Jack Johnson @ The Domain,Sydney (11/12/10)

Wed 15th Dec, 2010 in Gig Reviews

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon at the Domain in Sydney. The smell of marijuana was rife throughout the inner-city parkland. Oprah may have just arrived in Sydney, but a much larger crowd had gathered to welcome Jack Johnson to our fair city. I had some worries leading up to this show. While I enjoy Johnson’s unique brand of unthreatening acoustic pop, I feared it would not translate well to a live setting, and was preparing myself for a tedious two and a half hours.

The two hours of music that preceded Jack Johnson’s set did nothing to quash my reservations. Dreadlocked Melburnian Ash Grunwald was first to take to the stage, and while playing to such a massive audience would be quite daunting, there is little I can say about Grunwald’s set that isn’t negative. Not only were Grunwald’s songs forgettable, but he managed to make a thirty minute set feel like a ninety minute one.

Next up were Canadian twins Tegan and Sara. I’m a huge fan of T&S and had heard many positive reports about their live show, in particular their stage banter, so needless to say I was excited. However, their set was nothing but a disappointment. This is in no way the fault of the twins, but rather the sound crew. The vocals and guitars were practically inaudible. Usual crowd favourites Back In Your Head and So Jealous were almost unrecognisable in their new drum and bass form. While it was disheartening to see one of my favourite bands power through a set of greatest hits, ignorant to the fact that the crowd could barely hear them, perhaps the most disappointing part of the set was the stage banter. There was a lot of it, but it was impossible to decipher what was said over the increasingly vocal audience, due to such a terrible mix. You could blame the nature of the outdoor venue, but the fact that the sound issues seemed to be remedied for Jack Johnson’s set leads me to believe that more could have been done to ensure an enjoyable performance.

After an almost intolerable opening two hours of music, I was preparing for an early exit from the Domain. However, I am extremely glad that I saw out the rest of the night, as it turned out to be quite an enjoyable one.

Jack Johnson casually strolled on stage at 8:30 pm to an abundance of hoots and hollers, and launched straight into the classic sing-a-long Taylor. The attempts of the mostly intoxicated audience to imitate the guitar intro to the song provided many a chuckle. He quickly followed this up with more of his most popular tracks including Sitting, Waiting, Wishing and You and Your Heart. The crowd was lapping up every minute of his performance, singing along and clapping at every opportunity.

One of the things I noticed about Johnson was the way in which he was constantly smiling into the audience. It was clear that he was having a lot of fun. This incessant optimism was infectious to say the least. I caught myself grinning right back at him numerous times throughout the set.

Johnson continued to churn out the hits throughout the night. Highlights included Upside Down, Do You Remember? and a rendition of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, complete with a brand new verse, written by Jack himself, in which Rudolph questions his fellow reindeers’ motives following their sudden social acceptance of the red-nosed creature.

One of the more humorous moments of the night was when Jack stopped mid-verse during Breakdown, before exclaiming ‘Hey! Look behind you! There’s fireworks!” Sure enough, we were treated to a five minute firework display. It may have been intended for Oprah, but we certainly appreciated it, as did Jack.

Arguably the most pleasing aspect of Johnson’s set was the surprisingly short length, Despite being advertised to finish at 11, Johnson left the stage at around 10:15, clocking in at just under two hours. I felt that this was the perfect length for the show, as he managed to work through the majority of his greatest hits, as well as a few obscurities. If he had stayed on stage any longer, his performance may have begun to drag on, which would have tarnished an otherwise immaculate set.

Despite my prior concerns, as well as the mediocrity of the support performances, Jack Johnson’s delightful set made this a memorable night. There is no place I would have rather been – No, not even at Oprah’s harbourside shindig. Jack Johnson is the real star in town.