Mark Ronson is a master producer, skilled re-arranger and a very clever collaborative songwriter. He’s also pretty handy on the guitar and he’s got a knack for turning a root idea into a cohesive album length journey. But in the first place Mark Ronson is a DJ – someone who by definition spins other people’s songs.
Tonight we were all here for a Mark Ronson show, but what we love about his records isn’t just his driving presence, but the shining contributions of his talented pals. So along with Ronson and his virtuosic band – featuring a drummer, bass player, synth player and horn section – tonight’s performance was stuffed full of show stealing guests.
Interestingly, the setlist opened with Ronson standing behind the DJ decks, scratching his way through the single Feel Right (from this year’s Uptown Special LP). The song’s lead vocals are handled by New Orleans rapper Mystikal, who wasn’t in the house tonight. Theophilus London (perhaps the busiest vocalist of the night) and a fellow MC provided vocal accents, but mostly what we heard was Mystikal’s original vocals, accompanied by his menacing head coming from a video projection.
Although this pre-recorded approach was employed just once more during the show, there was no feeling of, ‘Oh what a shame – a backing track.’ A pro DJ’s chief skill is to give the audience what they want, even if they don’t know they want it, and Ronson was in charge from the very beginning. From here, he barely stepped a foot wrong. London was joined by Melbourne’s Ella Thompson for the 2010 single Bang Bang Bang, before Kyle Falconer from The View arrived to fulfil his vocal duties on The Bike Song. Another Melburnian, Daniel Merriweather was on board to ignite a cover of The Smiths’ Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before – an early highlight.
Things really took off with the arrival of two other crusading Australian musicians: the leader of Tame Impala/Ronson’s favourite band, Kevin Parker, and Ronson’s “guitar hero”, Kirin J Callinan. Already one of the more impressive numbers on Uptown Special, tonight the trio’s collaboration Daffodils was given an extra element of debaucherous power.
As we kept rolling forward, an elated fever took over the entire Margaret Court Arena. Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt proved the most obviously gifted vocalist of the night, taking charge of his own song Animal before the bittersweet anthem Somebody To Love Me.
Before exiting the stage, Ronson took a moment to fondly reflect on his experiences working with Amy Winehouse. Fittingly, the show closed with the pair’s single Valerie, and instead of installing a substitute vocalist, he blasted Winehouse’s original track for everyone to sing along to.
Bruno Mars wasn’t here, but there was no way they’d exclude Ronson’s biggest hit to date, Uptown Funk. And so with a sense of welcome inevitability, the band soon re-appeared, led by London and the incredibly vivacious Keyone Starr, who did a damn good job at conveying Mars’ debonair energy. The stage soon filled with the night’s full roster of guests, who proceeded to mirror the audience by dancing and singing with unrestrained joy.
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
Loved: Rondog.
Hated: Rondog, that bastard.
Drank: A fresh jar of skippy.
