On Saturday I was back in the Hunter Valley. The vineyard was different – Tempus Two Winery this time – but I was still ready to enjoy an evening of fantastic music. With a line-up including Tim Freedman, Richard Clapton, Toni Childs, and Jackson Browne, the quality of the show was never in doubt.

I was disappointed that Whitlam’s frontman Tim Freedman only had a half-hour set, but managed to cram so much into 30 minutes. For fans like me numbers like “Kate Kelly” and “You Sound Like Louis Burdett” were welcome surprises, while my parents were content to sing along to “Blow Up The Pokies” and “No Aphrodisiac.” We were also thrilled to see Tim had his happy face on. We’ve been to shows where he seemed to be in a filthy mood, so to see him joking easily with the crowd put a smile on everyone’s face.

Next up was Richard Clapton. There’s a reason why Richard is one of my favourite Australian performers. He never does a bad show. Always the consummate professional, he performs his butt off, delivering classic hit after classic hit. It didn’t take my mother and I long before our itchy feet got the better of us and we had to leave our seats to dance. Predictably there was a crowd of like-minded folks to the side of our seats also revelling in Richard’s brilliance.

Armed with more wine we settled ourselves back in our seats for Toni Childs. Toni was the unknown quantity for me on the tour, the only artist I’d never seen before. While I may not have been so familiar with her music, I was enthralled. She has such a voice, so rich and effortless. While her tunes were largely unfamiliar to this audience, they were instantly accessible. Old favourites “Many Rivers to Cross” and “Stop Your Fussin’” brought the house down.

Jackson Browne’s set is an interesting one for me to comment on. He’s such an accomplished performer, in fine voice with an easy character that’s so endearing. But for me the first half of his show felt labored. The set was made up of new songs from Time The Conqueror and slightly obscure older material, and it made the audience restless. While he performed these songs flawlessly, it seemed like we were all waiting for something to latch onto. I have no problem with artists showcasing their new songs, but I think you need to throw the crowd a bone every now and then.

That bone came about halfway through his set with the familiar rollicking piano intro of “Doctor my Eyes.” We all sang loudly, enthusiastically, rising to our feet with joy, so grateful to hear something we knew. That was the turning point for me. Yes there were songs I didn’t know, and yes there were songs I wish had found their way into their set. But it was all so easily forgiven.

I don’t normally condone people yelling out for songs, but I couldn’t fault the persistent gent who wanted to hear “Rosie.” And when Jackson obliged not long after “Doctor my Eyes,” you could have heard a pin drop. I do love an artist who listens to their fans and changes up their set to accommodate a special request.

“The Pretender” was breathtakingly awesome. “Running on Empty” had us all on our feet, singing with joy again. “The Load-Out” and its seamless segue into “Stay” was the perfect encore, even if it did seem to signal an end that came too soon.

I may have felt disgruntled at first, but Jackson won me over so that by the end of the night, like so many others I was begging him to stay. It may not have been a flawless set, but I know I’ll queue up for tickets next time Jackson is in town.

Image source: own photo