Townsville Bulletin

Barnsey belts out his hits for crowd

- ELISABETH SILVESTER > MUSIC REVIEW

AUSTRALIA rock royalty Jimmy Barnes played to his multi-generation­al fans at the Townsville Entertainm­ent Centre, thrilling the crowd with 23 career-defining songs.

The 63-year-old idol played the second show of his Shutting Town Your Town tour to adoring North Queensland fans last month, the rockers biggest tour of this century.

Promoting his acclaimed 17th solo studio album My Criminal Record, fans filled the stadium to listen to his solo classic hits, Cold Chisel anthems plus new tunes.

Musician Scott Darlow warmed up the crowd until fellow Aussie band Eskimo Joe graced the stage to keep everyone company until Barnsey hit the stage.

The former Cold Chisel front man was dressed in simple black ripped jeans and a black T-shirt and rocking a Mohawk.

The ARIA Hall of Fame inductee dazzled the crowd for almost two hours, singing his songs with heart and character, wiping the sweat from his brow during the concert.

Supported by a six-piece band, the Scottish-australian music icon talked to the audience between sets, casually chatting about the songs he was singing.

The night was a family affair with Jimmy’s wife of 38 years, Jane Barnes, serving as one of the legendary artist’s back-up singers, dressed in black knee-high boots and a sparkling navy mini-dress.

In true rock star style, the singer-songwriter did not disappoint for the encore, choosing to keep electrifyi­ng the audience rather than taking it down a notch.

“We were gonna do some ballads but we thought, f*** it, we’ll smash ya,” Barnesy said.

The crowd loved what they heard with cheers and wolf whistles filling the stadium with some die-hard fans singing and dancing in their seats. Barnsey will take his Shutting Down Your Town tour around Australia as well as New Zealand throughout October and November. EMAIL YOUR GIG DETAILS TO

Jeremy Romeo - Seaview Hotel from 6pm

Midlife Crisis - Bohle Barn from 6pm

Les & Kez Duo - Kingpin Cannon Park from 6.30pm Chris Baker - Herbert Hotel from 7pm

Incidental­s - Flynn’s Irish Bar from 7pm

Jeff Salter - Cutheringa Bowls Club from 7pm

Justin Manwaring - Bushland Beach Tavern from 7pm

 ?? Picture: ALIX SWEENEY ?? Jimmy Barnes in Townsville.
Picture: ALIX SWEENEY Jimmy Barnes in Townsville.

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