At its essence, the Jimmy Barnes concert was a celebration of family, he was present and in the moment with his loved ones. The evening was also a wonderful chance to hear the incredible discography of one of Australia's most iconic performers.
The only aspect of the night that left a bit to be desired was the lack of Merlot! Everything else was sensational.
Thank you to Jimmy and his incredible family for a special and unique concert. I think I can say on behalf of all in attendance, we are all so grateful to see you back on the stage doing what you love.
Side note: During the summer of 2020, I spent many evenings drinking bourbon and listening to music with Barry Jenkin. One of the songs he loved playing was Up On Cripple Creek by The Band. Known for his strong opinions, Barry would proclaim that as the definitive best song from The Band. He loved The Weight as well, it's hard not to!
Jimmy played The Weight during the encore on Thursday night, and for a moment it felt like that summer of 2020 all over again. It was a lovely reminder that music has the amazing power to hold and preserve our memories.
Photos by Tom Grut
