He moved easily onto another one of his yearning songs, The Door. Then came the surprise cover Swims flagged from one of his favourite Australian bands – stripping to what could have been either a cut-down plaid suit or rocking pyjamas for AC/DC’s TNT. He crushed it.
Maybe the kilt and cut-down suit was an Angus Young homage.
Seven minutes in, Swims delivered his big number, Lose Control. “Something’s got a hold of me lately/ No, I don’t know myself any more/Feels like the walls are all closing in/And the devil’s knocking at my door”.
Teddy Swims’ set included AC/DC’s TNT.Credit: Getty Images
The rest of the set included shortened versions, but Swims delivered his monster hit in full.
It was difficult to tell how the show played to the 80,000 fans in Accor Stadium, but it worked on TV.
Fashion? Likeably eccentric. Voice? Impressively rich and strong. Stage presence? None of the marching band pizzazz of Snoop Dogg at the AFL grand final but it was a gutsy, surprisingly rocky 11 minutes.
Swims, who is starting an Australian-New Zealand tour, must have won over league fans.
While there’s a strong argument for hiring Australian artists to perform as AFL and NRL grand final entertainment – tapping into their established fan bases and reflecting the culture to international audiences – Swims turned out to be a savvy choice.
Not the biggest name. But a big voice on the biggest NRL stage.
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