Never Ending 80's@Kirwan Tavern and Dalrymple Hotel

Photo by A Snee

80s vs 90 - Kirwan Tavern Fri 2nd Aug

Taking that first step through the door was not unlike entering a time machine - the crowded space was a sea of fluorescent colour, tight spandex, leg warmers, bumbags, neon wristbands and big 80s-style hairdos or wigs - the outfits were really amazing. But looking past all the busyness of the 80s, you were never more than a few steps away from a 90s mullet, flannelette shirt or a bucket hat.  And when the band took to the stage, lead vocalist J.C.Hollywood (aka Adam Ant) declared that it was time to return to “simpler times” and it wasn’t just the girls that wanted to have fun.

This five-piece 80s and 90s tribute act really knows how to get the party started, pumping out timeless hits that turned back the clock to Saturday mornings at the Skateway or school discos with our friends. Playing a diverse range of artists and genres, versatility is their strength - there was something for everyone with so many crowd favourites: Young MC, Brittany Spears, Blink 182, Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston, Prince, Salt n Pepa, just to name a few.

It was hilarious to see the lead guitarist, who wouldn’t have looked out of place on stage with Poison or Twisted Sister, proudly smashing out Wham’s Wake Me Up or Starship’s We Built This City. These guys brought so much energy and stamina to their show, and with a never-ending second set and encore running until midnight, the crowd was bouncing the entire time. The pace just seemed to quicken the later it got as the band played shorter snippets of songs, seamlessly morphing into the next banger and oscillating between the decades. It was clever musicianship and the audience was high on their sound.

Whether you were wearing your acid-wash jeans or your MC Hammer pants, I think it’s safe to say that we all enjoyed ourselves like we were back in 1999… or 1989.

Never Ending 80s - Dalrymple Hotel Sat 3rd Aug 2024

After their packed-out gig at the Kirwan Tavern the previous night, this assemblage of 80s tribute rockers was back with even more hits and nostalgia from the golden years of Walkmans, Atari, Pac-Man and Rubik’s Cubes. Styled up with crimped hair, fingerless gloves and more bangles than you could jump over, it wasn’t long before a medley of Madonna’s biggest hits had the crowd singing along.

One patron, who preferred to express his love of the 80s through his Back to the Future t-shirt, did make a comment about a lack of Australian representation in the set list but he was later appeased with some big AC/DC and INXS numbers.

But for me, the highlights were those massive hits we still hear regularly on the radio and can’t help but belt out in car karaoke: Livin’ on a Prayer with that epic key change that no normal human can pull off, Pat Benetar’s Hit Me With Your Best Shot and Jessie’s Girl.

A special mention goes to the band’s drummer, donned in Johnny Lawrence’s black Cobra Kai uniform from 1984’s Karate Kid, who never missed a beat.

The high-energy encore was the cherry on the cake - a compact mega-mix of everyone’s rock favourites to close off what was a bodacious night. Five out of five Boomboxes.