Review: Craig Eriksson. Photos: David Harris
We headed out to see Australian singer/songwriter/musician Diesel perform his Bootleg Melancholy Album Tour at the RMIT Capitol Theatre in Melbourne last night.
Diesel released Bootleg Melancholy in 2023 and has already had a successful tour promoting this album during 2024 and now he’s doing a series of special Australian theatre shows throughout March 2025. Incorporated into this 2-set show is 30: The Greatest Hits, which was released in 2018. This compilation album showcases 30 of his best songs over the past 3-decades. An impressive catalogue of music combining multiple genres such as soul, blues, rock, R&B and Americana.
Diesel was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, US and his family immigrated to Australia (Perth) in 1971 when Mark Lizotte (Diesel) was 5 years of age. His music career commenced in the early 80s and he has played in Innocent Bystanders, Johnny Diesel & the Injectors and with his brother-in-law Jimmy Barnes. In 1991, Diesel decided to go solo and has had a stellar solo career over the past 3-decades.
Since the late 80s’, I’ve been a huge fan and first started following Diesel when he was the lead singer of Johnny Diesel & the Injectors. Songs from their self-titled album Looking for Love, Cry In Shame, Soul Revival and Don’t Need Love all became Aussie classics. I bought this album on vinyl back in 1989 and still have it and play it regularly to this day. Over the past 30-plus years, I have seen Diesel around twenty times as a solo artist and numerous times when he played with Jimmy Barnes. Even when I was living in London, I saw Diesel perform solo at The Astoria in Charing Cross in 1993 (I still have my ticket stub and his guitar pick from that show). His live shows are impressive and his musicianship and soulful voice is next level. As a solo artist, Diesel has had huge success with songs such as Come To Me, Love Junk, Tip Of My Tongue, Man Alive and One More Time that have made him a household name in Australia.
The band:
Diesel – lead vocals/guitar
Richie Vez – Bass guitar
Lee Moloney – Drums
First Set –
Diesel emerged on a dimly lit stage with the spotlight only on the main man with the drummer and bass player almost playing in the dark. They opened with an acoustic cover of Fred Neil’s EVERYBODY’S TALKIN. Generally this song would highlight Diesel’s great vocal range but there was something clearly not right with the audio as his voice and the music sounded distorted. ONE MORE TIME followed and the audio issues continued. Diesel’s vocals weren’t penetrating the way they generally would at a show. Thankfully with the crowd singing along he got the support he needed to boost the song. We believe Diesel knew something was not quite right with the sound and was doing his best to push through. Then he spoke to the crowd in a very husky voice and we realised he was unwell. Diesel thanked everyone for coming along to his show and said he can’t believe he has released 17 albums and tonight he was going to give fans a good taste of his expansive music catalogue. He said it was challenging trying to decide what songs to put in the show blending new songs with classics.
MASTERPLAN from The Lobbyist (2019) album was next and is such a beautiful dreamy song, crowd favourite and had everyone singing along. Diesel bleeds his heart and soul in this song and Moloney provides the steady rhythm and heartbeat of the song. Diesel changed guitars almost every song and he played his beautiful blue electric guitar on REMEMBER MY LOVE from Bootleg Melancholy (2023). This is a more upbeat, harmonious song where the bass player (Vez) was able to provide backing vocals making the song sound stronger. I really like this new song with its catchy chorus and it has a bit of Country vibe.
Diesel told a few short stories in between songs connecting well with the audience. He talked about how years back he was sitting at a bus stop and came up with a song in his head that eventually became SOUL REVIVAL. He performed an acoustic version of this Johnny Diesel & the Injectors song and played harmonica. The next song was another track from Bootleg Melancholy and then much to the surprise of the crowd, they finished the first set with NEVER MISS YOUR WATER before a 15-20 minute Interval. They had only played 7 songs over 40-minutes and unfortunately, all the talk around us during the break was that the audio level was too low, the music distorted and Diesel was unwell.
The RMIT Capitol Theatre in Melbourne originally opened in 1924 as a grand ‘picture palace’ and was acquired by RMIT in 1999. It underwent full restoration and reopened in 2019. Having seen Diesel perform so many times, I wondered whether this grand theatre was too elaborate for his show and it’s intimate first set.
Second Set –
Thankfully, the audio issue was sorted out and the sound was much better and clearer during the one and a half hour second set. They launched into FOREVER from Bootleg Melancholy. This song was energetic and Diesel must have drank some Boost Juice as his voice sounded much clearer and stronger. All of a sudden, the vibe in the theatre lifted when they sang MAN ALIVE. The crowd erupted and many fans stood up and remained standing for the rest of the show, singing and dancing along which completely changed the mood in the theatre. During ALL COME TOGETHER, some fans left their seats and went and stood down in front of the stage, me included. The second set had all the popular hits such as LOVE JUNK, LOOKIN’ FOR LOVE, DON’T NEED LOVE and sing-alongs like CRY IN SHAME, 15 FEET OF SNOW, TIP OF MY TONGUE, COME TO ME and ONE MORE TIME. I could see that Diesel struggled here and there during the second set and his vocals were a little husky at times. It was obvious that Diesel had some sort of bug and he had literally almost lost his voice when he tried talking to the crowd. Therefore I commend him for getting on with it and still being able to sing and complete the show.
Overall, it was wonderful listening to Diesel’s stellar catalogue of music, both old and new. Watching Diesel play a multitude of guitars highlighted his incredible talent and musicianship. The manner in which Diesel feels and expresses the music he performs is mesmerising and gives fans a feeling of joy and excitement. Thanks Diesel, Vez and Moloney for a great night of music.
