:: Robbie Williams / Duran Duran live at Telstra Dome, Melbourne December 2003

By: Carmine Pascuzzi

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see opening act Machine Gun Fellatio. They started the proceedings at approx. 6.00. Duran Duran turned back the clocks when they came on stage at 7.00pm. Fresh from a huge, sell-out show at The Melbourne Metro the previous sweltering night, Simon Le Bon and band were in great form. They received a big welcome from the crowd and they remain perennial favourites. For the fans to again hear “Planet Earth”, “Ordinary World”, and “Girls on Film” was riveting and people were dancing in the aisles and soaking up the music. They played a dynamic 70-minute set, including a rare encore for a “supporting” band.

Robbie Williams took over Melbourne and Sydney in the past two weeks with his spectacular stadium shows. He has certainly stepped up a notch or two from a couple of years ago because he is one of the few performers who can play big stadium rock to crowds in excess of 50,000 people. With his colourful entrance on stage, he set Telstra Dome alight from his opening number “Let Me Entertain You” to the rousing closing song, “Angels”. The crowd was over 58,000 people, beating the previous record attendance for the stadium.

He was witty, talkative, and gave a crowd-pleasing show, with his terrific band, dancers, and overall production. It was interesting that he took a swipe at the Fox 8 pay-TV channel for showing his Knebworth concert the day before the Melbourne show, thereby taking out the element of surprise for many. He has a pattern of setting up couples for a moment of committing to one another
forever, having a young woman come up on stage for a kiss, and a particular sequence of songs.

There was a buzz right through the show, as he performed a cover of “We Will Rock You” to a chanting crowd and then a piece of John Farnham’s “You’re The Voice” after he made reference to how John Farnham feels in playing to big crowds. Robbie clowned around in his rendition of “Me & My Monkey”, supported by appropriate video footage. His energy was infectious and he only really took stock for a laidback approach when he performed “Mr Bojangles”.

Robbie did a fair bit of talking and then dedicated music for his father and all the grandmothers out there. Then a person in the crowd threw him a Take That t-shirt ( a nice reminder of his earlier days in music) as he proceeded to sing “No Regrets”. A highly charged “Feel” ended the main set before he came back for an encore that included “Rock DJ” and the rousing finale of “Angels”.

It was a terrific, show-stopping two-hour show; real value-for-money, and I am sure his stage show will only get better if he can generate new material of the quality he's achieved so far. The sad note of the night was the fall by a man from Level 1 to the Ground when dancing. The incident is under investigation.