Live Review: Robbie Williams, The Bamboos

Being welcomed to Qudos Bank Arena by the sounds of The Bamboos and their frontwoman Kylie Auldist was definitely a wonderful treat. "You're going to have so much fun," Auldist told the crowd as the band walked off stage, and if their performance was anything to go off, she hit the nail on the head.

The crowd were more than happy to dance along to anything that blared out of the speakers in between sets, particularly for the likes of Eminem's Lose Yourself - some even seemed disappointed when the song cut out part way through for the main show to begin.

Firstly, it's important to say that from the start, you knew this was going to be a real show, a spectacular of sorts, and from the moment Robbie Williams, his band and dancers took to the stage that was certainly confirmed.

There was an old-school style voiceover that boomed across the arena, asking the crowd to be upstanding for the "national anthem of Robbie"; a take on Land Of Hope & Glory, updated to be about Williams, including pokes at his stint in rehab and his attempt at rapping. Dancers came running out, dressed as boxers to fit The Heavy Entertainment Show theme, the arena filled with screams as the man himself walked out, dressed in a red boxer's robe, back turned to the audience as he sang the tour's title track.

Before long, he had dropped the robe and was charging down the runway that divided the GA section, bursting into the wildly popular Let Me Entertain You, his ten-piece band in full swing. He stayed at the end of the platform, introducing himself as "Robbie Fucking Williams" before starting on Monsoon. There was a cover of Minnie The Moocher before they kicked off into a touching tribute to George Michael that had the whole crowd singing " freedom" in unison.

Williams has changed a lot over the past 18 years, having given up his partying ways and settling into a life of marriage and family. He introduced I Love My Life as a song he wrote for his two children, saying "I'll think I've done a good job when they say, 'Thank you, Daddy, I love my life," a touching sentiment as he was climbing into a mechanical boxing glove that then lifted above the crowd and sent him sailing atop the crowd before settling back down on the stage at the end of the song. Yep, seriously.

It was here he asked the crowd which decade they were born in, then telling the younger audience that, "I joined a boy band and then I left them and became a cashed-up bogan," with a laugh.

Singalongs were not in short supply for the likes of Come Undone, Millennium and Take That's Never Forget, and before long he was joking about his rapping abilities before the band kicked off Rudebox, which got, let's say, a mixed reaction from the crowd.

A surprise came in the form of Williams' dad, who had made the trip over to take the lead on a version of Sweet Caroline, pleasing the crowd to no end to have father and son on stage, conducting them through the chorus. Another touching moment came during She's The One, which was dedicated to a woman in the front row who was attending her 45th Robbie Williams show.

It was followed by a small break while the crowd was plunged into darkness and then covered with a green, hazy laser show as Williams walked out to play Feel. Rock DJ brought along a huge light show and had the crowd dancing before the real encore break.

Better Man was the first song back from the encore, which had Williams sharing his appreciation for Australia embracing it as a single and loving it so much, and he genuinely looked chuffed as the crowd joined in the whole way through. He then encouraged them to the light up the room with the torches on their phones before singing a huge version of Angels.

It would have been a perfect place to end, but no, Williams insisted here, cheekily, that he would now sing the Australian national anthem, before performing a cover of Men At Work's Down Under.

Overall, Williams puts on a hell of a show and still after all these years, his performance is top notch. There were points throughout though where you wonder if the playboy-type shtick has worn too thin - particularly with lines like, "This is my band, this is my cock and tonight your arse is mine," while grabbing his crotch and flashing his underwear from beneath his kilt. If you can get past some of the more cringe-worthy parts of his speeches, then you're in for a show you won't be forgetting for a long time.