An undiminished Jimmy Barnes had fans on their feet for this classic
Jimmy Barnes ★★★
Palais Theatre, June 13
When I was a child, I got a Jimmy Barnes CD out of a packet of muesli bars. I didn't have a CD player, so I just had to imagine what it might sound like.
I already had enough Barnesy in my blood to have a good guess. His songs are part of the Australian collective unconscious. They play in our dreams. They give them away in muesli bar packets.
Barnes is now touring his 21st studio album, Defiant. A few hours before he took to the stage, it went to No. 1 in the album charts. It's his 15th No.1 album (19th if you count Cold Chisel). He plays virtually all of that record tonight. His gruff yarl is undiminished by age and recent heart surgery.
However, the new songs – gruff pub rock beasts about struggle and defiance – struggle themselves. The essence is all here, but the lyrics are a bit live-laugh-love ('It's a new day / I can feel the sun shining down on me').
It all buckles under the weight of a nine-piece band. Songs like The Long Road and Dig Deep are rote, mid-tempo, middle-of-the-road Barnesy. They could have come out any time since 1991. Album opener That's What You Do For Love gives it all a lift (possibly because it reminds me of Born To Run).
Taken all at once, it's a slog. The audience waits (mostly) patiently, as the new material is scattered with familiar stuff like Choirgirl and I'd Die To Be Alone With You Tonight.
It's when the opening piano of Flame Trees kicks in that everything changes. 'A real one,' my friend says. The crowd stand up en masse. People join in on the second line. By the chorus, it's a choir. 'But oh,' he sings, 'who needs that sentimental bullshit, anyway?' It's a beautiful song about the past escaping from us.
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Ever since the movie studio was announced by then-premier Mark McGowan during the 2021 state election in a starry press event at Victoria Quay with local stars such as Tim Minchin, Kate Walsh and Ben Elton, the industry has been debating the issue of whether Perth is ready for a movie industry. There are arguments that WA's industry is not mature enough to service a movie studio, and that most of the talent will have to be imported, raising costs and make it less attractive to American studios and other production entities around the globe. Loading Avison disagrees that WA is putting the cart before the horse. 'A movie studio is like a reef,' he said. 'It acts like a centre of gravity. It brings the ecosystem to it. You get big fish, you get small fish and everything in between. 'In the past productions have come here to take advantage of the wonderful locations then go somewhere else for the studio component. They will now be able to do everything here.' He also sees potential for crews returning if they have a good experience in Perth, giving the example of a series production, which could take months. 'That means that the various services that support a production are assured of long-term work,' he said. 'All of this occurs because at the centre of the ecosystem is a movie studio.' The other big challenge is distance. Perth is, as we hear ad nauseum, the most isolated capital city in the world. Loading So, will the production entities in the United States, Europe and, to a lesser extent, Asia be willing to send their projects across multiple time zones to do what could be done on their respective home territories? Adding to the challenge is that, since the rise of streaming services such as Amazon, Netflix and Apple, screen facilities have been popping up across the United States and across the globe, with Sydney recently announcing plans for a second studio. While some aspects of international filmmaking are out WA's control — the rise and fall in the dollar, and Donald Trump's tariffs have added another element of uncertainty — Avison believed the studio would overcome distance by offering a unique, high-quality experience. 'Filmmaking is complex and stressful, with tight deadlines and fixed budgets. So crews need to feel reassured they can do their jobs,' he said. 'We will create an environment that will not just get the job done but will allow filmmakers to flourish. 'We want them to be reassured that they don't have to worry about the basics, and they can put all their energy into their creativity.' While there is pressure on Avison and his team to lure the kind of bigger budget productions that will brush aside the naysayers, he believes it will take time for the studio to build a reputation and drop into the field of view of the global film industry, like Tom Cruise in Top Gun. 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