Countdown Spectacular 2, Newcastle: Medleys, momentum and missed opportunities
by Angus Kidman
Rick Springfield, ‘Affair Of The Heart’, ‘Don’t Talk To Strangers’, ‘Speak To The Sky’, ‘Jessie’s Girl’: With his own drummer but otherwise using the house band, Springfield was an energetic and consummate performer, and as an exiled Aussie, neatly brought together the two conceptual havlves of the show. Even he seemed a bit surprised at doing ‘Speak To The Sky’ (a song so old it predates countdown), and I’d like to see it ditched for ‘I’ve Done Everything For You’. During ‘Don’t Talk To Strangers’, Springfield jumped into the crowd and got several women to sing into the microphone. ‘Jessie’s Girl’ is an unbeatably good climax, and as a headliner Springfield craps all over Sherbet.
Last year, as an ending we got a medley with all the acts on stage doing Aussie rock classics, but this time around it was just an instrumental version of ‘Walking On Sunshine’, which was something of an anti-climax.
On the whole, a pleasing show, with less of an unpleasant 70s bias than last year. I really wish they wouldn’t cut so many verses in non-medley songs, and I suspect there’ll be a little tweaking of the order before I next see the show in Brisbane. More Sharon is unlikely, alas, but I really do think a finale is needed.
(printed with permission)
Click here for the full review of the entire Countdown Spectacular.
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