Jacob Collier

 

Jacob Collier

International Convention Centre

11 December 2025

 

Encores are a strange thing. Both the audience and the performer know that they’re a bit of a farce. After the main set, the performer leaves the stage and the audience cheers for them to return to play their most famous song. That’s the deal.

 

But what if a performer throws these rules out of the window and does something else?

 

In many ways that’s exactly what Jacob Collier did. If you look at the setlist it says that he played three cover songs for his encore - We Will Rock You, Wonderful World and Somebody To Love. While he did perform those songs, that only tells a very small part of the story.

 

The main set was a genre bending adventure. It had elements of rock, jazz, classical, even a touch of musical theatre. It was part rock, part orchestral (although no orchestra instruments were involved), part pub choir and pure magic. It was held together by a musical genius. That word gets thrown around too much, but I think it stands up in this instance. In fact, I think it’ll only be in the future that his genius is recognised.

 

The encore exemplifies the whole concert. It felt like a brand-new thing. Something I’d never seen before that was created in the moment and truly unique.

 

It started off small, expanded, contracted, and then brought to a crescendo. It featured the audience doing animal noises (truly), stomping their feet, providing harmonies, and being an active participant in the show. It was surreal, but also brilliant. I don’t think you could really plan it. Or maybe more accurately a non-musical genius couldn’t plan it.

 

Jacob Collier improvised the encore around the three songs mentioned above. He was a conductor working in real time without a script and his joy was infectious. He started off solo, then brought in the crowd to harmonise and create rhythm (the animal noises), at one point I thought he was losing the crowd because what he was doing was so delicate and fragile.

 

In anyone elses hands I think it would have fallen apart, but he is so (rightfully) confident in his musical ability that he knew how far he could stretch the audience without breaking before he brought it all back together. The band came in for the last minute of Somebody to Love and this 30 minute, one song, three movement encore was brought to a conclusion. I’m sure I’ve never seen anything like it and I doubt I will again. It was mesmerising.

Sam Fender / Holly Humberstone

 

Sam Fender / Holly Humberstone

21 November 2025

Entertainment Quarter – Sydney

It almost feels revolutionary to see a band playing music on a stage with no (or very little) production tricks. But that’s what Sam Fender is all about. Eight musicians running through a tight set.

 

I imagine that it was a bit like seeing Springsteen just prior to Born in the USA. A super tight band, a selection of excellent songs, perhaps with one or two hits short of perfection.

 

There’s an emotional depth to Sam Fender’s best songs, many of them speaking directly to young men, that is foreign territory to but a very few contemporary artists.

 

In Spit of You he articulates the heartbreaking lack of communication between fathers and sons. He either has a broken relationship with his own father, or has managed to tap into something that a lot of young men can relate to. The key lyric is “I can talk to anyone, but I can’t talk to you”. I think this is where he is at his best. He manages to express deep held emotions that you can feel, but can’t put into words.

 

In Hypersonic Missiles he addresses geopolitics in a way that’s a million miles away from sloganeering. He expresses the helplessness people feel about what’s happening in the world, but the song is ultimately about hope. In a weird way, it’s a love song about celebrating life when there’s so much not to celebrate. It’s quite a trick he’s managed to pull off.  

 

Other highlights that show this emotional depth were People Watching (“People watching on the way back home, Gives me a break from feeling alone”), but perhaps my favourite was Seventeen Going Under. In it he speaks to the bottled up rage and young men feel, how difficult it is to stand up for your friends. The song addresses how you can feel scared but not wanitng it to happen again and in hindsight you’d do something different  (“I was far too scared to hit him, But I would hit him in a heartbeat now” …)

 

A few more moments like that would have lifted this concert and made it unforgettable.

 

Holly Humberstone provided an excellent support to Sam Fender.

 

The word the comes to mind is delicate. But also strong. She’s not fragile. There’s definite steel underneath her sweet melodies. She wears her heart on her sleeve, her songs bring together folky elements, a little bit gothic but with a modern twist – interesting synth textures and punchy rhythms make these songs feel very current.

 

Stand out songs were The Walls Are Way Too Thin and Paint My Bedroom Black. She brought her short set to a close with Scarlet.

 

It shows some confidence to play a couple of completely new tracks from an upcoming album when you are a support act, but both Cruel World and To Love Somebody were both excellent and are good signs that her next album will be one to look out for. Next time I would hope to hear a longer set. Maybe she’ll be headlining in the future? 

Oasis

 

Oasis

Accor Stadium

8 November 2025

 

Oasis’s musical and spiritual forefathers, the Beatles, once sang that “we could work it out” and there is “no time for fussing and fighting my friend”.  

 

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the world is a basket case at the moment. We can point to countless wars that never seem to end, political crises that are showing that lessons of the past haven’t been learned and a world that is burning that we seem unwilling to do anything about it. Who would ever have guess that the bright light among all of this chaos would be a rock band fronted by two brothers (who, let’s be honest, have a long history of fussing and fighting).

 

But they are. And while it is surprising, it is also beautiful to see two brothers that haven’t spoken for 16 years, not just playing shows, but genuinely enjoying themselves and being in each other’s company. During that long hiatus, it wasn’t ever certain that the two brothers would work it out at all.

 

It’s quite something to open your reunion tour with a 7-song run that has 3 album tracks, 2 B-sides and only 2 singles. In fact, there is so much quality in their back catalogue that they don’t play 5 (not a typo) UK number 1 hits in the setlist. 

 

But what they do play is pretty much everything you would want to hear. They play the big hits, fan favourites, singalongs. The lot. More importantly than that though, they play like they have a point to prove. After 16 years away from the stage, they come out all guns blazing and don’t let up.

 

Their mission statement seems to be to remind you that they’re the best rock band in the world. That’s not just a glib statement. They really believe it. But more than just belief - they have the songs, the attitude and the hunger to back that up.

 

Usually by the time a band is able to play a stadium, they lose a bit of their hunger and their need to prove themselves. The “fighting against the world” spirit that took them from small clubs to the bigger stages is replaced with the confidence that you have an audience. You don’t need to prove yourself. You’ve already done that.

 

But what if you thought you lost it and want it back? That’s the situation Oasis find themselves in in 2025. 

 

 

It might sound a bit obvious, but while all their big singalong hits have a softer pop-rock element to them, at their core is a rock band. They come out from the first song hard and don’t let up. It was easy to imagine them playing in a small Manchester club in the 90s (if you ignored the 70,000 fans). But while the band that played in the clubs had the attitude, they didn’t have the catalogue of Oasis classics. So along with Live Forever, Slide Away and Cigarettes and Alcohol, you get Some Might Say, Supersonic, and the sublime Champagne Supernova. Honestly just reading the setlist is an embarrassment of riches.

 

There was no fussing or fighting. Not in the setlist. Not among the musicians. I’m really glad Oasis worked it out.

Pub Choir

 

Why the hell would you go to a choir if you can’t sing?

 

It feels a bit ridiculous. Prior to attending, the very idea certainly made me feel uncomfortable. One thing for certain is that you definitely feel like a fish out of water. But in the end, none of that matters.

 

The beauty of pub choir is that you’re in the company of friends. The most singing experience that half the audience has is singing in the car. For the other half, they haven’t sung in a choir since school (and judging by the crowd, that was probably last century).

 

As I said, there’s nothing to worry about. You’re in safe hands. Choirmaster Astrid Jorgensen is a force of nature. Part school teacher, part comedian, part musician and wholly unique. Her enthusiasm is infectious. She has a razor sharp brain that she uses to deadly effect. She gently, but firmly, keeps the audience on track. It’s a bit like a blue heeler corralling a mob of wild sheep and making them do what it wants. Ultimately her goal isn’t to make us better singers. Her philosophy is that we’re all average at best (the name of the tour) but collectively we can sing a song together. She’s confident she can do this and ultimately she’s right.  

 

Armed with little more than a PowerPoint slide show enhanced with memes and GIFs to let us know what she wants (and an accompanying guitarist) she takes us through her song choice (tonight it is Get What You Give by the New Radicals). She splits the crowd into three parts (low, middle and high) and runs each of the sections through their parts.

 

The high section is filled with the most energetic singers (these people were probably in a choir in school and can actually sing). This is both a positive and a negative. Sometimes their enthusiasm takes them to places Astrid didn’t think they should go and sing notes that don’t quite work. Her deadpan delivery and quick brain very gently, but firmly, puts them back in their place “that’s a lovely note, but it’s not exactly the note that is on the slide”. That might come across as a bit stern, but her delivery of this makes you feel more encouraged than deflated.

 

I think the surprise of the night was the low section. This section is filled mostly with men and, I suspect, these people are usually the ones that are dragged to the show by their partners and are more the reluctant singers. This is where I was standing. Not that I was dragged there, but I was certainly a reluctant singer. This group usually needs more encouragement than the high section. But on this night, Astrid was visibly impressed. I mean we weren’t good, but we were on the notes. I’d say we were bang on average! I consider this a big win.

Fanning Dempsey National Park - Canberra Theatre

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fanning Dempsey National Park

Canberra Theatre

18/5/25

 

The easy path for older rock stars to take is to churn out the hits to receptive crowds until you retire. It’s a guaranteed way to have your fans leave satisfied every night. You just need to keep repeating this every year or two and you’d have a very successful life. This applies even more so when you are the lead singer from 90s icons Powerfinger or Something For Kate. There’s a back catalogue of hits that you can draw from which everyone knows and everyone likes.

 

However, I can’t imagine that would be too musically satisfying and that’s not the path that Bernard Fanning and Paul Dempsey took for their new project Fanning Dempsey National Park. It speaks to my musical taste but I’m not sure there was much more musical ground left to explore by the tail end of Powderfinger or Something for Kate’s careers. Similarly, for a solo career, rehashing their old hits or mining the same musical ground they did with their old groups doesn’t sound like it would be too interesting. Surely, part of being an artist is to try new things, explore new music and to create.

 

I’m not 100% sure the rest of the crowd agreed with me but I really liked it. Clues about what to expect from the set came early with the warm up music. Prince (Raspberry Beret), John Waite (I’m not missing you) and Lou Gramm (Midnight Blue) set the mood. Their new album reminds me of early Simple Minds, Icehouse and Roxy Music.  It’s electro and 80s influenced, but with the steady hand of two of the greatest songwriters that Australia has produced.

 

The gig was played to a lightshow and background that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a Countdown set. This suited their new album down to the ground.

The choice of covers might have raised an eyebrow in their previous bands, but they fitted right into the set – Wouldn’t it be good (Nick Kershaw) and Under Pressure (Bowie/Queen) explored the same musical ground as their album. They also recast some of their old hits with this new found spirit and sound. Pick You Up was especially great. It started off with an electronic keyboard setting the mood, before building into an anthemic ending.  

 

Whether this is a whole new path these songwriters are going to take or just an interesting diversion in their career it’s too early to say. But the songs are as good as any they’ve previously written and I, for one, would be more than happy to hear more like this.

Ben Lee - Belconnen Arts Centre

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ben Lee

Belconnen Arts Centre

12 April 2025

 

 

The best thing about seeing an artist live is that you are in the moment. It’s not a recording. It’s a once in a lifetime event, never to be repeated. You don’t always feel that when you go to one of the big touring shows. Understandably, they have big productions (lights, confetti, etc) which have to be the same night after night.

 

Which is why seeing an artist in a small venue can be such a treat. It takes confidence to play a show without a setlist and not make it feel like a gimmick, but that’s what Ben Lee did. Not only did the show “feel” unique. It definitely was unique. No two shows on this tour will be the same. After playing a few songs, he said “let’s open this up to requests”. But he also said “don’t request Catch my disease, or Cigarette’s will kill you… I’m going to play those. I’ve been in the business for 35 years… I know which side my bread is buttered on”.

 

I can’t think of a better quote to sum up the show. Usually when an artist plays a new song it’s a sign to head to the bar but when most of the set is obscure songs, you have to be pretty sure of your material and that you can hold the attention of the audience. He played songs from all the periods of his long career, from when he was a teenager, to when was dating famous actresses, to his side projects and also his 90s heyday.

 

Audience members got respect for requesting obscure songs, which he dutifully played. Sometimes he forgot the lyrics to these songs, but that was part of the charm. Watching him google them from the stage was very amusing. It definitely added to the show and created a sense of community.

 

He asked us if it was OK for him to forget the pretend “hide and seek” game of going off for an encore, and said that the next few songs would be “bonus songs”. They certainly were. That’s when he brought out his big hits. As he said, he knew what he was doing. It was definitely a show not to be repeated. But one I’d happily revisit anytime.

Blossoms - Enmore Theatre

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blossoms

Enmore Theatre

15 March 2025

 

Sometimes I question whether it is it worth it. Going to gigs that is. Being honest, travelling to another city to see a band is kind of crazy. First of all, there’s the expense, then there’s the hassle of being away from home. Often, I travel by myself, as I find it hard to get someone to come with me. That isn’t the easiest thing in the world. In short, it’s a lot of effort. Is it worth it?

 

This question is brought into sharp focus when the band you want to see is a support band and they’re guaranteed to play a short set.

 

It has to be said that there aren’t many advantages to being an Australian fan of UK music. They’re not always part of the cultural zeitgeist, so it’s hard keeping up with any current news and releases. Back when you had to actually buy records, they were often imports at inflated prices, and you had to wait months to get them. Finally, the bands hardly ever tour here. But when they do come you need to grasp the opportunity with both hands. I wasn’t going to let this opportunity go to waste. 

 

One of the advantages of seeing UK bands, however, is the chance to see them in relatively intimate venues. Blossoms (from Stockport, just outside Manchester) were supporting Kasabian and they played the relatively small Enmore Theatre, as compared to their recent hometown show to 30,000 fans!

 

It was almost like seeing them when they were just starting out. The stage props were non-existent, their lighting show was rudimentary. But the songs! Oh my god the songs! With only a limited time for their set, they focussed on their big hitters and they knocked it out of the park. They played a set that picked the eyes out of their five album back catalogue.

 

They were incredible. Really incredible. All those years of performing on larger stages really showed. They are a band that knows what they’re doing. Tight, but also loose. Note perfect, but also willing to cut loose when required. Having an arsenal of great songs definitely helps, but knowing how to perform them is essential.

 

Yes, the set was too short. Yes, I travelled too far to see them. Yes, it was a big effort. But would I do it again? Yes, no question. In a heartbeat. It was definitely worth it!

 

A postscript.

 

As Blossoms were the support band, I had found myself at the front barrier for the set, but decided that I wasn’t really interested in Kasabian so I went to the back of the theatre to watch them. After watching a handful of songs of the headliner I’d had enough, so decided to leave the venue. As I was walking out, I ran into the lead singer and drummer from Blossoms!!! Unbelievable! I told them that I’d travelled 300kms to see them and that they were amazing! I asked for a selfie (and they happily obliged). I shook their hands and went home very happy!

Kylie - Qudos Bank Arena

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kylie feels like family. She’s a bit like your cool older cousin. When you were growing up, she had all the cool friends, knew all the great music, always made you felt included. Her concert felt like she was hosting a party and you were invited. The overwhelming feeling is of love in the room. It wasn’t just because it was Mardi Gras weekend (that certainly helped), but you could definitely feel it. She loves her audience, and her audience loves her back.

 

She pointed out that she has spent her whole life on stage. And it showed. She was so comfortable on stage, engaging with the audience, dedicating songs to them (one person had seen her 30 times!) bringing them on stage (a beautiful moment where the lucky recipient couldn’t believe he was so close to his idol) and making everyone feel included. I think that’s part of her appeal.

 

I know Taylor Swift has (probably) trade marked the phrase “era” but Kylie has more than a few eras of her own. With nearly 40 years of hits she had a lot of ground to cover, but she had something for everyone and I think everyone went home happy.  

 

She wasn’t embarrassed by her 80s pop. In fact, Locomotion was a highlight. A time machine (her words) that brought the whole arena back to their youth (let’s be honest, we were among our people). But she also affectionately sang I Should Be So Lucky and Hand On Your Heart from the Stock, Aitken and Waterman years.

 

Her fantastic 90s songs (Better the Devil You Know, Shocked, What Do I Have To Do among others) were highlights. But this isn’t entirely a nostalgia show, her more modern songs fitted in seamlessly into the set. Her recent hit Padam, Padam, the timeless Can’t Get You Of My Head and a selection of songs from her most recent albums were also winners. 

 

Who would have imagined that she would be more popular than ever in 2025? It’s hard to believe that some people (ok, it was me) once thought that she was uncool. She is 100% authentic. She feels like that person you first met on Neighbours in the 80s. She feels like someone you’ve known your whole life. She feels like family.