Robbie Williams | XXV Tour \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/strong>
AAMI Park, November 22<\/strong><\/p>\n
Robbie Williams used his Melbourne show on Wednesday night to pay tribute to a fan who died after falling at his concert in Sydney. \u201cIt breaks my heart,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve thought about it all the way through the show tonight\u201d. After sending his love to Robyn Hall and her family, he invites everyone to sing. \u201cTonight this is for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Robbie Williams performs at AAMI Park on Wednesday night.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Richard Clifford<\/cite><\/p>\n The singer\u2019s genuine love for his fans forms the backbone of the night, from the way the boyband-wonder-turned-solo-superstar interacts with the crowd through to his jokes and revelations. The XXV Tour is billed as \u201c25 years of hits\u201d, but in reality it\u2019s less a concert and more of a polished night of storytelling that manages to feel intimate and candid despite being performed to a crowd of thousands.<\/p>\n There is the music, of course. He launches into Let Me Entertain You<\/em> early on as a promise of what\u2019s to come, and finishes the main set with Rock DJ<\/em>, which has the entire stadium on their feet. There are no deep cuts here \u2013 maybe a couple of nicks in the form of Take That songs \u2013 but the list is carefully chosen to complement the narrative of the night.<\/p>\n Fresh off the release of a four-part Netflix documentary series about his career, and with a feature film (shot in Australia, he points out) on his way, it\u2019s a big year for hearing Williams\u2019 story \u2013 but it\u2019s a credit to his charisma and his magnetism that it doesn\u2019t feel like too much. On stage at AAMI Park, he spends just as much time telling anecdotes and talking to the crowd as he does singing, the music complementing the tale he\u2019s spinning.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the \u201990s I tried to love you all individually. I nearly got there, too,\u201d he says with a cheeky grin.<\/p>\n Williams spends as much time telling anecdotes and talking to the crowd as he does singing.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Richard Clifford<\/cite><\/p>\n Much of the patter is part of a script \u2013 almost every line that stands out, from the one that preceded this one to \u201ctonight will be therapy for me, but it will be entertainment for you\u201d has been said at other gigs \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t make it any less genuine, and Williams makes every word feel spontaneous.<\/p>\n The way he bounces off his audience \u2013 sometimes literally \u2013 is a genuine joy. After walking into the crowd he jokes that one side of the stadium treated him with a respect bordering on concern, making him feel that his sex symbol days were truly behind him. But then, on the other side \u201csomeone really had a good go on my nipple \u2013 can I have it back?\u201d<\/p>\n A story about his acrimonious split from former band Take That \u2013 whose members never really liked him, he says, and where he ended up breaking the rules and getting kicked out \u2013 leads into a cover of Oasis\u2019 Don\u2019t Look Back In Anger<\/em>.<\/p>\n His rendition of Feel<\/em> is performed with minimal graphics and almost in the dark, allowing the focus to be purely on his voice. He also breaks out Kids<\/em>, originally a duet with Kylie Minogue with a subtly changed lyric: \u201cThe purpose of a woman is to love her man\u201d is now \u201cThe purpose of a woman is to love herself<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cTherapy\u201d for Williams, entertainment for us.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Richard Clifford<\/cite><\/p>\n He pays tribute to Shane Warne twice, donning a Warne 23 cricket shirt and encouraging the crowd to chant \u201cWarnie\u201d with him.<\/p>\n The biggest focus of the night, however is his relationship with his fans, through his jokes about his lascivious past to his interaction with the crowd.<\/p>\n He is open about his mental health struggles, and says quite bluntly that two things saved his life \u2013 meeting his wife, and the fact that his audiences kept coming back to see him. He tells the crowd the man in front of them is the happiest he\u2019s ever been.<\/p>\n Fame, he explains, intensified the voices in his head picking at his self-esteem, telling him he was no good \u2013 but in the darkest times he would tell himself, well, if he were truly so awful, would people come and see him perform?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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