Live - Divinyls - Enmore Theatre
It can be very much a gamble when going to see a live performance of a reunited band – especially when that band is very much loved and over a decade has passed since they last ventured onto the stage. If you believe that a band is only as good as their last show then the Divinyls need not worry. Their Don’t Want To Do This Tour has shown that Chrissie Amphlett and Mark McEntee have still got what it takes to electrify the stage and keep an audience on their feet for the entire set.
Opening with their infectious 1982 hit Science Fiction Amphlett made her rock star presence known on stage appearing with big dark sunglasses and a black fringed bodice that oozed Morticia Addams. Yes, the school uniforms are long gone but gimmicks are no longer needed with the incredible repertoire that the Divinyls have under their belts.
Other iconic tracks followed – Pleasure and Pain and Only Lonely, before they introduced one of their new tracks Asphyxiated – a dark and brooding number laden with guitar genius McEntee’s unmistakable riffs.
As the show progressed Amphlett settled in onstage and the sunglasses were removed, giving the audience a more intimate connection to the band’s front woman. Other highlights were The Good Die Young which was dedicated to her friend Suzi Lovegrove who died of AIDS in the mid-eighties.
For many, the key elements to the success of the Divinyls is that their musical and visual legacy is so evocative of a place and time. Their music breathes Sydney’s seedy inner city in the early eighties where the band cut their teeth and developed their reputation while playing in pubs around Kings Cross.
With so many amazing songs and so little time to fit them all in, the show drew to an end with their mainstream hits of Aint Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore, I Touch Myself and Boys In Town.
While the Divinyls that we see on stage in 2007 may be physically more sedate, with a whole lot less thrashing around, they also have nothing left to prove and the legacy of their music speaks for itself. With the current state of music today it’s more than great to have them back and Australia should be proud!
Check out our photos from the concert here.
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honey-prawns
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