Live Review: Daryl Braithwaite, Johnny Rollins Band, James Franklin

Rising Melburnian musician James Franklin plays his first song in complete darkness before the spotlight finally illuminates him. Looking like Weird Al Yankovich dressed as Man In Black-era Johnny Cash, Franklin possesses a voice reminiscent of ‘70s soul greats. Belting out whimsical, original acoustic numbers between covers of Marvin Gaye’s Let's Get It On and The Beatles' Eleanor Rigby, Franklin is a talent to watch in the coming years.

If Johnny Rollins looks familiar, it’s because the affable singer songwriter is a former contestant on reality television show The Voice. Finishing third on the show, Rollins hasn’t quite sparked the Australian music population’s interest like show judge Kylie Minogue, but the radio-friendly soul-infused rock numbers he and his band offer up will surely change that in time.

It’s hard to believe Daryl Braithwaite hasn’t had a hit since the ‘90s considering the boisterous crowd present to witness his first show at The Corner in almost six years. Fans range from those who’ve followed Braithwaite from his early days as iconic Australian act Sherbet’s lead singer through to pissed up 20-somethings continuously yelling for The Horses. Not that any of this bothers Braithwaite, as he and his band ease into things with Sherbet rocker Blueswalkin’ and his own solo cut All I Do. James Reyne randomly appears and belts out his top 10 hit, Slave, with Braithwaite on backing vocals. The silver-haired fox engages the audience all night, wishing Kara a happy 30th and grabbing someone’s phone and filming himself during songs. In between his good-natured stage antics, Braithwaite slips in a groovy cover of Terence Trent D’Arby’s Wishing Well between 2013's lesser-known Not Too Late and classic tune As The Days Go By. Declaring “It’s time for our favourites”, the fit 67-year-old delivers a procession of his most successful songs, including the anthemic Rise, Sherbet’s Howzat, pop gem Higher Than Hope, along with another cover, this time The Kinks' All Day And All Of The Night.

The inevitable encore begins with Summer Love and ends with an epic sing-along version of The Horses that never seems to end. Braithwaite watches bemused as the audience sing the chorus back to him over and over before finally managing to regain control and end a night of nostalgia with one last, “That’s the way it’s gonna be little darlin’.”