Fatboy Slim, D.J. Seinfeld, CC:DISCO, Jennifer Loveless @ Peter Lehmann Wines, Tanunda SA 21/3/2025
Sixty-One-year-old Norman Cook, born Quentin Leo Cook, aka Fatboy Slim bought his party to Peter Lehman Wines in Tanunda, showcasing his magnificent career to a blend of young and not so young “ravers”. Along for the ride to warm up the crowd were DJ’s Jennifer Loveless, CC:Disco and DJ Seinfeld.
It was Jennifer Loveless who kicked off proceedings, warming up the continuously arriving people. It was a Friday, work day after all, but in true “Day on the Green” tradition, we have several artists on stage before the main event. Jennifer was soon easing into smooth grooves, helping keep a cool vibe for the early arrivals seeking shade from the sun.
Although there was a ten minute break advertised between sets, CC:Disco just walked on stage and the two of them played together for about five minutes before the huge screens lit up red and Jennifer walked off stage. Hailing from rural Victoria, she has played festivals around the world including the legendary Glastonbury. Although the ground was filling, people still stayed up the back, catching up with friends, having a cheese platter and a drink. It must have been daunting for the first two DJ’s to be playing on a giant stage with no one up the front, but CC:Disco continued with the grooves.
Another flawless exchange of DJ’s as D.J. Seinfeld joined CC:Disco and when the red screen disappeared and the words D.J. Seinfeld emblazed across the screen, CC walked off stage. DJ Seinfeld is from Sweden and his joyous electronic music immediately flowed over the now swelling crowd, now starting to move to his every beat. With the sun setting behind the trees, the temperature starting to drop and the crowd starting to building in front of the stage, the music also started to build. The party had really begun.
One thing that stood out was the diverse range of ages at the event. As the younger audience headed into the GA/Rave/Party area in front of the stage, the back section filled with people sitting in their camping chairs. Walking around and talking to these people one discovered how diverse the range was. There were a few people who were buying records when the Beatles were still a band and had seen the doco Right Here Right Now on the tele and had decided to check out what the fuss was all about. Bus drivers, who had bought people to the event, sitting in chairs nodding to the beat. But the majority were people who were young when the whole DJ/Rave scene had exploded in the 90’s and have refused to relinquish 90’s nostalgia. They partied hard then, they sit and sip Chardy and coffee now as the beats roll over them, wondering where Norman Cook gets his energy from.
There was a small break after D.J. Seinfeld, but less than ten minutes. Fatboy Slim in fact hit the stage early and started repeating “Put Your Hands Up in the Air” with quotes of “We Kept Dancing” and “Check It Out Funk Soul Brothers”. The venue was packed and everywhere, everyone had their hands in the air. Norman had everyone in “da House” in the palms of his hand right from the start.
The giant screens filled the stage with images that never stopped all evening. James Bond changed to Bowie, to Prince, lights flashed nonstop and confetti cannons blasted from front of stage.
A sign illuminated the screens early, “Put Your Phones Away and Enjoy the Moment” and surprise, surprise, a lot of people did. At an event you would expect lots of raised phones, there were very few.
The night was snippets of famous songs or occasionally the entire song with Normans Big Beats emblazing over the top. Felix Da Housecat’s Sinner Winner was one played in full with Norman telling everyone to “get down low, get down on your knees and repeat, I am not a sinner I am a winner”. With ten thousand people going to their knees, it made for a breathtaking sight.
The screen was an endless barrage of images. Mick Jagger danced on the screen as did many other famous people. We had a gorilla playing a mean bass on screen and Cook never stopped moving around the stage, usually with hands in the air and his headphones firmly entrenched on his shoulders, interacting with the images on the screen. No images on screen? Then there were lots of lights and fog.
On top of all this there were flames and lasers. At one stage Norman stood between two laser lights with his hands held high, the stage dark around him. It was eerie but beautiful.
Star 69 had the tiring bodies bouncing even more and at the end Norman was just silhouetted against at bright while screen. The remixes continued with The Killers Mr Brightside, Bodyrockers I Like to Move and Bloodhound Gang’s Fire Water Burn given the Cook reworking to great applause.
With the set heading to a close, the crowd found some final energy to dance to Praise You followed by Oasis’s Wonderwall, morphing into Right Here Right Now. Is this the best dance track of all time? The live version takes it to a new high. Show over? No! Norman Cook is seen on the screen holding up one finger and a questioning look on his face. “Yessss” screamed the audience. The Rolling Stones Satisfaction poured out of the speakers and over the song came “Check it out now the funk soul brothers” as The Rockafeller Skank came to the fore while Satisfaction kept playing behind it.
With signs on stage like “Drop Acid Not Bombs” the fans made their way out of Peter Lehman’s Winery with a memory that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. This was not a concert; this was a major life changing experience.
Live Review By Geoff Jenke