Darren Hayes – The Time Machine Tour
Reviewer: Tim Isaac
Issue 106 August 2008
(5 votes, average: 10 out of 10)
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The 80s never ended.
Review: There’s no one quite like Darren Hayes. While he creates music that’s definitely of the 21st century, he seems to filter everything through the 1980s (to the point where his ‘Spin’ album had a song called ‘Crush (1980 ME)’. He also verges on being slightly pretentious, but the result is an incredibly effective concoction, which really tries to show that popular music can be art. His imaginative and quite camp sensibility extends to this live show, which uses costumes stitched by the Royal Shakespeare Company and technology provided by the people behind U2’s infamous lemon and George Michael’s gargantuan video screen. Yet he takes this stadium rock sensibility and packs it into Brisbane’s Queensland Performing Arts Centre, which has a capacity of only 2,000.
It certainly ensures Hayes’ stage show is a lot more interesting to look at than many gigs, with projections, bridges, lasers and even a 24-foot animatronic origami bird! Thankfully all this doesn’t overpower the songs, as Darren’s dense music almost calls for this sort of treatment, and the Aussie audience certainly seem appreciative. While the set list leans fairly heavily of his latest double album, ‘The Delicate Thing We’ve Made’ (a far more mature piece of work than his previous releases), there’s still a fair amount of tunes for those who prefer the catchier and more easily accessible ‘Spin’ and ‘The Tension And The Spark’, although those who want music from his Savage Garden days will have to look elsewhere. While some special features would have been nice, it’s nevertheless a very good release from one of the most fascinating pop musicians working today.
FILM: 8
EXTRAS: 1
DVD Info:
Certificate: E
Directed By: Willie Williams, Grant Marshall
Distributor: Powdered Sugar Production
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 110 mins
Price: £19.99
Special Features:
Song Selection
Tracklisting:
The Future Holds A Lion’s Heart
Who Would Have Thought
Waking The Monster
How To Build A Time Machine
Neverland
Insatiable
On The Verge Of Something Wonderful
Listen All You People
The Best thing
The Only One
Void
Darkness
Step Into The Light
I Like The Way
Words
Casey
So Beautiful
I Want You
Affirmation
Me Myself And I
The Great Big Disconnect
