Shannon Noll is more than just a meme, he is a born performer. The Australian Idol alumni has recently had a second wave of fame with social media jumping on board with his carefree spirit that sees him regularly opening up and sharing his love for Australia and his family online.
Earlier this year he entered the jungle as a contestant on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here which saw him coming second, again. (RIP Australian Idol). But he’s back from the jungle, his fifth studio album ‘Unbroken’ is out and he’s currently on the road bringing a passionate and energetic live show to each city. So who is the real winner? (Sorry Fiona O’Loughlin).
The Brisbane stop of the tour saw his long-term fans packing out The Triffid and eagerly awaiting his arrival. Hyping the crowd up with a band solo his guitarist finally announced “He’s back from the jungle, please welcome Shannon Noll” which had the excited crowd embracing his arrival. Kicking off the show with ‘Who I Am’ he didn’t waste anytime by jumping straight into the hits like ‘Loud’, ‘My Place In The Line’ and ‘In Pieces’. But this tour was to celebrate the release of his new album and he did deliver fan favourites from ‘Unbroken’ including ‘Breath Of Life’, Land Of Mine’ and the patriotic anthem ‘Southern Sky’.
But the rest of the show was dedicated to his fans and his long discography of greatest hits. ‘Lonely’, ‘Shine’, ‘Learn To Fly’ and ‘Drive’ created some massive singalong’s but there were two songs in particular the crowd were ecstatic about hearing. The anthemic “Lift” had a very passionate singalong but as he left the stage the crowd started chanting “Nollsie” to bring him back to play THAT song. And he did. “What About Me” has become an Australian anthem in it’s own right and I don’t think I’ve ever felt more Australian than in that moment.
The energy was so uplifting, euphoric and no one was taking themselves seriously and it was such a nice thing to look around the venue and see. No matter how long some of the people in the room had been fans of him for because everyone united together to celebrate his 15 year discography. He delivered a high energy show that impressed and showcased the born performer he is and highlighted his passion for this country and the people he loves, his fans. As he said good night he jumped off the stage and ran up the barrier high-fiving them before heading up to the group of fans who were in wheelchairs to give them some extra love before he left. Not only is he an incredible live performer but he is also a genuinely down to earth person.
Check out the full photo gallery captured by The Raveyard Photography here;
Photos by Blake Lewis