Live Review: James Reyne, Daryl Braithwaite

Under a grey-blanketed sky Melbourne Zoo is still as pretty as a picture. The open air, grassy surrounds make a serene setting for the romantically iconic night. Iconic is a fitting word for tonight's double act as well. Daryl Braithwaite is an Australian pop mainstay and radiates love for his fans when he takes to the stage. Dinner and snacks are still the order of the hour as Braithwaite begins, and it's not until halfway through his set that some hips get moving; firstly, with a bullish cover of All Day And All Of The Night by The Kinks, then thanks to a double dose of his back catalogue with Sherbet. A few tentative dancers are drawn out to enjoy the kitsch catchcry of Howzat, which is given extra life and a vigorous thump from Braithwaite's backing band. Summer Love fits the bill perfectly as a classic Sherbet hit and opines everything gushy and gooey about Valentine's Day. One Summer is a showcase of Braithwaite's eternally impressive pipes, standing up among the grandest of 80s pop ballads and warming the crowd before the inevitable big singalong closer. The set just has to end with our unofficial national anthem, The Horses. This is a song gifted into every Australian home as a birthright. After five goes around the final chorus, Braithwaite ends the set. It could have gone around five more times and no one would have minded.

It's drinking and stomping as James Reyne bursts to life with opener Fall Of Rome. The tone is set from the off and Reyne has lost none of the power in that distinctive voice since his Australian Crawl heyday. “Beautiful people/They won't admit it but they make love in the dark,” he hollers during Beautiful People – still as sardonic and scathing as ever. Taking a break for a quick bout of self-deprecating humour and declaring himself far too old to be rocking at the ripe age of 56, Reyne knows his crowd and plays them like a charm. There's a short break before ripping into Reckless, Hammerhead and Errol. With such beloved tracks at his disposal, this set was always going to please and the cooling night air does nothing to dampen the love for tonight's Aussie rock legends.