The Guy She Told You Not to Worry About: A Night with Don West at Northcote Theatre
My first mistake of the night was taking my girlfriend to a Don West concert.
Date night was off to a great start, the scene set by the ethereal Surely Shirley, backed by their 4 piece band, the audience swaying, singing along to crowd faves like ‘Little One’ and their epic rendition of ‘Be My Baby’ by The Ronettes.
And then I heard it, thunder, lightning. Don rose up from the ground, arms spread open, doves flying around, I’m pretty sure he floated for a second. Okay that didn’t happen but he did have the room in a fit of giddy screams the second he walked on. I looked over at my girlfriend but it wasn’t her screaming, it was me.
Was this what it felt like to be at an Elvis Presley concert? He barely moved for half the set, yet somehow commanded the entire room. It wasn’t effortlessness in the lazy sense; it was that very specific “I know exactly what I’m doing here” energy that only comes from someone who undeniably belongs onstage.
Once I got past the fact that he looked like a replica of the statue of David, I could actually focus on the music — which was really special. His vocal control is razor sharp, and when he opens up into those higher runs, you couldn’t help but hit a big stank face. Day To Night was the standout for that, with his band coming in clutch on the harmonies.
This brings me to my next point…his seven-piece band behind him deserves their own hype man. I’ve recently been going to jazz nights in Melbourne, just to enjoy that feeling of listening to a live soulful band, and this felt like one of those nights on steroids. They were TIGHT and not one instrument drowned out the other. One of my favs was during Giving It Up Baby, the sax absolutely shined and Don didn’t compete; he just let the band do what they do, which says a lot about the kind of artist he is.
He dropped his mic at one point — which was nice, he deserved to be humbled at least once…even if he did make that look like a cool trick too smh.
Did I say it was a mistake taking my girlfriend to a Don West concert? Because I was so wrong, this was one of the coolest nights out I've had in a long time. It felt like an invitation into Don’s world, one he’s building with so much detail and care that you can’t help but get pulled into it. He balances polish with ease, confidence with warmth, and somehow makes a theatre full of people feel like they’ve been personally let in on something. I’m going to cool down now, and you can go stream the album ‘Give Me All Your Love’ by Don West, out everywhere.
