Live Review: Richard Marx, Chris Murphy

With guitar in hand, Chris Murphy took to the stage to open the sold out Astor Theatre launching into The One and new song Any Time. The ex-Australian Idol contestant cracked jokes and kept the crowd happy before ending the set with Kid From The Country At Heart.

As the drums kicked in, red lights adorned the stage and Richard Marx graced the stage, ten years after his last visit to Perth. Dressed in black head-to-toe, guitars blazing, Marx hit the night off with Endless Summer Nights in his rugged vocals.

Marx explained that Tuesday night's gig was odd, the audience was great and he could feel the love but it was frustrating as no one was standing or dancing. Thankfully security let people enjoy their night rather than sit all tamed in their seats and they got dancing to Take This Heart and Angelia.

"It has been an amazing couple of days here in Perth, mostly spent in Kings Park, what a gem of a place, you guys are so lucky," Marx explained his new found love for Perth. Murder mystery song Hazard went up stream with a video of a long river, giving a kind of creepy vibe before Marx changed the tone with a solo acoustic version of Last Thing I Wanted, written about this new wife Daisy Fuentes.

In attempt to fill the one and a half hour set, Marx packed in co-written songs from artists he worked with over the years including Dance With My Father by Luther Vandross and Australian Keith Urban's hit Long Hot Summer. Marx performed them wonderfully, however the crowd didn't come to hear those songs, it's not what they wanted. They wanted Marx. NSYNC's This I Promise was sung unplugged with no microphone, the theatre dead silent listening to Marx's smoothing vocals.

Don't Mean Nothing, Satisfied and Hold On To The Nights sent the crowd wild, with singing and an amazing guitar solo that felt like the end of the set. Blue beams of light adorned the piano as Marx launched into the last song of the night; his hit single Right Here Waiting from his 1989 Repeat Offender album. The crowd sang along to the power ballad before Marx finished the set off with guitars and a standing ovation. After nearly four decades Richard Marx can still pull off a great show.