Jimmy Barnes is set to play first gig in seven months but cautions touring won’t ‘never be the same’

Music legend Jimmy Barnes has revealed his concerns for the future of concerts in the age of COVID-19. LISTEN TO HIS PODCAST, SEE THE VIDEO

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As he prepares to break the longest gig drought in his four-decade career, Jimmy Barnes cautions touring will never be the same in the post COVID-19 world.

It will be 231 days since he performed a concert in front of an audience when he steps on stage to headline the Top End Break Out in Darwin on September 26.

Like thousands of solo acts and bands, his touring future remains uncertain.

“We did it non-stop and we thought it would never change. Regardless of when they get a vaccine or get this under control to the point we can do shows, I don’t think touring is ever going to be the same as it was,” he said.

“That’s probably good and bad. We did take it for granted, the bands and the audiences all thought this would just go on. So shows are going to be special again when we get back to it.”

LISTEN TO HIS NEW PODCAST BELOW:

Barnes has had to navigate the new quarantine world of touring. Picture: Supplied.

Barnes and his family have been guinea pigs for what performers face in the immediate future in their quest to get back on stage.

They have been in an isolation bubble at their NSW Southern Highlands home as a quarantine measure ahead of travelling to Darwin.

Quarantine restrictions and border closures have prevented some of his band members from joining them so they have had to enlist other players.

And the limited availability of flights place further pressure on tour budgets and schedules.

A new model for mini-festivals within a festival will be trialled by the Good Day Sunshine event in WA next month but the Cold Chisel frontman said the future of gigs may feature both a live and at-home audience.

Barnes, his family and bandmates have been in an isolation bubble in the NSW Southern Highlands ahead of the Darwin gig. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

He will give the live plus streaming model a run when he performs at two sold-out acoustic shows at Lizottes in Newcastle on September 30 and October 1.

“Jane and I doing four or five songs a week on the interweb is really good and it is a different thing, you learn to relax and a different way to deliver a song; I’ve learned a lot about singing doing these,” he said.

“Streaming shows are something that will always be there now. Mahalia has done some gigs for about 40 people, it’s really spread out, people at table and they are streaming them. That’s what we are doing for our Lizottes shows.

“And it’s an interesting concept and I think there’s something to be said about being able to stream it because people can sit in their lounge and watch a show.

“But there’s nothing like being in the room with a band playing and there’s that chemistry that happens between the audience and the band that is what makes a show great. And we all want to get back to that.”

Jimmy Barnes and The Living End’s Chris Cheney talk about touring together on the new podcast episode. Picture: Supplied

Barnes signed up for the Darwin show because he wanted “people to know things are on the mend.” But he remains heartbroken for his fans in Victoria and continued his almost nightly live streamed songs with Jane to keep their spirits lifted during the Stage 4 lockdown.

“We are starting up in Darwin but we want to be playing everywhere,” he said.

“The biggest market for us for years has been Victoria, the fact those people have been supporting me for that long and always turned out, always been great audiences and you can’t go and play for them, it breaks my heart, you know.”

Cheney and his bandmates “survived” the test of opening for Cold Chisel. Picture: Supplied

His homespun live streams have generated millions of views since he and Jane began their covers sessions in March.

And he has made an impressive debut into the podcast world with Story Time with Jimmy Barnes reaching the top 10 on the Apple and Spotify trending charts.

In the second episode launching this weekend, Barnes is joined by The Living End frontman Chris Cheney and they reveal the rockabilly side project with legendary Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom which they hope to get up and running once COVID-19 travel restrictions ease.

They also share some of the hair-raising adventures of life on the road as a support act for big name artists including what happened when Barnes opened for ZZ Top in 1987 on an American tour.

“They play these skating rinks and they put on a floor on the rink, it’s mid winter and ZZ Top’s audience were a lot like Cold Chisel’s audience, they didn’t care who was on first,” Barnes said.

“And they’d be throwing coins at me. I don’t put up with that very much and I made the mistake of standing still and saying ‘Right. Throw one more coin at me and I’m gonna come out and do you in.’

“And I just got hammered. Nearly killed by coins and it was brutal because it was freezing cold.”

The Living End have opened for Chisel during Australian tours and Cheney said it was “character building.”

“If nothing else, it is absolutely character building for any band to get zero applause. Or pelted with coins,” he said.

You can listen to the second episode of the Story Time with Jimmy Barnes podcast today at storytimewithjimmybarnes.com.au

Pre-order Killing Time: Short stories from the long road home, released by Harper Collins on October 7, via jimmybarnes.com

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Originally published as Jimmy Barnes is set to play first gig in seven months but cautions touring won’t ‘never be the same’