Hans Zimmer ProfileA couple of years ago, a friend and I went to Freemason’s Hall in South Australia to see a Candlelight orchestra performance play the best of film composer Hans Zimmer. Yes, we went to a performance in a church in the City of Churches, haha. How predictable! Anyway, in the intimate and small space, we got to hear a collection of Zimmer’s best film scores surrounded by LED candles.
It was a very nice time, and we assumed that it’d be the closest that we’d get to hearing his music in a live setting. Cut to now, we were graced with the chance to see the multi-Oscar and Grammy Award-winning musician in person in our state with Hans Zimmer Live: The Next Level! Funny how things turn out that way.
In the much bigger space of the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, the almost sold-out Thursday evening crowd filled out the rows of seats, anticipating seeing the collective works of the German musician. More specifically, they were impatiently waiting to hear a live rendition of The Black Pearl, but more on that later.
As the show began, a pattern of lights illuminated the crowd, with an almost techno version of The Dark Knight trilogy theme boomed from the orchestral band on stage. Then a familiar chant from The Dark Knight Rises started pulsating (quite literally with the feedback) and interweaving through the main theme, offering a strong introduction to what was to come.
An aspect of The Next Level that was surprising is how some of the songs from Zimmer’s scores were reinterpreted. Having read the wonderfully detailed program, Zimmer described wanting to go back to his Krautrock musical roots when transitioning from film composer to touring front man of a band.
As there was a large collection and diversity of musicians and instruments, the way they were utilized offered a unique take on the familiar works. Guitarist Guthrie Govan especially brought an insane level of talent with his guitar work while the band performed the Flight song from the Man of Steel soundtrack. This may potentially trip up some audience members, as a lot of the songs take on a more ballad adventure, especially with the twisting visualisers and strobe lights.
One of the more endearing parts of The Next Level was when Zimmer took the opportunity to highlight his band members, introducing them to the audience. With a wide variety of violinists that absolutely shredded (one of them being from Geelong!), guitarists, multiple drummers, French horn players, and synthesisers, the collection of talent on one stage was captivating. There was a genuine joy from Zimmer in how he composed the band and himself, constantly beaming throughout all three hours of the show.
The variety of songs performed by the band offered an engaging throughline of Zimmer’s work. There’s almost something both amusing and very sincere that scores from Christopher Nolan movies made frequent appearances in the set list. Zimmer shared a very wholesome story about the inspiration behind the score of Interstellar and linking it to the themes of fatherhood and connecting with his child, followed by a true space odyssey experience with the score.
We even got the epic Inception horns on a live stage, which would tickle all film bros from the 2010s. My friend was especially chuffed to hear Discombobulate from Guy Ritchie's original Sherlock Holmes movie, which certainly offered an epic take on the whimsy and intricacy from the duology. Other pieces of music included songs from Pearl Harbor, The Da Vinci Code, F1, and Hannibal.
As a personal highlight, hearing two of the best songs from both Dune movies in a live setting was outstanding. Leaving Caladan was easily one of the strongest songs of the Oscar-winning score and having it part of the rocking set list was nothing short of perfect. The Love Theme was also performed, which also included the original vocalist, Loire Cotler, screaming the Arrakis-inspired lyrics and chants.
It was also a treat to hear vocalist Lisa Gerrard perform Now We Are Free from the Gladiator soundtrack. When we reached the segment for Hans’ first Oscar-winning soundtrack, The Lion King, we got to experience a triumphant celebration of our favourite childhood African adventure. As another special guest, original singer Lebo, pelted out the opening lyrics of The Circle of Life, there’s no doubt that all our nostalgic senses were tingled. Each segment also provided various costumes, especially with one person performing on a trapeze in a disco costume. You had to be there.
But yes, let’s get to the meat and the potatoes of the show. Clearly, Zimmer knew the anticipation behind hearing the Pirates of the Caribbean score, so much so that he didn’t bother doing the classic “Leave the stage for the encore” bit that plagues all live performances.
Initially, the band offered a more rocking version of the Pirates score, but it eventually led to the classic swashbuckling tune that we all know and love. Despite the new interpretations, clearly the crowd and their sea of phones ate up every single note. But Hans found the most perfect way to finish the show with Time from Inception, even having the spinning top as the visualiser. It’s a song that’s been on repeat in my playlist for years and hearing it live from the original composer was nothing short of perfect.
Overall, Hans Zimmer Live: The Next Level lives up to the epic proportions of bringing some of the best music from one of the best film composers of all time to Adelaide. If you have loved and admired Zimmer’s work over the years, then I can absolutely recommend seeing The Next Level as soon as possible. Will there be some songs that were missed from the set list? Sure, but that is not enough of a reason to not walk but run to see Hans and his talented friends.
Hans Zimmer Live: The Next Level will continue touring across Australia this October, with the next destination being Brisbane, followed by Melbourne, then Sydney.
