ARTISTS: JIMMY BARNES / THE LIVING END / JON STEVENS / BABY ANIMALS /
RICHARD CLAPTON / BOOM CRASH OPERA
DATE: AUGUST 5TH 2023
VENUE: SANDSTONE POINT
REVIEWER: HAYLEY TREADWELL
PHOTOGRAPHER: ANDREW TREADWELL PHOTOGRAPHY
I have been looking forward to Legends on the Lawn from the line up announcement, through the postponement, to walking into Sandstone Point on Saturday and we had the best day! What an incredible list of musicians we got to see.
Dale Ryder back in front of Boom Crash Opera was outstanding! What a great band to kick off the day! So much energy and passion coming from the stage. There was a great crowd building and they were certainly rewarded for being there!
To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Richard Clapton. He was one of the acts today that I got to experience for the first time. He delivered a great set full of familiar songs, but lost a little of the energy. Although I will say there were still quite an active crowd at the barrier.
Baby Animals are one of Australia’s favorite bands and they opened with one of Australia’s favorite songs (celebrating 32 years of it’s release) Rush You and continued with hit after hit whipping the crowd into a dancing singing frenzy.
Jon Stevens was remarkable. Doing a set mixed with Noiseworks and INXS songs, Jon and his band just lifted with each song. The crowd lapped up classics like ‘Voice or Reason’ and ‘Original Sin’ and then turned on their torches and sang along with ‘Never Tear Us Apart’. It was pretty magical.
Another act I had not seen and was very excited for was The Living End. I have to say watching Scott Owen with his Double Bass is something else! These guys know how to put on a show and they looked like they were having so much fun on the stage! And that energy radiated into the crowd, everyone was going off! Chris Cheney is every bit as entertaining live as what I have heard and a pure gentleman as he thanked the crowd for being, in his eyes, the ‘legends on the lawn’.
I sang and danced my happy little soul along to their set and was well and truly warmed up and ready for Jimmy Barnes.
I have been a fan for a very long time, but had not had the privilege of experiencing Jimmy Barnes live until Legends on the Lawn.
And it felt ultra special knowing it was his first show back since his surgery in December 2022. You wouldn’t have thought he’d missed a day on stage. Jimmy Barnes is phenomenal. Witnessing the grit and grunt in his voice and the passion he delivers each song with was truly special. And from the beginning of the set to the end Jimmy carried a level of energy matched by the crowd and it made for a fantastic way to end what had been an epic day of great Australian music!
For me, the moment of the night was the incredibly beautiful version Jimmy gave us of “Flame Tree’, which reminded me that you just don’t get those moments from a CD or DVD. This is why I will always keep coming back to these shows, for the special moments.
Legends on the Lawn was a great day out, the venue at Sandstone Point is so unique and has everything you need, it really is the perfect setting.
Thank you to the venue, the promoters and all the artists for having us along. We can’t wait to share more special moments of live music with you.
Until the next gig
Hayley
