Concert Review: Tina Arena Live – Love Saves World Tour
Tina Arena Love Saves World Tour at the Perth Concert Hall on 8th October 2023.
By Lee Garces
Photography: Praia Photography (Lee Garces)
‘From the dark we see the light overtake the night’. Lyrics from Dancing on Thin Ice, describing exactly what fans were greeted with when Tina Arena emerged ever so elegantly from the darkness as she graced centre stage under a sky of flowers. Dressed in an exquisite flowing black gown, embroidered with an array of colourful flowers and butterflies, Tina set the tone for the evening by opening her performance with the rock-esque single release Church from her newly released studio album, Love Saves.
Tina Arena’s Love Saves World Tour takes its title from the said album, debuting at number one on the ARIA album charts. Fans waited in anticipation to secure tickets to shows across the world and dedicated Perth-ians were graced with Tina’s presence on the second night of her tour on Sunday October 8, filling the Perth Concert Hall and making it a night to remember.
The audience were taken from places where angels gather to talk about the future in Symphony of Life, to past memories through Wasn’t it Good and Heaven Help My Heart. Of course we also hit the beaches of Sorrento and with so many releases and hits to choose from, it can’t be easy to put together a Tina Arena set list to suit the hundreds of thousands of fans. As the crowd shout out their favourites and what they want to hear, Tina responded to the “kids” with “I love Australians. Do you think this is karaoke?” and her light-hearted banter continued into the night.
Unlike the former Premiers (according to some), Love Saves is an incredible and original “piece of work” that reverberates power, passion and of course, love, written during times of the pandemic and relentless Melbournian lockdowns. On this night though, it was Can’t Say Anything that cemented how unchained the queen of Australian music really is, as she unleashed her voice through a song that speaks truth of these times. Tina herself acknowledging that “truth will sometimes make people uncomfortable, and that’s ok”. Emphasizing that we should all be able to speak our truth, and we should all treat each other’s truth with love and respect.
Tina’s humble nature was ever present as she spoke with the audience, expressing her deepest gratitude and appreciation of her fans for allowing her to continue on her journey. “Thank you so much for allowing me to live a dream”. With a journey that needs no introduction to Australians and spans over 50 years, Tina, a now an independent artist and no longer in Chains to a record company, advocates for and stands strong in calling for more support of Australian music and local artists. Reminding the audience that if we don’t support the industry, it can’t survive.
One supportive and long time fan, Beatrice Da Luz, sums up on why we keep on coming back to these shows, despite the last visit was only twenty two week ago; “Tina is her genuine authentic self on stage and her voice is flawless. Tina’s music is more than just lyrics, they are songs of truth which help to uplift, inspire and heal”.
In the essence of healing, the message from Tina was made clear as she performed her encore title track to the album and visibly a song very dear to Tina’s own heart, Love Saves, leaving the audience with her final words for the evening, “love saves, it definitely does”.
Tina continues her tour in Australia heading next to Surfers Paradise, Melbourne and Adelaide this October. Can’t catch a show? Physical copies of Love Saves are available now in all forms – CD, vinyl, and you can even find it on cassette! So now you can listen to Love Saves as it was intended to be received.
Tina Arena is touring across Australia, Europe and North America. Tickets to the remaining Love Saves World Tour are available from Tina’s official website
Sheldon Ang Media express their gratitude to VMPR, Face to Face Touring and Tina Arena for the media accreditation.
About the Writer/Photographer – Lee Garces is a Perth based lifestyle photographer, holds a day job and has a passion for mental health. Lee has followed Tina Arena’s journey for 30 years and some would say she has a ‘soft spot’ for Tina. But to put it in perspective, she grew up in a Portuguese household who didn’t take kindly to having Chains belting out on repeat day after day…after day. It wasn’t until Now I Can Dance was released that Lee’s mum was finally accepting of the fact that Lee would never be swayed otherwise, and still remains the only Tina song that is acceptable in the family home.
Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) have been accredited to photograph and review the likes of KISS, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rod Stewart and of course Tina Arena at Fremantle Prison with reviews shared by the likes of Delta Goodrem and UB40. The founder has interviewed rockers Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses) and over forty other legends.
