Venue: A Day on the Green Scotchman’s Hill at Spray Farm, Bellarine Peninsula; Rochford Winery, Yarra Valley
Date: Saturday 1st December and Sunday 2nd December
Reviewed By: Lyn. Photographs by Mark Geisel and Sarah
My youth certainly flooded back to me on this beautiful warm weekend in December when Lionel Richie sung hits from the 1970’s, 1980’s and today. More than 11,000 people showed up on the Saturday and 8,000 on the Sunday at wineries around Victoria . As soon as I heard Lionel was coming to town I just knew I had to go! Luck had it that I got to see both shows by working at them.
Where does one start! For a 58 year old, Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. still has what it takes to shake his groove thang (and mega lips to match)! His career started out in the band The Commodores, did you know they first caught the public eye whilst supporting Jackson 5? The name ‘The Commodores’ came from opening the dictionary and picking a word. So there you go, some trivia for you all!
Let’s start with the supports over the weekend.
Due to working I didn’t see Mahalia Barnes either day, but from what I heard she seemed to hold a powerful voice and style of music was soulful R&B.
Next was Marcia Hines. Born in the US, she began singing in the local church choir and was discovered at 16 by an Australian who wanted her in the stage performance of ‘Hair’ in Australia .
On the Saturday the crowd seemed to be bigger fans of Marcia, cheering her on big time, and the fans were vocally sad when she finished. Wearing colourful attire most of the show she took off her second top for the last song to reveal black top and pants. She has a beautiful voice. Supported with a big band, she played a lot of cover songs and the crowd joyfully sang and danced along, one punter displaying his love for Marcia by holding up one of her records! Her set ended with the Donna Summer song Ain’t Nobody, and we find out Marcia and Donna knew each other in the US as kids but didn’t like each other.
We had a bit of a wait for Lionel, perhaps waiting for the sun to dip for the day. Full lights were on, not that they made much difference on the Sunday due to the show being an earlier start. A bit late, but better late than never, out came Lionel. We saw him running from backstage on the big screen, and then the yelling and cheering started as he made it onto the front stage. Lionel looked out at us all with amazement. Humanity was everywhere, with no grassy spots to be seen.
By this time burnt and drunk were bodies all over the place! Saturday I felt had more drunken bodies than the Sunday.
Lionel started with a new song then launched into Lady Lover, then Easy, Ballerina Girl and then Oh No. Lionel chatted a lot to us and is very good at getting the crowd cheering, clapping and singing. He told us he created a dance called the Fly Dance at the Sunday show, due to the large amount of flies he swats hand around face and neck. He says he would take his top off (to which many people - or maybe I ought to say girls – scream rather loudly) but to the disappointment of a few, the shirt stayed on.
The next song was Stuck On You, followed by the big hit - before which Lionel warns us he’s not responsible for anything that happens in the crowd after this point - Dancing On the Ceiling’. True to Lionel's promise, this caused the whole crowd to stand up and dance about! I thought this may have been the last song of the night but that wasn’t to be.
For Three Times a Lady’ the couples in the Saturday crowd got up and slow danced together. Next was You Are, followed by Endless Love. Instead of having Diana Ross sing the duet, he asked all the females in the audience to sing her part! A Commodore medley included Sweet Love and Brickhouse, then Lionel and the band bowed and made their exit. Pandemonium followed, and naturally Mr Richie was back and at piano again to sing Hello, which is a gorgeous song. With big smiles, Lionel waved to the crowd. The song to end on was All Night Long, and I’m sure people took those words literally.
Both days had the same setlist, and Lionel and band did an amazing job. Unfortunately I didn’t catch the names of the band members on the Saturday and the Sunday I didn’t hear him mention them (maybe I was taking a break myself). My only disappointment was the fact he didn’t play Say You Say Me, but it was a truly memorable weekend at both wineries. I preferred the Rochford winery set up as I felt it was more open for all to see the stage and less squishy. If haven't been to A Day On the Green I suggest you head to one. Great bands, friendly punters and workers and some lovely wine to boot!
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