30 November 2024 – Sandstone Point Hotel, Bribie Island – words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi – pictures by Paul Blackburn
Saturday was the day when the spectacular Don’t Ask…Again Tour 2024 was hosted at Sandstone Point Hotel at Bribie Island. The weather Gods were mostly kind. Yes – it was humid, hot and as Tina Arena said “I have lost 5kgs in sweat” – that was true. The crowd was mostly dry for the day. The weather rain bomb hit in the last half of Tina Arena’s set, considering the event kicked off at 1:30pm, I think we were lucky and all prepared to pay the price of being soaked to the skin for the last 40 minutes. It was a worthy sacrifice to Australian music as embodied by Tina Arena. The line-up for her tour was just sensational on the day with outstanding performances from all the musicians – so what does a bit of rain matter.
After a wet drive through the Brisbane rain bomb to the Sandstone Point Hotel was scary, but it was great to get there and see some blue sky and no rain. If you are thinking of attending an event here – getting to the venue is easy, parking at the site is so easy and entry through security and ticketing is easy for the fans. After getting myself organised, I headed up to the stage, snagged a great spot and waited for the day of musical treats to commence.
I really lucked it in with my great spot. I want to give a big shout out to the fans up the front who came from as far field as Toowoomba, Logan, Brisbane, the Sunny Coast and to the locals from Bribie Island who were there to see and enjoy great music. They were wonderful people and they made the day and the music come alive. Also, the photographers were terrific and it was a hard day for them in the heat and rain but they smiled through it engaging with fans, sharing photos, and enjoying the bands.
The day commenced, on time, with 1927. The band took to the stage with no fuss and straight into a pure melodic Aussie rock ‘n’ roll set. The band started with into ‘To Love Me’ from the 1988 …ish album and ‘Don’t Forget Me’ from the 1990 The Other Side album. 1927 were tight, flawless and the sound was perfect. It is always hard for the first band to start off a day of concerts like this event. But, 1927 did a great job at setting the tone of the day: and that tone was to be straight up rock ‘n’ roll with joyful delivery at its heart.
1927 built up the buzz. The delivery of each song got better and better throughout the set. 1927 performed fan favourites like ‘Compulsory Hero’, ‘The Story Never Ends’, ‘That’s When I Think of You’ and ‘If I Could’ was played to perfection and the crowd was totally engaged. There were sing-a-longs and the crowd singing verses of songs – beautifully. Even one of the photographers had tears in her eyes at the end of the set as many of these songs have great meaning for people. 1927 take their performance seriously and it showed. 1927 performance was really solid and just what was needed.
After a 40 Minute stage re-arrange, Southern Sons were up next. I had never seen this band perform live and it was an amazing experience. If you appreciate classic rock with heart and soul, then this band are an absolute treat. It was a classic Aussie rock band performance with beer (Corona Light and water provided by Simon the stage organiser who was the responsible one) and crowd interaction. The set list was diverse with the songs ‘Always And Ever’ and ‘Something More’ leading off the set. Jack Jones was just a breath of fresh air and a great front man for the band. His anecdotes about working with some of Australia’s greatest musicians and his 15 years journey to overnight success were witty and totally engaging. He had the crowd eating out of his hand.
Southern Sons – Sandstone Point Hotel – photos by Paul Blackburn
Southern Sons upped the amps and delivered new and old fan favourite songs. It was great to hear new music in the track ‘Gold’. They also performed ‘Hold Me’, ‘Lead Me To Water’, ‘Waiting For That Train’ and ‘Heart In Danger’. The special treat was the performance of John Farnham’s ‘Burn For You’ that Jack Jones should have sung with John on his 50th Birthday, but as Jack explained “I said no as I was scared but in life you should just say yes more often – it can lead to amazing things”. The delivery of the song was immaculate and the audience was singing, cheering and clapping for more. As a four-piece band Southern Sons delivered in spades and it was a fantastic set.
Kate Ceberano was up next, and from seeing the setlist being waved around and the number of songs on it, it was going to be a full-on performance. And it was! Kate Ceberano brought the party and it was magnificent. Her band were tight especially her young guitarist, Kathleen Halloran, who was amazing and her backing singers were awesome. Kate Ceberano was as she said: “here for 40 minutes and we are going back to the 80s”. Her set was a delight as she knew her audience, their tastes and everything she did was totally on pointe! And, it was pure joy.
Kate Cebrano – Sandstone Point Hotel – photos by Paul Blackburn
For train spotters (like me), Kate Ceberano did a melody of songs from her outstanding career where she did have 5 of the top 10 singles in the charts in 1985. Her songs celebrated Australian music and female musicians who have deeply influenced Australian music. Like Kate Cebereno, I was also one of those kids hanging out around the bars in Sydney just listening to the music at that time – Chrissy and The Divinyls, Colleen Hewett, Renee Geyer, Models and all those international bands like Blondie who lit up the musical universe. The songs she performed were: ‘Pash’, ‘Outta Mind, Outta Sight’, ‘I Won’t Let You Down’ (even when Kate forgot the lyrics and just made some up) ‘Heart Of Glass’, ‘Love Is Alive’, ‘True Romantic’, a bloody brilliant cover of ‘Boys In Town’, a melody of hits from her I’m Talking era, ‘Brave’, ‘I Don’t Know How To Love Him’ from Jesus Christ Superstar, ‘Bedroom Eyes’ and ‘Young Boys’. It was exhausting writing that all down – but she performed it all, and in style, in 40 minutes. Those of us down the front were having a fabulous time.
Kate Ceberano’s totally engaging and fun performance had the crowd laughing and partying along. Her gratitude to her fans was so genuine as she stated: “I would be a fart in the dark without you”. Her love of Australian music was out and proud. I also loved her don’t give a toss attitude when things went wrong – just make up the lyrics. And, anyone who can tell rowdy fans to “shut up” gets my vote. And, to that guy she picked on in the crowd – I think the song she sung to you after was ample reward. Kate Ceberano is a force of musical nature. Celebrate good times!
After a stage reset, Daryl Braithwaite and his band were hot off the mark. Daryl Braithwaite is quite simply amazing. The set was wall to wall hits: ‘All I Do’, ‘Rise’. ‘Howzat’, ‘Summer Lovin’, ‘Love Songs’, ‘As The Days Go By’, ‘Higher Than Hope’, ‘One Summer’ and ‘Horses’. It was great to have the mix of songs from the Sherbet era and his solo career. The delivery was immaculate and it was no fuss rock ‘n’ roll with blues thrown into the mix. He and his band sounded simply amazing.
Daryl Braithwaite – Sandstone Point Hotel – photos by Paul Blackburn
Daryl Braithwaite just owns the stage. I loved his jokes about Woolworths playing his music and thinking about going to shop there to hear them: “but I go to Coles,” he quipped. His advice to people wanting to see live music: “In Melbourne, when a band plays, we stand up. Get up and dance – or better still come down the front – where we are having a great time and you get blood flow into your legs.” It was awesome! Daryl Braithwaite controlled the crowd like a puppet master: the crowd were in full voice singing along to every lyric and he made the songs into choir practice especially ‘As The Days Go By’: this half of the venue sings, then this other half sings – and it sounded fantastic. Daryl Braithwaite and his band were simply superb and allowed for the music to effortlessly shine.
The stage was reset again for Richard Marx’s performance. There was a baby grande piano, setlists taped down and cocktails (a Margarita and Espresso Martini) brought onto the stage. Life is always better with drinks with umbrellas in them!
Richard Marx’s is a beloved Generation-X singer-songwriter and the crowd at Sandstone Point loved him. He greeted the audience with ebullient energy with his opening of “I am going to take you back to 1987” was greeted with cheers. His band were top flight musicians and the performances were first rate. I have never seen Richard Marx before live. I have always been aware of his song writing prowess. But, live – he was just a ball of energy and its was pure rock ‘n’ roll. If I sound surprised, I was. And, I so enjoyed this performance and I now know why so many people were there to see him perform and why he has such a following her in Australia. He rocks the stage!
Richard Marx – Sandstone Point Hotel – photos by Paul Blackburn
Richard Marx is the only male artist in history to land his first seven singles onto the top five of the Billboard Charts. He has sold over 30 million albums, and here he was in Queensland. He sparked the evening with ‘Believe in Me’, ‘Endless Summer Nights’, ‘Take This Heart’, ‘The Way She Loves Me’ and ‘Angelia’. By the first chorus of the opening song, the crowd were in full song and the love in the venue for him and his work was huge.
Fans were drenched (as the rain was starting) under the nostalgic shower of rock, dance, pop and old school ballads. Richard Marx is a world class showman and his stage presence was infectious. His vocal delivery was so strong. And, his engagement with fans was sincere and humbling. His stories about the song writing process were fascinating. Richard Marx spoke of writing ‘Angelia’ at Doyle’s Restaurant in Sydney while he was eating a Caesar salad there. (Problem: salad at Doyle’s? Really? But its why he looks fantastic and the rest of us are struggling!) It was funny as he told of going to the men’s bathroom to find a pay phone to ring home to his answering machine to sing the melody into it and record it. Remember those!
The night was littered with jokes about ageing: “I wrote this in 1911” and “Do you remember Nsync? were they big here? I wrote those songs” and he played teasers of 1990s grunge hits to see if we were awake. His musical sense of humour was awesome. He didn’t sell the crowd short and he said “We are going to play the hits for you tonight” and he did with ‘Hold On to the Night’, ‘Now and Forever’, ‘Satisfied’, his version of ‘Long Hot Summer’ as co-written with Keith Urban, ‘Hazard’, ‘Should’ve Known Better’ and ‘Right here Waiting For You’. It was astonishing!
Then, the main event, and the reason for coming to the venue, commenced with the stage reset and ready for Tina Arena. I haven’t seen Tina Arena live since I was a kid. I have followed her career, her ups and downs like most women in the music business she was treated badly, especially in her marriage, and I was sorry about those life altering events that can just cruel you. But, she has not let that keep her down. She has rebuilt and we were there to celebrate that fact. And, I, like the other 1 in 4 Australians who owned, and still own, ‘Don’t Ask’ wanted to hear it live. This was Tina Arena’s chance to celebrate her music, where she is now and the 30 years anniversary of her third studio album. It sounded as good today as it did back then.
Tina Arena – Sandstone Point Hotel – photos by Paul Blackburn
Tina Arena arrived on stage in a full concert gown. I was worried that she would melt and the heat was an issue as she exclaimed “It’s so hot and I’ve lost 5 kgs in sweat” and “I am already menopausal – so if I fuck things up just ignore it or sing the right lyrics yourself” which made me laugh as I am so there with you sister! But, despite the weather (hot, humid, and torrentially wet by this stage of the evening) she performed a spectacular showcase and nailed that setlist using her flawless voice and she performed with boundless energy. It was like being transported back in time when hearing ‘Sorrento Moon’ and it felt like a reunion with an old friend who has brought along a trunk filled with melodious memories of a past time.
I was struck as her performance went on how much I like her new or newer songs. I mean it was wonderful to hear the tracks from Don’t Ask like: ‘Wasn’t It Good’, ‘Message’, ‘Greatest Gift’, ‘Love Is The Answer’, ‘That’s the Way a Woman Feels’, ‘Standing Up’ and the first ever live performance of the cover of Maria McKee’s song ‘Show Me Heaven’ which brought out the story from Tina Arena as to why the Americans had asked her to re-record it “when it was perfect in the first place”, she jibbed. She told the crowd that one day she will do an “audio book of the full story – as it’s long and you wouldn’t believe it”.
But what was fantastic in the set was to hear other songs from her other 13 studio albums (all ARIA Gold) such as the truly wonderful ‘Unravel Me’ from Imagine. It is such as good song. She, also, performed songs ‘Love Saves’, ‘Devil In Me’ and the track she wrote with Kate Miller-Heidke ‘When You’re Ready’. I think the setlist was a reminder that Tina Arena is also a song writer and she wanted us to know and remember that, as yes, she can sing (powerfully and amazingly) but she is a song writer at heart and her first love is making and supporting Australian music. And, she passionately, encouraged the fans at Sandstone Point Hotel to keep Australian music live as she said “Australian live music is so real. Let’s cherish and support it”.
Tina Arena soldiered on through the weather and finished her performance with ‘Chains’. The crowd, wet and soggy, sung their collective hearts out. It was a live performance at its most glorious. There’s something about a woman of ‘a certain age’ who knows where she has been that you just can’t fake or manufacture it.
Tina Arena, Richard Marx, Daryl Braithwaite, Southern Sons, Kate Ceberano, 1927 and all the musicians at the Don’t Ask Again Tour 2024 are living proof that when artists are able to hone their craft for decades, you end up with masters and masterpieces.
