Words by CECILIA PATTISON-LEVI
Pix by SARAH GILPIN PHOTOGRAPHY
Chocolate Starfish kicked off their major regional tour of Australia with a self-contained performance of the old and the new at Caloundra’s Events Centre. The concert was in two parts. The band presented a documentary Between The Cheeks: The Unfinished Story of Chocolate Starfish that acknowledged the band’s 30 years together. Then, the second half of the concert that pulled the crowd into the present and with the release of a new single showed where the band was heading into the future.
The documentary was a unique way to show fans into a band’s collective past. Chocolate Starfish opened their archives that traced the Melbourne band’s journey from their pub rock beginnings and early chart success to band line-up changes, personal tragedy and to the resilience of the group as they embarked on an enduring second act as one of Australia’s most dynamic live acts.
Chocolate Starfish’s documentary brought the nostalgia with the celebration of their 30th anniversary as a band from their formation as Chocolate Starfish & Box to the present. It is an extensive record of the band’s story and also provides a snapshot of the 1990’s Australian music industry during the major label era. The highlights and the lowlights are traversed from the band’s fame, their hiatus and then the tragedy it took to bring them back together.
At the centre of Between The Cheeks: The Unfinished Story of Chocolate Starfish is the song writing partnership and friendship between singer Adam Thompson and guitarist Zoran Romic, highlighting the band’s battle for survival after Romic passed away on 31 March 2012 from non-Hodgkin lymphoma that left the remaining members (John Nixon, Norman Falvo, Darren Danielson and Thompson) to consider whether Chocolate Starfish should continue. Then, the future changes in the band’s line-up that saw Zakk Zedras join the band and led the band to a pathway forward.
There are some classic moments with added swearing as the band revisits those long drives up and down Australia’s east coast in their Toyota Tarago. The performances at venues including Newcastle’s Star Hotel. The band’s breakthrough with the high-energy interpretation of Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain, and the key moment in Los Angeles where the whole band wrote their signature song, Mountain. It is the song that defines the band and remains a staple of their live performances.
The documentary was full of candour, humour, pathos and the crowd loved watching it. It all took us back to those heady days of the 1990s. And, John Nixon owes “quite a lot to the swear jar” according to Adam Thompson.
After a short break, the crowd at Caloundra regathered in the Events Centre as Chocolate Starfish prepared to take to the stage and set the present alight and bring the heat on a dark winter’s night with their appropriately named All Fired Up classic hits tour.
Chocolate Starfish are known for honouring and re-imaging songs written and originally performed by women songwriters: from covers of You’re So Vain by Carly Simon, their festival favourites Get The Party Started and What’s Up? both written by Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes and, of course, Pat Benatar’s All Fired Up.
And, as the band came out on to the stage, Chocolate Starfish took their instrumental weapons and ambitiously took to delivering Adele’s Rolling In The Deep. The song is notoriously difficult to sing and is advised as vocal warm-up only due to “register shifts, lack of breathing space, diphthong” and other issues. Adam Thompson did a great job of singing it and used the song as a perfect foil to get his voice into shape for the rest of the night.
Then, Chocolate Starfish started into their own songs with Beautiful Addiction kicking off their original songs. Then 4 Letter Word followed by the emotive and crowd favourite, Mountain. Thompson spied a young fan “who had not been following the band for 30 years” and brought him on stage to help take the lead on the Na Na Na’s singalong and then to help sing the chorus.
Then Thompson declared it was time for some Euro-disco as he acknowledged the dance floor area. The band delivered Cher’s Believe and it was a poptastic moment! Thompson promised: “Well, there is more of that” as Zakk Zedras performed the first of many impressive guitar solos. Then, the Fish song Head was mashed up with P!nk/Linda Perry’s Get The Party Started. There was a singing lesson as the ladies took the Pink lyrics and the gentlemen took the Chocolate Starfish ones. Thompson walked off the stage and into the crowd to interact and sing with fans.
He then returned to the stage to perform a trilogy of songs supported by Norman Flavo on keys, as the rest of the band left the stage. It was an emotional high as the self-confessed 62-year-old singer discussed his fractious relationship with the man upstairs (God) and whether he would “be let in” to heaven as his thoughts had obviously turned to those special people now missing in this 30-year musical life and journey. He performed with real skill the “trifecta” of ‘God’ as he mashed in Hozier’s Take Me To Church and Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. It was beautifully done!
The band returned to the stage and then delivered, as a whole, a dedication to Zoran Romic with his song Three Words before the celebration kicked in. It was time to honour Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler with the Jim Steinman 1970’s classic Total Eclipse Of The Heart and the 1980’s smash hit of Holdin’ Out For A Hero as the band intertwined them and the crowd were all on their feet singing along, after which the song that named the tour – All Fired Up – was played; cue more singing.
Chocolate Starfish followed it with an all mash-up crazy ending with You’re So Vain as they wove in a diverse rendition of Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues about the man Adam Thompson shot at the Gympie Muster, to the traditional song (She’ll Be) Comin’ Round The Mountain, then Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler as the band went quiet and Thompson smashed the last verse of You’re So Vain before the band cut back in to end the cycle. The band thanked the crowd for their active engagement and love as they left the stage.
Chocolate Starfish once more returned to stage and this time brought the future with them. The band has a new song, just released – One Life – which provided a wonderful treat for the crowd to hear new musical life and the band’s forward energy.
Then, Thompson joked “You didn’t think we would leave it there?” as Zakk Zedras’ guitar struck those melodic chords, John Nixon’s bass thrummed with Darren Danielson‘s drums and the keys of Norman Flavo crashed over the top as Bat Out Of Hell filled the room, unleashing all 9 minutes and 51 seconds of the rock opera that is, quite simply, a song Thompson was born to sing. It was outstanding: and the crowd loved every minute of it!
Chocolate Starfish closed out the night with a huge cover of 4 Non-Blonde’s What’s Up and the appreciative crowd were still on their feet and singing along at full volume as the call and response brought joy as Chocolate Starfish departed stage one last time to a well deserved standing ovation.
Tickets and more information https://www.chocolatestarfish.com.au/dates
