Wow, what a show.
I really didn’t know what to expect as I walked towards Afterpay Arena in Sydney’s Olympic Park to see two-time Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer’s The Next Level show. I knew the music more than the man, as the backdrop to so many of my favourite films, from Gladiator to Pirates of the Caribbean, Interstellar to The Lion King… even The Simpsons.
Some 280 films in 45 years is quite a career.
The eager audience walking around me gave no further clue; one of the most diverse demographics I’ve ever seen at a concert. From those who looked like they’d happily wrap a fox fur scarf beneath their pearl earrings, to twenty-somethings in Nirvana shirts and families with kids in tow.
I’d assumed Mr Zimmer would spend most of the performance with his back to the audience conducting his band. Screens and lights ramped up the spectacle as his iconically electric approach to classic composition unfolded.
I’d sold the man short. Instead, it was one of the most unique rock’n’roll spectacles I’ve ever experienced.
Zimmer Frame?
When the lights dropped and a little senior citizen dressed like it was roast night at the RSL came into sight, I couldn’t help but laugh. Moments later, he picked up an axe and joined his band in a stunning opening that slowly saw the stage swarm with dozens of musicians and singers as the visuals, lighting and sound waved into a crescendo; my jaw dropped to the floor.
Zimmer’s music is a journey in texture; from a wall of noise to sparse fragility, thunderous flourishes to subtle elegance, woven together in ways that invoke an emotional response. That tells a story.
In the breaks between songs, as the enormously talented band around him took a well-earned rest, it was clear to see why. Zimmer’s humility, love and a clear respect for his collaborators – be they on stage, or film makers – was obvious. He shared stories – some particularly intriguing about Ridley Scott and Christopher Nolan – experiences and jokes, interacting with the crowd in such a way that it felt natural and unscripted.
In a big stadium with a huge band and epic light show, it made the experience feel personal and intimate.
Then, the songs would consume the audience. The man himself unable to restrain the odd conductor movement from wherever he ended up; behind the keys, on the piano, playing a guitar or sometimes, just sitting as if one of the crowds admiring the musicianship.
Rock ‘n’ Roll Show
Rather than break single songs into standalone experiences, The Next Level Tour instead sees Hans Zimmer and band more often deliver a medley themed to a particular movie. Not all of these received introductions, with concertgoers like myself – who didn’t immediately pick up some of the scores – relying on the imagery to spark the memory.
On occasion I was unable to solve the puzzle given that no footage from the films themselves is used, but usually it was obvious – think corn fields for Gladiator; a London street map for Sherlock Holmes.
This medley approach did make for some exhaustively long “songs” at times, and it didn’t always hit the mark –The Lion King outstayed its welcome, as did a few of the more “wall of noise” moments. Indeed, with the latter it could often be hard to pick out the individual instruments and appreciate it on that layer.
But at other times, space was given in these epics for an astonishingly good solo. In particular, I’ll never forget the brilliant Guthrie Govan on guitar, Mariko Muranaka on the cello and the line-up of four drummers bouncing off one another.
A special mention to Aussie Lisa Gerrard, who took to the stage for a sweeping vocal performance. It was far from the only time we heard a human instrument play a role, and I’ll admit to being mesmerised watching the vocal harmonies blend into the composition so organically.
Around all of it, the visuals, the lighting and, at one stage, a gymnastic performance for the ages. A lady in a glistening, lit-up golden bodysuit suspended from the roof, moving as if floating in-between dimensions to the tunes of Interstellar. Brilliant!
A Must See
The Next Level Tour ultimately delivered a greatest hits package for Hans Zimmer’s films. From The Dark Knight to Dune, Pirates of the Caribbean to Gladiator, Dunkirk to Pearl Harbour, and The Da Vinci Code to Inception – and more – it was three hours thick with generational memories.
But that’s what I did expect. It was the intimacy, stories, solos and the emotional evocation I hadn’t expected, and to call it a concert, certainly in the traditional symphony sense, would be misleading. It’s more like musical theatre meets rock ‘n’ roll spectacle that bedazzled in its loudest moments, but blew me away in its quieter corners. Ending with a moment of unity in which 20,000 guests celebrated the last wonderfully conceived note not in rapturous applause, but in a spectacular awestruck silence.
Minds a spin, like a top.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Chris Stead was invited to see Hans Zimmer – The Next Level Tour as a guest for the purposes of this review.
