The Garden of Unearthly Delights - The Vagabond. 21 Feb 2015
I'm highly attracted to The Magnets! After a few minutes into the opening number of six-part harmonies, I'm like, "OK, open the curtain and let's see the band...the bass guitar...the drum kit." No such thing. These six Brits do everything flapping their gums. A six-man mouth band. It's quite unbelievable. The audience was fresh-faced with delight at their virtuosity. There was an air of wonder and enchantment. These guys have a big resume of appearances on television and back-up work for the likes of Blonde, Tom Jones and Bryan Adams. There was a bit of testosterone on stage - the program of songs by Pharrell Williams, Mumford & Sons, Bruno Mars and such was punched out with extreme prejudice.
The Magnets are an eclectic bunch and their format leaves room for each member to shine. CG Fraser wowed the females with his supple gyrations and wooed all with his deep baritone simulations of bass guitar. Made the others look pretty straight. The show's sensation, though, was Andy Frost. Backing up the singers with simulated percussion was astounding enough - you could close your eyes and see the hardware. But his extended beat box solo left the audience breathless. Double bravo!
The Magnets take a cappella to an entirely new level. Others sound like a church choir or have a few clever vocal features. But these guys are consummate vocal musicians. Not to be missed.
David Grybowski
When: 13 Feb to 15 Mar
Where: The Garden of Unearthly Delights - The Vagabond
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Amos Gill. The Rhino Room. 20 Feb 2015
‘Amos Gill is Gillty’, and he certainly is! Guilty of hilariousness, guilty of inappropriateness, and guilty of awkwardness!
Standing, alone, on a 1 square metre stage jammed into an opening on one side of the Rhino Room’s ‘Howling Owl’, Gill quipped at how sexual the mood was. Sex was definitely on the agenda – and it wasn’t going to end there.
When not discussing his own sexual exploits (or lack thereof until his foray into breakfast radio) he was recalling a fateful evening as a 10 year old in a motel room shadowed by the ‘Big Orange’ when he got stuck listening to his mother “get it on” with a gentleman caller.
Gill is very funny, and he plays well off the audience in the room. Quickly latching onto a gentleman sitting half-way back we soon learned his nickname, Pie-Cart, and how his seat had been the location chosen by an earlier audience member who had given the show extra “length” (for want of a better word)! You may just have to see the show for that reference to make sense.
The inappropriateness and awkwardness is occasionally an issue however, and more than once one felt sorrier for Gill than amused as he told gut wrenching stories from his past, which were self-deprecating and just a little sad.
That said, for the most part, the laughter abounds. He’s a funny guy, and apparently also hosts a bit of breakfast radio – either way, “get on it”.
Paul Rodda
When: 20 Feb to 7 Mar
Where: The Rhino Room – Howling Owl
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Miss Kitty's Karavan in Matters of Life and Debt. Big Hair Productions. Goodwood Institute. 20 Feb 2015
Chanteuse and ex-spy Miss Kitty makes her entrance from below the boards of the Goodwood Institute stage and now you are sure you are in for something different than your usual concert.
Wearing a seriously polka-dotted something that Dame Edna would feel comfortable in doing the weekly grocery shop at Moonee Ponds, Miss Kitty spins an apocryphal tale of her adventures with MI5 and other dodgy activities. Her story seems less strange in comparison to the antics and outbursts of the musicians in her Karavan, which is certainly not under her control. The tension in this inventive act weaves together her Karavan's oeuvre of rearranged popular songs and lesser known ditties - many of which have a flavour of Marrakesh or something known as gypsy jazz.
The Karavan musicians, while pretending to be a disparate and whacky bunch, are very accomplished and added further to the intrigue and conceit. Songs the baby boomers are familiar with are re-imagined. 'My Favourite Things' becomes a list of sadomasochistic implements. Nick Cave's 'Into My Arms' ends up as a ventriloquist act performed to perfection by Miss Kitty. 'Stairway to Heaven' shakes hands with 'My Funny Valentine' in the same beat. 'Ring of Fire' sits comfortably with a couple of other songs in the same number with Miss Kitty delivering the goods as if possessed.
Miss Kitty opened the second half in a black number somewhere between a frock and a raincoat that later was shed to reveal a truly shimmering and glamorous silver dress. The audience gladly participated in David Bowie's 'Heroes' but several men, including yours truly, declined an offer to appear on stage in a tango number, clearly sensing the danger amongst this unpredictable lot. The show weighed in at a hefty two and a half hours and time flew by.
Miss Kitty is none other than she who channeled Patsy Cline in her 'Patsy Decline' show you might have enjoyed a few years ago - additional testimony of Kerry Reid's impeccable ability to create a persona and smack your cochlear with a vibrant note. Bravo!
Hurry, hurry, hurry! Only two shows left! Only this weekend!
David Grybowski
When: 20 Feb to 22 Feb
Where: Goodwood Institute
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Company 2. The Garden of Unearthly Delights – Aurora Spiegeltent. 20 Feb 2015
Packed like sardines in a can, we sit in the Aurora Spiegeltent for the much-anticipated ‘Scotch and Soda’ from the cast and co-creators of past Fringe hit, ‘Cantina’.
This vaudevillian, circus-cum-cabaret style show has remained popular amongst audiences since its mainstream resurgence about five years ago. The formula has changed little; performance in the round; live music; crazy costumes; daring acrobatics; and a little something from a highwire or trapeze.
‘Scotch and Soda’ is billed as a “whiskey infused evening of raucous beats and dexterous feats” in a universe somewhere “between depression-era travelling circus and Europe’s 19thcentury carnival past”. The characters and costumes accurately depict this theme and the energy and skill of the performers is suitably entertaining – but that’s about where it stops.
One expects to queue for such a popular show, but with sold-out houses and audience numbers in the hundreds expected, you might also hope that the producers would be running a well-oiled performance machine. Not so on this occasion. The show, which already starts at the late, late-night timeslot of 10.15pm, went up no less than 30 minutes late! And it is only 60 minutes long. To add to the frustration of this delay, the designated audience queue location is situated just downwind from a block or porta-toilets, and it was still over 30 degrees at 10.00pm (pew!).
But this is the renowned company that produced ‘Cantina’, so it is going to be worth it! At least that was what I thought. Perhaps the shine was taken off by the cramped seating, hot weather conditions, late entry, general tiredness and stinky toilets, but I think it had more to do with the fairly routine performance that was to follow.
Now don’t get me wrong. These performers are hugely talented and the format looks and sounds great; performance values abound. But what you get for the next hour is a well-lit, well-miked, well-dressed version of stuff I have seen on more than one occasion, for free, when walking through the mall. These talented acrobats leapt and flipped and balanced and climbed, on bikes, on boxes, on bottles and on each other, but the real ‘Cantina’ wow was missing. It was fancy busking in a fancy tent.
The music from the ‘Crusty Suitcase Band’ was fantastic – a standalone performance I would pay good money to see any day of the week. Their long music-only interludes during this show however, felt more like padding for a lack of new circus tricks. And speaking of padding what was going on with the budgerigar routine!?
The ticket price is not what I would call “cheap” by Fringe standards, so I would make my choice wisely. You aren’t going to hate this show; it is really is quite good. But if you have subscribed to the past works of this production team, fair warning. I don’t think this one quite lives up to the hype.
Paul Rodda
When: 20 Feb to 8 Mar
Where: The Garden of Unearthly Delights – Aurora Spiegeltent
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Mary Tobin Presents. Comedy SuperNova – Venus Room. 20 Feb 2015
Nosebleed back rows of the Nova as critic's allocation was a bit of worry. It is really nice to be able to see. However, the full house turned out to be not so full and the audience was directed to move down. Second row seats were much better.
Why the show was not the described full house is perplexing. This threesome of seasoned comics are about as good as they get. Only one was on the advertised line-up, but who cares?
All three were well-rehearsed. All three had excellent, interesting material in the loose narrative style. All three were pithy and funny, funny, funny.
John Hastings from Canada opened the show, picking an appropriately reluctant audience target and thereafter periodically referring back to or embellishing references to this target. Naming and developing a persona for the cat was particularly sweet and one always wonders at the disciplined quick thinking with which these audience patters are devised.
Hastings described himself as looking "like Hitler's wet dream" and, indeed, he is a WASPish looking fellow. Turns out, he was born three months premature and he is possibly the only comic on the circuit with premmie gags.
Some nice observations on Tony Abbott went down well, too.
British Carl Donnelly rocked up on stage full of the joys of laser eye surgery. He became funny when he delved into his divorce stories and, heavens above, tales of providing sperm samples.
Chris Parsons, also from the UK, polished off his very slick and funny act and the night itself with a hot cooked chicken yarn which had the audience crumpled up and weeping with laughter.
That is what comedy should be about. These comedians have restored my faith in Fringe comedy.
Samela Harris
When: 17 Feb to 14 Mar
Where: Comedy SuperNova - Venus Room
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au