CLASSIC ROCK OF COLD CHISEL CAN STILL PULL A MONSTER CROWD
TAKE back all the nasty thoughts you had when Meat Loaf slaughtered his songs at the AFL grand final - Cold Chisel has hit the road to restore our faith in classic live rock.
It's hard to believe the iconic band have been together almost 40 years, but last night's opening of the two-month blockbuster Light The Nitro tour proved Jimmy Barnes and Co are still an explosive musical force.
With pitch-perfect renditions of hits like Shipping Steel and Saturday Night, the band made it abundantly clear why it has sold a staggering 250,000 tickets so far. Fittingly, they kicked off in Newcastle - the scene of some of Cold Chisel's first big breaks.
"There's some sentimental value here," Barnes said before the gig.
"(In the beginning) we'd come up here and fill houses and make enough money so we could keep living in the city."
"We had the best times here and the best audiences. They love to rock."
For fans like Kerrie Barraclough, 48, and Darryl Haidle, 45, who started queuing for last night's concert five hours before it began, it didn't matter where the tour was starting - they were going to be there.
Ms Barraclough said she had spent at least $25,000 on travel and tickets for Chisel gigs over the past 30 years, and was planning on spending another $5000 touring the country with them this time around.
"They rock my world," she said.
Barnes admitted the schedule was "a little bit daunting", but the chemistry and passion were still there.
"You're running off the energy of the crowd a lot of the time," he said.
Missing will be founding member, drummer Steve Prestwich, who died in January. "Everything we do as a band is sort of a tribute to Steve," Barnes said.
Neil Keene
From: The Daily Telegraph
October 14, 2011 2:13PM
Picture: Liam Driver / Source: The Daily Telegraph
