Take That at Rod Laver Arena
English Pop Group Take That have returned to Australia, delighting fans of nostalgia as part of their ‘This Life’ tour. Having delighted fans across Australia in arenas and a recent Day on the Green event in South Australia, the band (or most of it) are back with just as much enthusiasm and energy as one could hope to expect.
Recently revived pop-icon Sophie Ellis-Bextor was invited to support across this tour, and she was an excellent choice. In her own words, it’s her job to get everyone up and dancing ready for the main event – a task which she achieved with great effect. Naturally finishing with Murder on the Dancefloor to seal the deal, the highlights from Sophie’s set included her more notable hits including “Get Over You” as well as a medley of disco hits which certainly set the mood early on. Her energy and effervescent personality shone through and truly won the crowd over.
The performance began promptly and with a bang, as Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald opened with Greatest Day. It was the perfect song to open the evening, setting the tone and showcasing the seasoned voices which still held up today. A few more hits with Giants and Everything Changes before we toned things down and took a chronological journey through the boy bands history. This commenced with a stripped down and beautiful version of A Million Love Songs, again – highlighting Barlow’s talent in particular.
The band members then took us through their career, including their numerous hiatuses and reformations while reeling off hits that delighted the crowd. Take That very clearly understood their assignment and fulfilled the brief. The audience (consisting of mostly 40+ year-old women were delighted throughout and relished in reminiscing days gone by.
The band still had their moves as well. This was by no means a flat performance. Some choreography had no doubt been changed since the mid-90’s but the enthusiasm, energy and love for their craft diffused throughout the arena. Changing halfway through into bright translucent-white outfits elevated the mood even further as the dancing, singing and all-round spectacle continued.
With more hits delighting the audience, the band paused to highlight their recent Melbourne purchases including some Richmond and Melbourne Football Club guernseys, some white Rabbit beer and of course, Tim Tams. After a quick selfie with all of the Melbourne crowd the band didn’t miss a beat as it moved onwards towards its breathtaking finale.
Hold Up a Light was a crowd favourite, and a song that definitely translated well to an arena setting as the ‘carpet of lights’ created by phones from the crowd amplified the spectacle. This was followed by their biggest and most popular hit of the night, the iconic Back for Good. Take That ended their concert with Never Forget and Rule the World before thanking the crowd again and leaving Melbourne a little better off than when they arrived.
Take That was a fantastic experience. The remaining band members clearly relished their opportunity to perform to such a large setting, and their constant hard work throughout four decades is evident in their highly energetic and enjoyable performances. It is yet to be seen if they will return to Australia again, but given what was witnessed in Melbourne, it doesn’t look like they are slowing down anytime soon.
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