After last week's A Day On The Green reschedule, the crowd were more than excited that this musical extravanga was eventually happening. It was a bit colder than last week but that didn't deter the crowds coming back at all. Local pop act, DACY warmed the crowd up with their unique brand of straight up pop tunes.
Next up was Aussie/Kiwi legend Jon Stevens, who has been a stalwart on the Aussie music scene for over 40 years. Lead singer of Noiseworks among other acts, he played a handful of Noiseworks and INXS classics to rev the crowd up for what was to come.
Iconic in every sense of the word Cyndi Lauper was a massive act in the 80's and has continued to branch out with different styles of music but tonight was a jam packed her classic hits: 'She Bop', 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun', 'Time After Time' and 'I Drove All Night'. The highlight for this reviewer was the hit from the 80's action adventure film The Goonies 'The Goonies R Good Enough'. My childhood memories came flooding back when she performed this song. She finished her set with her huge hit 'True Colors' and the crowd loved every minute of it. Cyndi's sets is never just about the music, she has incredible flair for fashion and style, which has set her apart from other performers. You always know when Cyndi has hits the stage. She is always so full of energy and vibrancy.
After a quick bar run, the crowd were getting excited for Sir Rod Stewart to hit the stage, He started his set with a killer cover of Robert Palmer's 'Addicted To Love', complete with statuesque beautiful models, perfecting their vacant stare. Rod's ten piece band were incredibly tight. Every thing about the show was full of glitz and glamour, just like the biggest Vegas show but in Geelong. Rod's set was hit after hit from every part of his elaborate career. The first Faces song he played was the classic 'Ooh La La' from the classic album of the same name. Originally it was sang by Rod's old mucker Ronnie Wood, throughout the song there was images of his old bandmate of The Faces on the background.
During the song 'Forever Young', Rod's backup singers/dancers performed a short Highland Dance as a tribute to Rod's Scottish heritage. Throughout the night there was numerous tributes to different performers that Rod has known and played with over the years. He dedicated a cover of Chicken Shack's 'I'd Rather Go Blind' to Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie, who also sang with Chicken Shack. Christine sadly passed away last year.
After a quick costume change, Rod came back in the Ukrainian national colours of yellow and blue and dedicated 'Rhythm Of My Heart' to the people currently suffering in the war. During the song there was news war footage being displayed on the background video screens.
Rod made a quick exit to the side of the stage for a breather and his stunning female backing singers took over for their first of two covers. Firstly they played a soulful rendition of Chaka Khan/Whitney Houston's song 'I'm Every Woman' and later on they played a stunning version of Labelle's 'Lady Marmalade'.
Rod slowed things down a bit for the next few songs. 'You're In My Heart' was decicated to his football team, Glasgow Perthshire. As the camera flashed towards the crowd, there a few people in the front row wearing Perthshire jumpers and throwing soccer balls around. When he played his classic 'Maggie May', there was an almighty sing-a-long He changed the song up a bit with a different intro and included keyboards into the song. Rod then moved into a heartfelt cover of The Impressions (written by Curtis Mayfield) classic civil rights protest song, 'People Get Ready'. There was some poignant footage of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King throughout.
Just before the show ended, Rod performed his second Faces song 'Stay With Me'. Rod had noticed a person in the front row with a sign saying "Can I sing Stay With Me, with you?". Rod always being a man of the people, bought this person up on stage with him. It turned out to be singer Aimee Francis. She absolutely killed it. Her raspy rock'n'roll vocals were the perfect compliment for Rod's sandpaper vocal style. You could just tell this was Aimee's dream come true. She strutted with swagger, owning the song and the stage.
All of Rod's other gigs on the tour he had finished the set with his disco hit 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?'. A few people started to walk away after he finished this song but Rod then humbly apologised for last week's cancellation and played and one more extra song. It was the crowd favorite 'Sailing'. The entire crowd sang every word with incredible passion. It was the perfect end to a wonderful night, with music drifting through the fresh air. The lights came on and it was the end of another amazing day at Mt Duneed Estate. An incredible night from two iconic singers. Everyone left with some life lasting memories. Thanks to Rod and Cyndi and their amazing band.
Words by Mark Ireland
Photography by CarbieWarbie
