Adelaide Fringe

Fringe Review: Peter Combe – Big Kids Night Out Revisited!

Peter Combe,, the beloved children’s performer who predates The Wiggles and High-5 fashioned a show especially for his now grown-up fans.

Presented by Peter Combe Music
Reviewed 9 March 2016

Children of the eighties and nineties were offered a rare treat on Wednesday night: Peter Combe – Big Kids Night Out Revisited! The beloved children’s performer who predates The Wiggles and High-5 fashioned a show especially for his now grown-up fans.

Performing in the near sold-out Spiegeltent, Combe played with a full band – including keyboard, drums, bass and his son Thomas Combe as special guest on lead guitar. The smoke machine and light show created a mood more akin to that of a rock show than a children’s performance. The lyrics, however, were instantly recognised by every audience member and Combe encouraged them all to sing along.

Combe opened with Big Yellow Ball and I Just Love Peanut Butter, complete with guitar solo. He played his traditional acoustic guitar for Jack and the Beanstalk, and channelled pure rock and roll for Exterminate. Though Down in the Bathroom adopted more of an echoing ballad quality. Combe performed new songs alongside his well-remembered numbers, proving that he is still a talented and charismatic artist. When he reached Mr Clicketty Cane and Spaghetti Bolognaise his fans took to the dance floor with child-like abandon.

One of the most surprising and heart-warming aspects of the performance was how many parents (now in their fifties and sixties) accompanied their grown children. Peter Combe is an Australian childhood experience well worth revisiting.

Reviewed by Nicola Woolford

Rating (out of 5): 4.5

Season: One Night Only

http://www.petercombe.com.au/

 

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