Review: Shannon Noll at Regal Theatre
Shannon Noll’s That’s What I’m Talking About 20th Anniversary Tour at Regal Theatre
w/ Ornella, Blake Noll
Friday, May 24, 2024
With seven ARIA top 10 albums, including two multi-platinum #1s, Shannon Noll is one of the most recognised figures in Australian pop music. On Friday night, fans descended upon Regal Theatre to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his debut record, That’s What I’m Talkin’ About.
With a high-energy and nostalgic live show, Shannon Noll treated fans to songs from this debut album along with a selection hits and fan favourites from across his catalogue.
A large crowd of early arrivals filled Regal theatre to see singer-songwriter Ornella open the show. The acoustic folk-pop artist graced the stage to play a short set that included a cover of Missy Higgins’ song Scar, which the crowd enjoyed singing along to.
The excitement in the audience grew as Nollsie’s son, Blake Noll, delighted them with his presence. The first two songs were country classics: Nose on the Brinestone and Where I Found God, before Blake proceeded to sing covers of Pearl Jam’s Last Kiss and INXS’ Never Tear Us Apart. The crowd loved Blake’s versions of the songs and joined him in full voice.
After a 30-minute intermission, Shannon Noll graced the stage alongside his amazing band, with Michael Tan on keys, Damien Noll on drums, Andy Payne on bass, and guitarist Steve Tonge.
Kicking off the show with New Beginning, the first of many songs from the multi-platinum album That’s What I’m Talking About, Nollsie did not disappoint. From the moment he started singing, some of the crowd started dancing in their seats.
After completing the second song, Sitting Pretty, Nollsie provided a heartfelt thanks to the audience for coming to the show and supporting his music career over the last 20 years, acknowledging that he has not always made it easy to support him.
Before beginning Sitting on a Train Bound for Nowhere, Nollsie and his older brother and drummer, Damien Noll, discussed how the song was written as a result of Damien travelling from Newcastle to Sydney for a show by train, falling asleep, and ending up in Wollongong. Upon realising where Damien was, he tried to return from Wollongong to Sydney, only to fall asleep again and end up back in Newcastle.
He then invited his son Blake to the stage to join him for How I Run, a song Shannon had written about his father.
Nollsie then took things down a notch with a suite of acoustic tracks. The first of these was Wise, a live favourite over the last 20 years with vocal harmonies that blew the audience away.
Nollsie then moved into singing and playing acoustic guitar for Alone—the first song Nollsie wrote by himself, in honour of an ex-girlfriend who died in a car accident two weeks before her 21st birthday. Upon finishing the song, he proceeded to complete the acoustic part of his set by singing The Way She Loved Me and Hold Me in Your Arms.
Towards the end of the show, Nollsie interacted with the audience by taking photos with them. Before singing Lift, he spoke about the rise in suicide rates in Australia, particularly during the COVID period, and the need to talk to each other and listen, as it could save our loved ones.
The crowd started pushing closer to the stage for early favourite Drive before Nollsie drove the show home by playing his most iconic song last, What About Me, which saw the whole theatre loudly singing along.
The evening was more than a dose of Australian Idol nostalgia. It was a celebration of an important artist in Australian music who shared an important part of the audience’s lives and was well enjoyed by all.
ALEIGHSHA GLEW