Sydney: Fan Review from Gunter - Mon 13th Aug
Sydney: Fan Review from Gunter
13 August 2001
An extra big thank you to Gunter for this review and for all his efforts to keep this site up to date with Australian news and reviews.
Going to town yesterday afternoon from the country it almost looked like we might not have a Roxy show in Sydney, it looked very dark in every direction with lightning bolts and clouds of dust rising everywhere, a killer storm threatening widespread blackouts.
Luckily it did not turn out quite that bad and the much-anticipated show was on.
I had taken a camera in order to take a few shots of Sydney Roxy fans,
anticipating lots of glamorously dressed people, but to my disappointment the predominant color of the evening was black, still elegant but not exactly photogenic.
The 10 000 capacity Sydney Entertainment Center appeared only half filled with the opening act, but with Roxy coming on stage I couldn't spot any empty seats!
Lights go out, big Roxy curtain bathed in blue light, ambient synthe-sounds building tension the band exploded onto stage with Re-make/Re-model , people electrified singing along and dancing in their seats, showing Sydney to be a real Roxy hardcore center.
All has been said about the show itself before, but Sydney was blessed with a great set list, Mother of Pearl and Virginia Plain both performed. The show is very versatile with quieter passages interspersed between the high-energy songs and the light show is a ripper, the enhanced images of the musicians in the background adding visual impact. Lucy Wilkins looked so wild on some of her violin work, huge images of her ecstasy blending with the one created by the music.. The opening piano solo on "Song for Europe"
is spellbinding. The dreamhome/heartache song very reliably blew our
collective mind and "Oh Yeah" surprisingly was one of the biggest successes of the night. "Mother of Pearl" was greeted with wild cheers and what a knockout version it is! "Avalon" and "Dance Away" where performed medley style. "Jealous Guy" spread it's special magic with Phil shining at his brightest on his guitar solo. After a great "Editions of You" it appeared like the show was drawing to a close, with the musicians standing , waving and the crowd roaring. Then we rose as one to the opening sounds of "Virginia Plain", with everybody singing and dancing the party was on, nobody sat down until the show was finished. The band-inspired- unpacked the strongest "Do The Strand" I've ever heard. The band exiting to "For Your
Pleasure" lived up to the hype.
Only a dozen or so people stayed to continue partying, waiting at the fence next to the stage door for their chance to say hello to the band. Here I caught up with who is maybe Australia's most committed Roxy fan, Jamie from Adelaide, who had made the long trip to Sydney in his car listening to a nonstop run-through of all the Roxy albums there are! He promised to write some review as well and providing set lists for Melbourne and Adelaide. Our patience was rewarded with all the 4 core members of Roxy stopping by to subject themselves to our words of adulation and signing our programs.
One of the personal told us, that inside a little after-show party was on with about 60 fortunate ticket holders, with these tickets supposedly being issued by the record company, hint, hint!