Richard Marx is one of those artists who keeps me coming back tour after tour. He always delivers with solid vocals and oodles of charisma. No matter what album he’s promoting, every show features the hits that encourage you to sing along. While I appreciate his dependability, shaking things up a little with his After Hours tour made my fifth Richard Marx show last night in Mulubinba/Newcastle my favourite.
Richard started the show in his usual radio-friendly pop-rock space. Songs like “Take This Heart” and “The Way She Loves Me” have become classics, and I can’t imagine ever tiring of singing along while Richard does his thing. It clearly fills him with joy watching us sing those lyrics back to him. He joked that he goes to concerts too; he knows what it’s like to wait to hear your favourites, so he’ll always deliver those big singles. But he wanted to share with us some of the material from his new After Hours album, a collection of standards from the Great American Songbook and his own contributions modelled after these timeless hits. His voice brought a fresh energy to treasured classics like “The Way You Look Tonight” and “Fly Me to the Moon.” These songs have stood the test of time, but they sit naturally against original efforts like “All I Ever Needed” and “Magic Hour.”
After playing acoustic shows around the United States, Richard decided to bring a little of that stripped-back magic to our shores. He seemed even more relaxed as he encouraged us to request our favourites. I loved hearing “Hold On to the Nights,” “Keep Coming Back,” and “Now and Forever” performed so simply, beautifully. During this intimate portion of the show, Richard shared stories of his friendship with John Farnham, including some footage of them spending time together in the ‘80s. His reverence for one of the best voices our country has ever produced was evident as he treated us to covers of “That’s Freedom” and “Burn For You.”
Richard’s set was peppered with sing-along hits, but he saved some of his biggest for the encore. Hearing “Hazard,” “Should’ve Known Better,” and “Right Here Waiting” back-to-back was a fantastic way to end this nostalgic show. A self-proclaimed honorary Aussie, Richard says he loves being on our shores and it shows. He’s such a giving performer who only seems to be getting better as the years pass. Richard has almost wrapped up his Aussie tour, but if you’re in Naarm/Melbourne you can catch him at Margaret Court Arena on April 24 before he heads back to the United States.
Photo credit: Lyn Foreman (the venue said there would be no photos, but Mum got bold after spotting many people flouting the rules and whipped her iPhone out. The photos aren’t as clear as I get on my camera, but they’re certainly better than nothing!)
Last time around Richard was solo and acoustic, so I was excited to see him with a full band this time around. But before all that, Matt Cornell treated us with his musical stylings. I really appreciated his laidback blend of country and folk music. He’s such a talented songwriter, and honing in on his lyrics helped me truly appreciate what he was all about. I’m not sure he was the right fit for this crowd though. They seemed restless and so many of them chatted through his performance. Perhaps on a night sold on nostalgia, something more familiar would have been better received.
Or perhaps the crowd was just focused on the man they came to see, because they erupted for Richard Marx. “Endless Summer Nights” is the sort of song most artists would close with, but when you’ve had as many hits as Richard Marx you don’t need to keep anything in the tank. More smash singles followed, including “Take This Heart,” “Keep Coming Back,” and “Don’t Mean Nothing.” Richard informed us that he goes to enough shows to know what fans really want, and that new tracks would be kept to a minimum, to rapturous applause. I was thrilled to hear the new single “Last Thing I Wanted” though, a song which shows he still has a knack for crafting catchy tunes. He told us how thrilled he was that they’re playing it on stations that play Selena Gomez, when before he was only heard alongside artists like Bette Midler and Barry Manilow.
We all expected him to play “Hazard,” one of his biggest Australian hits. However, I’m not sure anyone anticipated Ronan Keating joining him on stage. I’m not sure the song really works as a duet, but the excitement Ronan’s appearance generated was something special. Personally, I was much more thrilled to see Jack Jones, the former singer of Southern Sons, on guitar for the night. I was in raptures when Richard told us he couldn’t let Jack go without hearing a little of “Lead Me to Water.” Jack’s voice sounds every bit as amazing as it did back in the day.
Another special moment came when Richard treated us to some of the many songs he’s written for other artists: the N*Sync song “This I Promise You,” Luther Vandross’ “Dance With My Father,” and Keith Urban’s “Long Hot Summer.” I didn’t realise Richard was behind these great songs, but hearing them sing them, it made perfect sense. I felt a little sorry for the folks who couldn’t quite hear when Richard became properly unplugged for “This I Promise You,” but honestly it was the best the audio sounded all night. The Enmore really has a lot to answer for in this regard. The performances of Richard and the band were on point all night, but the sound quality undermined their good work.