Robbie Williams wanted to entertain us and that he did.
The naughty English rocker played the Basin Reserve in Wellington last night. This show of singalongs was the perfect way for Kiwis to distract themselves from the nerves of the looming Rugby World Cup final this morning.
I have no doubt big fans of Robbie Williams would have got exactly what they were after last night. His show was typical of his cheeky character and hilariously amusing, it featured hit after hit from the musicians 90s heyday and it was pulled of with an on stage ease.
To love a bit of Robbie you鈥檝e got to love a bit of cheese, and that鈥檚 exactly what he gave. He burst onto the stage following a dramatic, NASA-rocket-launch type countdown, teasing us with lyrics from some of his best songs. Immediately the thousands of middle-aged women around us were screaming as if they鈥檇 traveled back in time to their teenage years as he leapt around the stage pelvic thrusting during听Let Me Entertain You听补苍诲听Rock DJ.
Things slowed down a notch here with a dreadful song I鈥檇 never heard before,听Me and My Monkey.听It was a stupid track to include in a mostly upbeat set list. But it wasn鈥檛 long before things were back on track and the crowd was boogying again. He brought out his opening act, boy band Lawson for a lovely version of Take That鈥檚听Back For Good听and from there came the ones we were waiting for.
贵别别濒听was my pick for performance of the night 补苍诲听厂耻辫谤别尘别听was another crowd pleaser. A duet with his black tie wearing 鈥渄addy鈥 to听Better Man听was musically flat but rather cute. I still find it rather ironic hearing him sing about wanting to be a better man when he spent half the show swearing, talking about being 鈥渟oberish鈥 and singing a tune written for his two-year-old son called听Motherf****r.
His real performance nouse was showcased as he brilliantly recited the poem听Hello Sir听from the album听The Ego Has Landed. He wrote this as a 鈥榣ook where I am now鈥 message to his school teacher who believed he鈥檇 amount to nothing and took real joy in performing it to his legions of fans last night.
The Basin Reserve proved to be a fantastic concert venue for Wellingtonians, on a stunning spring night it was the perfect setting. A few neighbours cashed in on a free concert and Williams wasn鈥檛 going to miss the chance to give them heaps for it. At one stage he had apartment residents flashing their lights on and off to tell him they were enjoying the show. The way he involves his audience is admirable. He chatted freely between songs and it was very well received.
One thing that didn鈥檛 work for me were the many covers throughout the set. We heard snippets of听奥辞苍诲别谤飞补濒濒,听尝辞谤诲别鈥檚听Royals, I Love Rock n Roll听and even听Hey Jude.听Not to forget the cover of听Bohemian Rhapsody听he led out with in his encore. They didn鈥檛 work. His songs were what people wanted to hear and they鈥檙e the ones he performs with the most skill. One cover would have been more than enough. I鈥檓 certain the crowd would have preferred to hear tracks like听厂迟谤辞苍驳听补苍诲听You Win Some, You Lose Some听more than these weak replications.
But Robbie Williams did finish in fashion. The show was brought to a close with听She鈥檚 The One听补苍诲听础苍驳别濒蝉听bringing down the house in true 90s singalong fashion.听
Overall, it was a great blast from the past and a fun concert to check out but I鈥檓 not sure people will be rushing out to buy tickets if he returns in the next 18 months as promised.
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Philippa writes music reviews at听
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