Is Robbie Williams the most entertaining male pop star of his generation?
REVIEW: He’s the most entertaining pop star of his generation. And last night’s gig was classic Robbie. Even Hugh Jackman was impressed.
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IT’S pretty simple, Robbie Williams is the most entertaining male pop star of his generation.
His new Let Me Entertain You tour is pure, unadulterated Robbie. Even fellow crowd seducer Hugh Jackman was at his first of three Rod Laver Arena shows last night, smiling ear to ear. And Mr Jackman is a man who knows a thing or two about live performances.
Williams and his excellent band served up wall to wall hits, and not just his own.
With my @Deborra_lee and @robbiewilliams one of the greatest live performances. Ever. pic.twitter.com/CACXb73pXF
— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) October 22, 2015The British singer not only grew up loving Queen, he busts out part of We Will Rock You and a full Bohemian Rhapsody in this tour, mainly because he can.
Williams even sings the Queen epic in front of the original video, leaving the band’s trademark operatic vocals behind him for the start of the song, but it’s far from karaoke.
Freddie Mercury is the perfect role model for any entertainer and Williams clearly took plenty of notes.
His charismatic mixture of American Brat Pack with British old-school theatre and pantomime helps him effortlessly charm the arena in an instant.
Along with Taylor Swift and Pink, Williams injects actual personality into his songs — refreshing in a world of generic pop. No one else could pull off Rock DJ, Kids, Let Me Entertain You, Monsoon or Supreme. There’s even a throwback to his beginnings in boy band Take That with Back For Good, performed with his opening act Lawson (Hugh Jackman knew every single word, FYI).
While it’s a greatest hits set, Williams has added album tracks Me and My Monkey and Hot Fudge, the latter performed in an upright bed with a lady pulled from the audience. You don’t see that at a Justin Timberlake concert.
Teleprompters with the lyrics are not hidden, Williams mentions them himself (“It’s OK, I remember all the words”) and he even turns the cameras on them right at the end to facilitate karaoke for anyone unsure of the lyrics to the final song.
Although never a hit in Australia (the reason he dumped UK No. 1 Candy) The Road to Mandalay (also with Lawson) shows he was doing Mumford & Sons-style folk before they’d picked up a fiddle.
While you’d love to hear hits like Bodies, Tripping, Strong, Old Before I Die or something more rare for the diehards (H. E. S was on the setlist but dumped at the last minute), this is a show about pleasing the people and reintroducing himself after last year’s Swing tour — there’s a nod to Sinatra but only at the very end.
At one point he singles out by name a diehard woman who’s flown in from France (“I’m playing there next year, you could have saved some money”) and spots fans he’s recognised from shows in Brisbane and Adelaide. That’s the mark of a classy performer who knows how to make people feel special.
After his awkward run-in with a 15 year old in Brisbane, any time Williams interacts with a female on stage he now asks their age first, like the most famous bouncer in the world.
Williams is so endearing that even bleak, broken songs like Feel and Come Undone become huge anthems that, as cheesy as it sounds, have a healing feeling when they become singalongs.
His father Pete joins him on stage for Better Man, his Melbourne songwriting partners and “brothers” Tim Metcalfe and Flynn Francis get a hometown welcome for new song Motherf----, written for Williams’ young son Charlie.
There’s seamless segways into other people’s songs all night — a bit of U2 after Come Undone, Lorde’s Royals before Millennium and Jay Z’s 99 Problems during it and some Led Zeppelin to introduce Kids. He belts out the chorus of Oasis’ Wonderwall at one stage, as well as World Party’s She’s The One, a cover he’s made his own.
While he jokingly introduced Angels with “here’s my hit” (it shamefully actually only peaked at No. 40 in Australia) that song, and the reaction it gets, again proves he doesn’t need other people’s tunes, he’s got a timeless classic all of his own.
Robbie Williams plays Rod Laver Arena again tonight and Saturday, before his final Australian shows on this tour at Sydney’s Allphones Arena next Tuesday and Wednesday.
Originally published as Is Robbie Williams the most entertaining male pop star of his generation?
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