FELICITY WARD THE HEDGEHOG DILEMMA

FELICITY WARD

THE HEDGEHOG DILEMMA

Le Cascadeur

Garden of Unearthly Delights

8:30pm til Mar 18th.

It says in the Fringe guide about this show, "For a hedgehog to stay warm, it must endure pain through physical contact. For a hedgehog to stay unharmed it must endure loneliness.".

What it should say in the Fringe guide is "Felicity Ward has written a beautiful, finely crafted and piss funny Fringe show about putting yourself out there after a break up".

For the last three Fringe's Ward has been putting on great shows, with each growing and becoming more rewarding than the last. With Hedgehog Dilemma she has again bested herself. Felicity enters the stage wearing what should have been her wedding dress and over the next hour tells about her own Hedgehog Dilemma. What do you do when you break up with a long time partner. Before you can ask how yourself how you can ever love again, you have to ask yourself how you will ever get out of bed again? So how do you get back in the saddle. It's different for everybody and it can be a painful journey. Felicity Ward shows us that it can also be an hilarious one. She deftly combines excellent writing, stage craft and performance skills with a story that is seriously funny and very moving simultaneously. Don't think I'm saying it's a heavy message show because it is a very funny show, but it does have more emotional punch than your average stand-up gig. Felicity has exceptional rapport with her audience and even though it's opening weekend I am comfortable in saying this will be one of the best shows you could see in Fringe 2012.

Ian Bell

SOAP THE SHOW

SOAP

THE SHOW

The Vagabond

Garden of Unearthly Delights

Times change 5pm - 11:45 (check guide) til Mar 18th

It's fringe time so there better be a show with dance, music, buff bendy people, rope work, acrobats, water and a bathtub in it or I'm writing a letter of complaint. Oh wait! Soap - The Show to the rescue.

That was only meant to be half a joke by the way. La Clique certainly established the framework of a show that combines all of the above elements into a sure fire Fringe mega-hit the last few years. With sold-out runs and extra shows being added at all hours to meet the demand. Soap is very likely to replicate La Cliques success if the opening weekend shows are anything to go by.

The stage has seven bathtubs on risers. An opera singer emerges from the top bath and start to sing, then Crazy by Gnarls Barkley kicks in and the opera singer merges with it seamlessly. Each bath has an impossibly buff member of the cast hidden in it and there is some impressive bath dancing right from the start. For the next seventy minutes each set piece is more impressive than it's predecessor. The entire cast is very sexy. Super shirtless buff men, scantily clad and gorgeous women all bending and contorting into impossible shapes and balancing in impossible angles. They dance against, in, on top of and above their various bath tubs with grace, beauty, skill, strength and humour. There is trapeze work, juggling, ballet style movement and vaudevillian comedy With the recurring gag of singing Bobby Darins Splish Splash in different operatic styles wearing a tiny bit thin after a while, there were other treats including a great take on Screamin' Jay Hawkins hit I Put A Spell on You.

The finale is spectacular (and as wet as you might expect) and my suggestion is if you are planning to attend, you better book early.

Ian Bell

THE MAGNETS - Gobsmacked!

THE MAGNETS

GOBSMACKED

The Vagabond

Garden of Unearthly Delights

7pm til Feb 29th (3pm matinees 25th & 26th).

Adelaide was already becoming smitten with six piece a cappella sensations The Magnets at last years Cabaret Festival. Now it seems the affair is in full bloom. Some of the audience already has it's favourites before they hit the stage and everybody else is on board an hour later. Unlike many a cappella outfits who use backing tapes, drum tracks and other 'enhancements' The Magnets perform every note, bass and drum sound live on stage with their mouths. There are many moments when this doesn't seem remotely possible. Because not only is the music that they make is multi-layered and perfectly mixed but they are all dancing, striking poses, flirting with the audience all at the same time. They certainly do songs you know and love, but they rearrange, re-imagine them and mash them up (bossa nova Bon Jovi anyone?), and deliver each song with a sense of fun and slick professionalism. In a punchy 60 minute set they cover songs by Elvis Presley, The Killers, Blondie, Blur and Lenny Kravitz. At various times a song would finish and people would be propelled to their feet, a spontaneous way of expressing 'just sitting clapping isn't enough'. Highlights are many, but a great version of Florence & The Machine's Dogs Days Are Over and a staggering take on Adele's Rolling In The Deep are personal favourites. The Adele song also contains Andy Frosts beat box or 'drum' solo which is well worth the price of entry all on it's own, absolutely incredible. How to finish? They give the audience the choice of TWO 26 song medleys, one of bands and one of movies. Guess I'll just have to go back to hear the movie one. What a shame I'm so upset! The response from the audience is rapturous and as they are only playing til Feb 29, I suggest you get in to see the Magnets while you still can.

Ian Bell

SAMMY J & RANDY - The Inheritance

SAMMY J & RANDY

The Inheritance

Umbrella Revolution

Garden of Unearthly Delights

Feb 17 - Mar 18

One of the true joys of a new Fringe festival is knowing Sammy J and his felt faced pal Randy will return for a new adventure. The last couple of years in particular they have become un-missable. Their rapid-fire banter is incredibly well crafted and hilarious, their staging inventive and full of surprises.

Randy has inherited a fortune, a mansion and a bad attitude towards people below his new found station, including his long time flatmate Sammy J. But there are some ghosts in the closet (or fireplace whatever) and there are twists and turns aplenty. The audience seems to have some new recruits possibly as SJ&R have been on the TV a lot more this year and I did wonder how some of the newbies were handling some of the saucier language. Part of the joy of watching these two work together is that they are is such perfect sync as performers that when there is a huge crash of bottles outside, or one of them has trouble with a prop they swing off script together and swing right back. Did I mention the songs are excellent?

The P.A. in the Umbrella seems somewhat muffled on opening night, meaning some of the machine gun quick lyrics are lost in the mix, but hopefully this was a teething problem that will be fixed for the rest of the run.

Looking forward to both solo shows by Sammy J and Randy.

Ian Bell.

The Happiest Place on Earth

ADELAIDE FRINGE : THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH

There are some people who spend their whole life dreaming of going to Disneyland. The magical world of dreams where the impossible becomes real. A place that is full of colourful characters, music, laughter and amazing experiences. They call it the Happiest Place on Earth.

Well I say bollocks to that.

I know where the REAL Happiest Place on Earth is. It's not in California, Japan or China. It is right here in sleepy little Adelaide town. When the circus that is the Adelaide Fringe Festival rolls into town each year the streets come alive. Everywhere you go there are strange and unusual people, there's an energy, an electricity. There is things to do and see. LOTS of things to do and see. Even if you don't count all the other festivals, concerts and events happening in South Australia in the same period, there are 900 shows in the Fringe alone. Some of my happiest times have been rushing around seeing three or four shows in a night, hanging out in the Garden and catching up with people who almost don't exist outside of festival time.

Admittedly it doesn't last very long. Just a measly few weeks in February and March. By the middle of March it all comes to an end and we go back into hibernation for eleven months, only occasionally popping our heads out of the burrow to complain about nothing happens here, or that our favourite band is skipping Adelaide despite the fact last time they toured nobody bought any tickets here.

But that said, for four weeks when Adelaide is as exciting as New York or London. We are completely spoiled for choice when it come to entertainment. Where to start? What to shell out on tickets to? What to avoid? What new experience to embrace? How to fit it all in?

Well I can't tell you that. I'm not your mum. The pathway to a perfect Fringe is like any of life's great journeys. You plot your course, you do your preparation and choose your travelling companions for maximum fun-a-bility. But if you are smart, you allow for detours, surprises and unexpected pleasures. You allow yourself to go with the flow and roll with the punches.

It still amazes me when I meet people who don't even go to The Fringe. "It's not really my kind of thing" they say, to which my reaction is often a quiet 'Maybe you are therefore not my kind of person'. If you can't find anything you love in 900 shows you are not really trying. However if you are new to Fringeyness there are a few things you can try that might help you out.

1) Get out of the house. Hang out in the Garden or Gluttony, there are often rush tickets (i.e. cheap) for shows especially in the early part of a run. Also all the acts are out spruiking their shows and you might just find something that sounds like a good prospect.

2) Try something. There are a number of late night comedy showcase gigs were there is a host and a bunch of different Fringe acts doing short spots. I have caught my first glimpse of many awesome acts at this type of show. You generally don't know what you are going get but it's a great way to get a lucky dip of entertainment. See Rhino Room Late Show, The Phatcave, Hans After Dark, All Star Late Night amongst others.

3) Mix it up. Go see some comedy, music, burlesque, maybe a theatre show there is masses to do and see.

4) Talk to people. One of the best ways of finding a great show to see is talking to other people out seeing Fringe events. Word of mouth is often more reliable than traditional reviews, although this blog will obviously be indispensable for you over the next few weeks.

5) Want to see comedy but not sure where to start - head for the Adelaide's heart & soul of comedy - The Rhino Room in Frome Road. There is eight different shows a night local, national and International acts PLUS The Late Show (where anybody can and do turn up).

I have taken the liberty of making a short list of shows I think are going to be exceptional this year so maybe take a skim through that to start with.

In short; the next month could very easily be the best fun you have for 2012. It's up to you to get off your bottom and put yourself in front of comedians, musician, burlesque ladies, acrobats, puppets, magicians and more. Get out there and have an awesome Fringe, I certainly will be.

xxx Ian

Ian's far from complete Fringe 2012 Shortlist

COMEDY

Dave Callan - Psychology of Laughter Rhino Feb 21 - Mar 3

Sam Simmons - About The Weather Deluxe Feb 17 - Mar 18

Hannah Gadsby - Hannah Wants A Wife Rhino Feb 21 - Mar 4

Gordon Southern - A Brief History of History Rhino Feb 21- Mar 17

Felicity Ward - The Hedgehog Dilemma LA Cascadeur Feb 17 - Mar 18

Axis of Awesome - World Tour 2006 The Vagabond Mar 5 - Mar 18

Wil Anderson - Wilarious The Vagabond Mar 5 - Mar 18

Lindsay Webb - Humanity Rhino Room Mar 6 - Mar 18

Die Roten Punkte Idolize Feb 27 - Mar 2

Paul Foot - Still Life Umbrella Revolution Mar 1 - Mar 18

Barry Morgans World of Organs Umbrella Revolution Feb 17 - Mar 18

Sammy J & Randy - The Inheritance Umbrella Revolution Feb 17 - Mar 18

Sammy J - The Sammy J Songbook Umbrella Revolution Feb 28 (1 SHOW ONLY)

Randy - Randy is SoberUmbrella Revolution Mar 4 (1 SHOW ONLY)

David O'Docherty - Is Looking Up Nova Mar 13 - Mar 18

Mike Wilmot The Hunting Lodge Feb 28 - Mar 18

3 Canadians The Palace - Feb 24 - Mar 18

Tom Gleeson - Good One The Hunting Lodge Feb 24 - Mar 18

Tom Binns - Ian D Monfort - Spirit Medium The Cupola Feb 24 - Mar 18

Tom Binns - Ivan Brackenbury's Disease Hour The Comedy Mint (Glenelg) Feb 25, Mar 3 and 10 (3 SHOWS ONLY)

Jason Chong - Jason Chong's Mum The Campanile - Mar 6 - Mar 18

Jason Chong - Jason Chong's Reel Life Lo-Fi (Gluttony) - Feb 25, 26 - Mar 3-5, 10&11 and 17,19 (Tix $12/$10).

Dave Thornton - The Some of All The Parts Rhino Room Feb 21 - Mar 3

Greg Fleet - Bring It Rhino Mar 6 - Mar 17

Tom Ballard - Doing Stuff Feb 24 & 25

Bob Franklin - Sir Robert Rhino Room Mar 6 - Mar 17

Sound & Fury - Doc Faustus Excess Theatre (Gluttony) Feb 23 - Mar 17

Angus Hodge - Is Thematically Challenged Funny Pork (Gluttony) Feb 25 - Mar 17

James McCann - Awaiting My MoustacheFunny Pork (Gluttony) Mar 4 - Mar 10

MUSIC

The Magnets - Gobsmacked Feb 24 - Feb 29

Adam Cohen Idolize Spiegeltent Mar Mar 8

Bonnie Prince Billy Idolize Spiegeltent Mar 7

Tex Perkins & The Band of Gold Idolize Spiegeltent Feb 22/23 (2 SHOWS ONLY)

Stephen Cummings Idolize Spiegeltent Feb 25

PS If you have a Fringe show and want it reviewed contact me at djianmaiden.com.au.

DOLLY PARTON Adelaide Ent Cent 21 nov 2011

DOLLY PARTON

Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Sat 12 Nov 2011.

The Adelaide Entertainment Centre is bursting at the seams with people in cowboy hats, Daisy Duke cut off jeans and one tattooed gal in leather bondage gear and a whip (I didn’t ask). It is obvious that the appeal of Dolly Parton crosses all age barriers, economic groups, sexual preferences and musical styles. It had been twenty four years since the Queen of country music was last in Australia and everybody is very excited.

The lights go down and in the darkness Dolly starts singing an a Capella refrain from Light of a Clear Blue Day the current single of her latest CD Better Day, the curtains part and there she is! Wearing a sequined red outfit with so many sparkles on it you could see it from Mars and the place goes nuts as band kicks into Walking on Sunshine the 1983 hit by Katrina & The Waves. Well I wasn’t expecting that! It’s great actually; Dolly is all over the stage and sounding fantastic. It’s not the only surprise song choice tonight, but it’s a great start to the evening’s entertainment. Baby I’m Burning is fantastic and followed closely by the classic Jolene. Throughout the night many of the songs are introduced by Dolly telling stories and making gags at her own expense. It takes three songs before she makes her first boob joke. Donning a banjo for a selection of bluegrass numbers she mentions how heavy it is and ‘That’s how I built up my chest'. Usually the arrival of a banjo on a concert stage would have me running for the nearest exit but I love this group of songs including Rocky Top Tennessee, Duelling Banjos and Muleskinner Blues. Her band is incredible, crack Nashville session guys many of whom have been working with Dolly for decades. The harmonies are breathtaking and the musicianship is superb. Her gospel roots are evident in Shine (originally by Collective Soul) and strangely on her version of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven (I swear I am not making this up). There’s more old school country with My Tennessee Mountain Home and a glorious a Capella version of Precious Memories including a funny moment when a moth fly’s into her spotlight where she sang a little grab of Butterfly.

With a career spanning over forty years Dolly, she has hits in country music, pop charts and even went disco for a bit, it’s not like she’s short on hits. The early days her music was straight ahead country music and when she started to have hits with songs like the next song in the set Coat of Many Colours, she was still a struggling singer songwriter. She dedicates it to her mother and as she sings it tonight in a single spotlight, accompanying herself beautifully on an autoharp, it is clear that is has become a timeless classic. It’s a spine chilling, goosebump making performance. The end of the first set is mostly from the new album, Better Day, Together You and I and Holding On To Everything. She talks about her movies and the latest, Joyful Noise in which she co-stars with rap star Queen Latifah. She does a little rap number about her co-star and it’s quite funny. She ends the first half with He’s Everything from the same film.

After a short break and a costume change Dolly returns and dons a guitar for White Limozeen and Two Doors Down. Little Sparrow is another highlight and met by rapturous applause. After Better Get to Livin’ (from 2007) we are in the home stretch. Here You Come Again has everybody singing but it takes Islands in the Stream to finally get people on their feet. People are dancing in the aisles and having a great time waving their cowboy hats around. “Well,” says Dolly, “..while you are up, we better do this one!” and they band starts playing 9 to 5 and now everybody is going a bit crazy, singing and dancing along with Dolly. It is really great fun.

She returns and apologises she hasn‘t played I Will Always Love You. A massive hit not only for herself but for Whitney Houston in 1992, but if legend is correct Dolly denied permission for Elvis Presley to record because his manager Col Tom Parker was demanding half the publishing rights. Smart move Dolly. It’s a fantastic way to finish a terrific concert.

It does have to be said that Dolly Parton has always been up front about her act appearing better than the reality by any means necessary. She is a great believer in the smoke and mirrors of show business. She’s been surgically enhanced. She wears wigs and acrylic nails. I think it is also safe to say that Ms Parton wasn’t actually doing all the things on stage tonight that she appeared to be doing. At sixty five years old I guess you can’t expect her to be singing live and dancing at the same time and after some of those more enthusiastic songs she was note perfect while ‘singing’ and dancing but puffing and out of breath when the song finished. It would be almost impossible to play most of the instruments she appeared to play with those nails. But at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter. They call it show business for a reason. And it was a fantastic show. It had razzle dazzle, it had hits, and it had camp. Dolly looked great, her stories and interaction with the audience were occasionally a little ‘hokey’, but it was perfectly in line with her whole image and reputation.

And a full house of 10,000 people absolutely LOVED every single second of it. Spending almost two and a half hours with one of the all time great entertainers added up to one of the concerts of the year.

Dolly we always love you.

Ian Bell.

THE FAMILY STAND ROCKET BAR 11 NOV 2011

Before this show I had been asking myself a question that seems to crop up more and more these days: is it worth going to see a legendary band, when the most legendary bits are missing? Would you go and see _The Revolution without Prince? Is it worth going to a show by The Experience without Jimi Hendrix? The Attractions with no Elvis Costello? Sometimes, the answer in a resounding NO. For many acts touring under a legendary banner, the missing element is often the crucial one that elevated something average to something special. The danger is that you end up with a cover band that just happens to have some original members in it.

But in other circumstances the power and momentum of an audiences love for an artist and their music propels a gig into a celebration more like a big huggy joyfest. And that is very much the case at tonight’s show by The Family Stone.

Sly & The Family Stone are legends and innovators of funk and soul. Along with James Brown they were architects of a music that took Rn’B and Soul music, sexed it up and gave birth to the funk. Sly Stone created a sound with his Family Stone (notably with bass player Larry Graham, who created the ‘slap’ bass sound) that combined the sounds of Motown, Stax, British Invasion pop, Psych-rock, Broadway musicals, Gospel and positive lyrical messages you could dance to. And people tonight have come to dance.

Sly Stone doesn’t tour much these days. He spent time in jail on cocaine possession charges and has led what some call a ‘difficult’ life in the last couple of decades. However, word is he is currently working on an new album with an all-star band to be released next year so who knows what will happen in the future.

Originally booked to play the 1,200 capacity HQ, the show had been shifted to the tiny 200 capacity Rocket Bar, which seemed a crazy move for a band of such legend. But as a friend suggested on the night, people either don’t know who they really are or we really do live in a backwater. So things were going to get snug with wall to wall hipsters, standing disinterestedly around waiting for the funk to happen.

With the fact that the opening act is the explosive Hypnotic Brass Ensemble whose previous visits to Adelaide had been slaying a massive crowd at Womadelaide and as part of last year’s fantastic gig by Gorillaz, I would have imagined they could pulled a crowd this big on their own. If you haven’t caught this eight piece, funky as hell horn section yet, what the hell are you doing with your days? The line-up is a kick-ass drummer and seven brass players who dance, swing, sway and get half undressed while sounding like hippest marching band on the planet. Their set is short but sweet, despite the mix being way to loud for the room and the vocal mic sounding like it was not up to the task. There was quite a lot of plugging the CD they were selling, but great energy, great fun and they certainly did an awesome job of warming up the crowd.

A fairly quick change over and The Family Stone hit the stage, ready to rock the house no matter how small the room is. The tiny Rocket stage meant there was no room for keyboards on it, so they set up on the floor in front of the DJ set up. This sadly meant that all but the very front row missed one of the best parts of the show by not being able to see Alex Davis. As the main vocalist and a great performer, he has a beaming smile, and spent the show high five-ing people, and vibeing it up. So it’s a shame that 97% of the room never saw him. Not that there was a lack of things to watch on the stage. Everybody was moving and grooving, even the three original members (all in their sixties), all a blur of colour and dance. Drummer Greg Errico laid down a funky groove while saxman Jerry Martini wailed away. But the star of the show was Cynthia Robinson on trumpet; what a cool woman. Sixty five years old, kicking ass with a funk band. She was awesome!

They were not messing about with the set list either, which was wall-to-wall their best known songs. Dance to The Music, Hot Fun In the Summertime and It’s A Family Affair came in the first fifteen minutes. Davis introduced Underdog from the 1967 A Whole New Thing album, dedicating it to the Occupy movement. For a song that is over forty years old, it still packs quite a punch.

Of the ‘new’ members of the band, Nate Washington (guitar) was a blur of fingers and effects pedals while attractive vocalist Trina Johnson set some hearts racing and played up to the photographers. Bass player Blaise Sison had some big shoes to fill. Larry Grahams distinctive style and pure funkiness are easily replicated, but Blaise slapped the hell out of that thing and pulled the whole she-bang up to another level. If You Want Me to Stay and M’Lady were next and people were dancing on seats and tables trying to get a better view.

The band took us home with I Wanna Take You Higher, Everyday People, and Thank You. Many of the songs were transformed into great extended jams and the response from the audience was genuine and euphoric. There were some songs I’d like to have heard they didn’t include Stand for one, and I can understand why they skipped Don’t Call Me Nigger Whitey which could be considered a little inappropriate these days.

As with Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, the mix was actually painfully loud at times and the DJ seemed to kick in with a undignified haste while they were taking their bows. But those minor quibbles aside Adelaide had just been well and truly funked.