Review: Dan Maynard
I can remember as far back as being five years old and being enamoured by OSTs (original soundtracks). I loved music, but I was heavily drawn to the compositions that made movies evoke the emotions that the director was intending. 36 years later and my love for them has only grown. And within the realm of composers, none have impacted me as deeply and emotionally as Hans Zimmer. To put into words exactly why his music stands out above the rest for me is a task I believe would take an essay’s worth of writing.
I can’t listen to Time without feeling some kind of deep angst or overwhelming emotion. I listen to his back catalogue while editing photos all the time. I once walked around Rome by myself listening to The Da Vinci Code soundtrack for 4 hours. I truly love Hans Zimmer. And tonight, dressed in my nicest dress shirt, my cleanest of black jeans and my daughter dressed beautifully in a yellow dress at my side, I get to witness Zimmer live for the third time in all his glory.
An illuminated board of wires and dials stands tall on the third tier of a four tier stage setup, glowing brightly as Hans and his two lead synth musicians stand backs to the crowd, using the board to create the sounds of The Dark Knight soundtrack. Whether this was an illusion or not, the effect was fantastic and set the tone for the show right from the starting point. The rest of the band make their way out on stage, a section at a time. Percussion first, bass, woodwind and strings. Before you know it, the stage is full of some of the greatest musicians on the planet and from that moment, it’s game on.
After a few words from Zimmer, we get Pauls Dream. Vocalist Loire Colter takes to the fourth tier in a stunning glistening dress to sing her amazing parts that defined the tone of the latest Dune films. Her voice needs no instrumental behind it to shine, but the constant building throughout the song offers layers of complexity alongside Colter’s vocal parts that only enrich the piece. As my daughter said straight after, chills.
If I sat here and broke down every song by what amazing stage presence each track brought with it, this would go on forever. The hard work that has clearly gone into every aspect of this show is unmistakable.
Moments like seeing the legend that is Guthrie Govin improvise the most incredible solo over Man of Steel’s outro, watching cellist Tina Guo stand at the top of the stage in the most stunningly blood red oversized dress that flows over the top tier of the stage while playing a solo rendition of Hannibal’s To Every Captive Soul, the incredibly chaotic fun of Sherlock Holmes and the lengthy mesmerising Gladiator medley, it’s all elite level production that very, very few people in this world deliver the way this team does. And this was just the first half.
The twenty minute intermission comes and goes quickly, with enough time to reload the popcorn bucket, we are back in our seats in good time for A Dream is Collapsing and a snippet of Angels and Demons. Pearl Harbour and F1 follow, both with such different energy levels, they may as well be different worlds.
It’s to no one’s surprise that Interstellar has its place in the set close to the end. Hans has openly said that it is his favourite work to date and for good reason. Interstellar is proof of Zimmer’s ability to not just showcase his iconic sound in everything he does, but how he can manipulate it to truly capture the tone of the movie and this particular OST really makes you feel the deep space thematics while emoting the heartbreak that is so evident in the film itself. And in a live setting it really comes to life with a light show that imitates stars across the arena and a trapeze artist dressed more or less as a human disco ball high above the crowd, spotlights hitting them and bouncing off into the crowd thousands of times over. This was easily one of the greatest highlights of my night.
Before we reach the inevitable end to the show, we are treated to one final big hoorah with Pirates of the Caribbean, starting with The Kraken and weaving through into He’s a Pirate. Iconic would be an understatement. It’s huge, it’s fun and the band displays just how fun it is throughout the entirety of the song. It’s all smiles and laughter by the time they reach its final moments.
In keeping with tradition, the set is perfectly closed out with the emotionally driven main score for Inception, Time. The opening A minor chord resonates across the Entertainment Centre like a whale song. The most perfectly scored piece of music progressively builds throughout to its final moments, with Hans at the top tier of the stage sitting at his piano, playing the final high end notes gently while lead violinist Molly Rogers stands by his side almost dueting with him. Hans plays the final few bars alone, the lights across the arena completely out except for a spotlight solely on him and before that final light cuts off, Molly brings the song to its final vibrating crescendo complete with its abrupt stop. Absolute perfection. And with that, the crowd gives Hans and his band one final and incredibly lengthy applause farewell while the band all take a place across the front of the stage to give the crowd a bow to say thank you.
Closing in on his 70th birthday next year, Hans is showing no signs of putting his touring days behind him. As one of the hardest working composers in the industry, the mere fact that he can find time to slot a tour into his busy schedule is just mind boggling. I’ll never take for granted the chances I get to see him live. As I make the long drive home, my 11 year old passed out to my side, I replay the night in my head and pray to the music gods that Hans will return to Australia.
HANS ZIMMER LIVE – THE NEXT LEVEL
AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 2026
Presented by Frontier Touring, Semmel Concerts and RCI Global
TICKETS ON SALE via frontiertouring.com/hanszimmerlive
ALL SHOWS LICENSED ALL AGES
Saturday 24 October
Rod Laver Arena | Melbourne, VIC
ticketek.com.au
Wednesday 28 October
Qudos Bank Arena | Sydney, NSW
ticketek.com.au
