Peter Combe @ ANU Bar 4/10/07

Fri 5th Oct, 2007 in Gig Reviews

It was a pleasant evening for a trip down memory lane when 80’s children’s performer Peter Combe brought his wickedly wonderful tunes to town.
The national tour kicked off in Canberra, amid a sea of newspaper hats and toffee apples waving in the air. Tagged as Australia’s first kid’s pop star, Combe brought a highly anticipated show to life, probably not for the first time for many in the crowd, who saw his shows back when they were knee-high to the ground.
Indeed in taking the stage, Combe greeted the crowd with a “My, haven’t you all grown?” (Clearly speaking in terms of height and not maturity, that is). The ANU bar was abuzz with twenty-somethings high on nostalgia – the excitement was something akin to a bunch of five-year-olds hyped up on red cordial – quite fitting really. Opening the show was Combe’s lyrical interpretation of Jack and the Beanstalk before pumping out hits including the _Tadpole Song, Chopsticks, JellyBean Road, Rain _ and Baghdad – a song which apparently scored airtime in Iraq back in the 80s. The crowd lapped it all up as they belted out the words to songs they thought had languished in the depths of their memories decades ago.
Combe remains a standout performer – from his twisted facial expressions to his barrage of voices. He interpreted the target audience well – recreating those magical moments as if it really were 20 years ago and in front of him were a sea of toddlers instead of tipsy twenty-year olds. As he pumped out song after song with endless enthusiasm, cries of “Oh my god, I’d completely forgotten about that song! I love this song!” were heard all across the audience. Parcel in the Post and Nutrition Blues were forgotten gems that impressed this reviewer. Even for those who mightn’t have had a large Combe education during their tender years could sing along due to the simplicity and repetition in the songs.
Exhilaration ran hot during Combe’s big hits Spaghetti Bolognaise, Toffee Apple and Mr Clicketty Cane – performed complete with accompanying hand actions by most of the crowd. During this song I tried to remember a time I had felt that excited…. And realised it was probably the last time I saw “Wash your face with orange juice” performed live. At the big finale of “Belly Flop in a Pizza……Ewww” – Combe joked that was what we’d “said 20 years ago – but at least we could sing it in key now!” A very animated crowd clearly was in the mood to overindulge, pleading for an encore. Combe returned to stage to perform a few more numbers and wound up the show with everyone’s all-time favourite Juicy, Juicy Green Grass . Pure Genius.