,Livvy and Farnesy warm up Sandalford crowd
CONCERT
John Farhnam and Olivia Newton-John
Sandalford Estate, Margaret River
Saturday, April 4
Review: Grant McCulloch
3.5
As the blood Moon rose, the temperature at Margaret River’s Sandalford Estate plummeted, leaving everyone in the paddock equal parts excited and frozen.
John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John sauntered on stage amidst flourishes from the Perth Symphony Orchestra, who had assembled alongside Farnham’s touring band.
The headliners raced out of the blocks, trading hits with Two Strong Hearts and Let Me Be There. Newton-John would take the first solo bracket, chatting meekly to the enamoured audience between signatures such as Magic, Xanadu and I Honestly Love You.
Whispering Jack returned to duet another Peter Allen-penned classic, the lyrically superb Tenterfield Saddler, before Livvy left The Voice to his first solo stint, featuring No One Comes Close, Age Of Reason and That’s Freedom.
Together again, the Aussie veterans rounded out the opening set with an adequate rendition of Dare To Dream, the sappy built-to-spec dud Farnham and Newton-John sang during the opening of the Sydney Olympics. It was a flat end to a decent first half.
After shivering through intermission, the crowd welcomed the stars back for another go-round. Somewhere Over the Rainbow seemed to be another misstep before the bulletproof Burn For You steadied the ship.
Livvy gave her second solo set a bit more stick, blowing the cobwebs off and delighting the crowd with the first offering from hit musical Grease, the charming Hopelessly Devoted to You. Farnham stepped in for John Travolta during set highlights, Summer Nights and You’re The One That I Want, proving that as a dancer, ol’ Johnny makes a great singer.
The power of Reasons and an uncharacteristically pitchy rendition of Pressure Down were interesting during Farnham’s final spell. At 65, he is showing the first signs of a slightly diminished ability. But even though the stratospheric notes of yesteryear aren’t there, he’s still out-singing his peers. With everyone back on stage, the evening was drawn to a close with Newton-John’s Physical and Farnham’s You’re The Voice, leaving everyone in the crowd with a smile on their face to go with the chill in their bones.
