Rattaya Nimibutr
Staff Writer
Review
Savage Garden, the dance-pop duo from Australia who introduced you to that "chic-a-cherry-cola" song, finally showed their faces to Houston fans and caused quite a sensation during a concert last week at the Aerial Theater at Bayou Place.
The pair's self-titled album skyrocketed to the top of the charts worldwide, swept a large number of awards at the group's hometown version of the Grammys and ,best of all, got a vigorous nod of approval from Rosie O'Donnell, who couldn't stop singing "I Want You" on her show. Could it get any better than that?
So with all that jazz, one would expect Savage Garden to burst onstage with a bang. And just as expected, lead singer Darren Hayes, with his guitarist/keyboardist bud Daniel Jones, did just that.
Backed by an impressive light show and supporting vocalists, Savage Garden is not your regular dance-pop outfit. Its lyrics are impossibly romantic and the band's onstage style was a confetti-colored delight.
Hayes and Jones did not wait to charm the audience with their latest hit single, "To the Moon and Back." They delivered an energetic, upbeat version of it that enchanted the screaming crowd. The postmodern love ballad "Truly Madly Deeply," a song written by Hayes for his wife, was also passionately performed.
The atmosphere was like that of a good nightclub - it wasn't too much, and it didn't consist of just musicians and a fog machine. Hayes exuded plenty of appeal through his body movements, Jones played a passionate keyboard, two female backup singers added spice, and a reasonable backup band made for a prime concert event.
Hayes initially seemed like he was in his own world on the stage, wearing a gladiator-like jacket and imitating the Spice Girls, but it was a world many didn't mind peeking in at. While he pranced around, Jones was a surprisingly laid-back foil, smiling and just doing what he does best.
Though Savage Garden peppered the set with respectable tracks from its debut album, like "Santa Monica," its routine of performing other artists' hits soon became a bit old.
En Vogue's "Free Your Mind" took the spotlight for a couple of minutes, and then there was Joan Osborne's "One of Us," which Hayes admirably crooned. And then there was that one song from Bonnie Raitt, and then ...
Despite all the remake mania, the duo gave an unforgettable concert. Hayes obviously loves to perform, and his personality onstage is adorable and interesting to watch. The Brisbane-based team seem to be complete opposites, yet their convergence in music has certainly paid off.
On a rather simple note, Chantal Kreviazuk started off the show with a few songs off her debut album, Under These Rocks and Stars. She intimately and enchantingly sang her hit single, "Surrounded," like the girl next door - the girl next door with a truly impressive vocal range.
Kreviazuk even incited the crowd to sing with her during her rendition of John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane." She humorously recounted the story of the song's journey to the Armageddon soundtrack before exiting Savage Garden's opening slot to join the Lilith Fair.