Savage Garden was the first band I ever saw live and for that reason alone I will always have a little bit of a soft spot for them. Although the Australian duo are no longer together, their time in the music industry with the release of just two major releases amounted in sales of over 25 million albums worldwide, which is rather remarkable for a group who weren't officially together that much longer than four or five years.

With the sad ending to the fairy tale being said in reverse, it could plague how many would perceive the band but I would encourage you not to let the ultimately demolished relationship between the members get you down too much; if there was indeed trouble in paradise during this live performance, it barely showed. All in all, it's a magnificent display of music craftsmanship and is a pleasure to watch time and time again.

Obviously, the attention was mainly focused on the group's latest album but there were a lot of older favourites thrown in for good measure to keep the casual fans of the group happy. As it took place in their home country, it was obvious that there was going to be a pretty dedicated crowd there - throughout the whole performance, girls were screaming and crying whenever Darren came their way, which is always lovely to see but quite ironic as he is now in a Civil Partnership with a man!

The next track, 'To The Moon And Back' was the group's first ever number one single in their homeland and is still a favourite amongst radio stations. It's mixture of an excellent, romantic but tragic story of a girl confused in life against a subtle guitar background and one of Savage Garden's best sing-a-long moments, brought to life in a live setting. 'The Lover After Me', a ballad of lost love but realisation that it was the right thing to do, was the last guitar orientated track before the next four songs of mild melancholy. It sounded exceptionally like the album version to prove that the group weren't merely another boy band clutching at instruments or using machines to enhance their vocal performances.

'Santa Monica', which was their first album's last track, is a bit of a nonsensical dirge about being anybody you want to be out of eyeshot. It's never really been one of my favourite tracks, as it is a bit slow and non-descript, but worked well here and really showed 'Two Beds And A Coffee Machine' to be a wonderfully sad song, possibly a track about Darren's forlorn childhood and difficult relationship between his Mother and Father. An equally as powerful a moment follows in the first dedicated song of the night. 'You Can Still Be Free' was written about an incident involving an argument and gun attack that happened in Daniel's garden when he was younger. Darren's voice on this number is astounding; the way it ranges from dark and introspective to high and passionate is fine evidence that the band are at their best in a live setting.

As the rest of the band emerges back on stage, thudding elephant like stomps can be heard on the drum kit which means only one thing - 'The Animal Song'! Ok, so I was a bit over dramatic there; it's an average kind of song that I think many pop groups could have written but it went down well with the fans in the arena, so who am I to argue? Taking a more romantic strand once again, the opening chords to 'Hold Me' strike up and comes with the promise that a fan would get the chance to go up on stage a cuddle with Darren. Me? Jealous, pah! Anyway, the girl who they did pick was clearly ecstatic and began crying the minute she got back to her seat on the front row! Bless her. He seemed to enjoy himself too with the vocal performance once again resembling its initial release of a track that was about the confusion of a struggling relationship.

'Crash And Burn', a song that apparently was not allowed to be played after the 9/11 attacks because of its darker themes and title connection, was just as good as on the album; being an inspirational track of never losing faith, even when it's tempting to, it fitting in well after Daniel's rather uncomfortable moment and Darren's questionable prancing. Possibly the band's most notoriously over rated number, 'Truly, Madly Deeply' was up next but was slightly different as one of the female backing singers of the night joined in every other line. Unless they'd completely re-arranged the music, it wouldn't have sounded right at all as it was originally recorded as like an echo with double vocals merging into one another. The young lady's voice went nicely with Darren's and made the song a little more interesting, into almost making it seem like a split story.

EXTRAS AND SPECIAL FEATURES
The producers have done a fantastic job in compiling many worthwhile extras for the viewers. My favourite has to be the 'Parallel Lives' documentary, chronically the bands time on tour with backstage footage and interviews. It was also on the VHS version, and from what I can see there is no difference at all. The focus is of course on Darren but by the same token, he seems to be rather lonely and as a result acts like a bit of a child who constantly needs to seek attention. As the title infers, there is an almighty difference between the two band members, and although the lead singer does his best to disguise any ill feeling that there may be between the two, you can't help but wondering in hindsight whether their 'divorce' as a band was already on the horizon by the time the DVD was released.

TECHNICAL FEATURES
There were yet more features to accommodate many viewers in the form of changing the sound and even the camera angles. Before you begin playing the concert, you will get the option of playing the DVD on its ordinary sound levels or as a part of the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound variety. I can't say how well it works on that setting but on the normal version, it offers a very good volume and atmosphere.

PACKAGING AND ON SCREEN PRESENTATION
Matching the colourful nature of the stage itself, on the front cover there is a picture of the two band members together and the same if you flip it over onto the back. It looks very professional and pop star like, fitting the mood of the band as well as the production itself.

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
Although I can't remember exactly what we paid for the DVD set a couple of years ago, these are the prices for it at the moment:

OVERALL
'Superstars and Cannonballs' is one of the finest ways to remember Savage Garden. Edging away from anything you've read since their demise, through bitterness and a bizarre relationship, you'll be able to appreciate just how excellent they were at being able to create a believable and enticing pop sound whilst connecting with different audiences; there really is a theme that will appeal to most people along the way here, brought to life in their home country through tales of lost love, passion, escapism and hope.

The DVD features were certainly a winner, particularly the documentary part as it was certainly easier to understand some of the methods that the band adopted in creating their music. Their final album was recorded from two sides of the world, Darren working on the lyrics in America and Daniel tuning it altogether in Australia. It's an odd thing, that and is kind of astounding to think that two men that didn't even sit in the same room to write their work together could translate such an epic performance onto the stage and into the homes of many is particularly impressive, especially with how well everything glued together not just between the duo but with their countless backing musicians and singers.