Live Review: Australian Rock Collective (ARC) Rise Like an Eagle
What was it like to play to that many people? asked Sheldon Ang Media in a recent interview with Mark Wilson, bass guitarist and ARIA Hall of Famer as a member of Jet.
To play that many? It’s amazing. But there’s not much difference between 50,000 and 150,000 when you’re standing on stage; you can’t see them anyway. It’s just that you feel the energy. It’s pretty cool.
Even after returning from Chile with Jet, where they headlined a festival in front of 150,000 maniacal fans, Mark Wilson and his “school camp” bandmates were just as eager to bring the songs of the Eagles into a theatre with the Australian Rock Collective. The supergroup features some of Australia’s finest musicians: Darren Middleton of Powderfinger, Kram from Spiderbait, Davey Lane from You Am I and of course Mark Wilson.
ARC have made a name for themselves by taking on some of the biggest names in music, including The Beatles, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. Between the bands they represent, there are 33 ARIA Awards, 16 Top Ten albums, and an ARIA Hall of Famer in Jet.
It was actually Darren (Powderfinger) in 2014 who got us started. Darren got asked to put together a band to go over to Brazil and play at the World Cup for the Australian cohort over there. And he called us and said, “Oh, do you want to come to Brazil?”
So we went over there and played in front of a big cohort of all the Australian fans, because they, the Socceroos, were playing in Porto Alegre against the Netherlands, said Mark Wilson during the interview.
Twelve years later, with the World Cup happening in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, it felt like a full-circle moment for Australian Rock Collective.
The night unfolded in two acts.
Act one belonged to Hotel California, the 42-million-selling album, performed in its entirety. So it was no surprise that the first song was Hotel California, with Kram opening his vocal cords from behind the drums. ARC are not a cover band, so there was never going to be a carbon copy of Don Henley’s laidback, raspy California drawl. Instead, Kram brought the nasal, sharp-edged vocal quality we know from the Spiderbait drummer. Yet he still carried the storytelling spirit of the Eagles’ drummer, taking us on a journey down that dark desert highway.
The lighting was majestic, in cadence with the music, punching with bright orange spotlights, painting a desert aura through the chilling lyrics. The crowd remained reticent for the opener, drawn into the words and the performance, until the chorus struck and Middleton, Lane, and Wilson lifted the room. It was, indeed, such a lovely place to be tonight at the Astor Theatre Perth in Mount Lawley among a thousand fans.
The main vocals were also shared between guitarists Middleton and Lane, with bass guitarist Wilson carrying the backing vocals. We were taken through the nostalgia of New Kid in Town and Life in the Fast Lane, while the band folded their own rock credentials into the night. At one point, the You Am I pillar was kicking, lifting his guitar head, and injecting the stage with his own brand of rockfest energy in the latter track.
Apparently, this show almost didn’t go ahead. Kram told the story of Don Henley initially saying they could not do the show. “Don Henley knows us?” he joked. Later, however, they were given the green light.
And we are thankful for that, because this was pure entertainment, whether you came as an Eagles devotee, a rock fan, or simply someone wanting to hear great songs played with heart.
The first set ended with The Last Resort, Darren Middleton taking on the vocals, and Kram carrying it home with the warm glow of the ’70s still hanging in the air.
After a 20-minute break, the second set commenced with Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975), the compilation that sits as the best-selling album in American history, again played in its entirety. Globally, the title of best-selling album of all time is usually associated with Michael Jackson’s Thriller, but in the U.S., the Eagles’ greatest hits collection remains at the top.
There was no taking it easy, with Davey Lane stepping up to the mic. Lyin’ Eyes began a cappella, wrapped in beautiful harmony, before settling into its familiar pace. Already Gone closed with a hard rock end-to-end riff, sounding every bit like the work of a band making the songs their own.
Desperado brought backing vocalist Eileen Hodgkins to the mic. She sang it in her own style, with a high, bright, slightly pinched quality that cut through the mix and stood apart. It was a unique moment: a female vocalist taking the song somewhere new, without losing its ache. This photojournalist would have thought Middleton would be performing this track however, he took on Tequila Sunrise, and he felt like the natural choice, thanks to his storytelling qualities and that cool, laidback style reminiscent of Don Henley and Glenn Frey. He carried the melancholy well.
Act two ended with The Best of My Love, with Kram coming to the front of the stage, carrying the guitar as though he had lived inside the song all night.
The night closed with a three-song encore, beginning with The Boys of Summer. By then, Generation X and the Baby Boomers were on their feet, the energy rising through the solo before the evening finally landed on Heartache Tonight.
We just really try and bring a really fun, enjoyable, high-class show to people like us. We’re essentially celebrating these great songs that were written 50-odd years ago. And things that we love. It’s always a pretty… I mean, there aren’t many shows we haven’t done that haven’t got a standing ovation. — Mark Wilson to Sheldon Ang Media.
Needless to say, the Australian Rock Collective received a standing ovation – a perfect ending to their tour, and a reminder that great songs, in the right hands, still know how to bring a room to its feet.
Sheldon Ang Media would like to thank Revolution Per Minute PR, Live Nation Australia and Australian Rock Collective.
About Sheldon Ang Media: Sheldon Ang, photojournalist, writer and the founder of Perth-based Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) has been accredited to over 250 of the hottest acts including Taylor Swift (ERAS Tour in Sydney), Coldplay (Perth), AC/DC, KISS, Metallica, Iron Maiden, RHCP and P!NK with reviews shared by the likes of Belinda Carlisle, UB40, Delta Goodrem, and Roxette. He has interviewed rockers Suzi Quatro (pictured below), the late Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS) plus over 100 artists. He’s also a contributor on Triple M Radio as a music journalist.
