The Merchants of Bollywood
Conrad Jupiters
The Merchants Of Bollywood is a high-energy blast of bright colours and amazing dance moves. Its energy is so infectious, that by play’s end, you leave the theatre in state of heightened awareness; just ready to enter the crazy environment that is the Jupiters Casino in the middle of the night.

The play’s storyline revolves around the Merchant family, their ties with the film making capitol of India, Bollywood and their daughter’s wish to cast aside years of tradition and create something of her own. This creates a fracture in the family and causes a separation between father and daughter.

That story is present but it really only provides a minimal backdrop for what the play is really about and that is the dancing. There are times when almost the entire cast is on stage and in full dance and those moments are mesmerizing. Every one of the cast members imbues the proceedings with such a high level of commitment and enthusiasm that you can’t help but become involved.

Individually and collectively, this is a cast that succeeds spectacularly in presenting a modern day dance fable that is inviting to both those that are existing fans and also for those with just a passing interest. The Merchants Of Bollywood provides a great night of song and dance and shouldn’t be missed.  

The show runs at The Conrad Jupiters Theatre until mid-October.
www.merchantsofbollywood.com.au



Jon Auer
The Troubadour
Few gigs if any in recent memory have had the vibrancy and level of intimacy that songman Jon Auer was able to create at his recent performance at The Troubadour. The criminally small crowd was treated to a master class in stage presence and pure musical ability. Armed with just a guitar and voice and occupying a stage set up to resemble some one’s domestic surround, he created a connection with the audience that few performers ever manage.

The set was plentiful with tracks from his recent solo album, Songs From The Year Of Our Demise, that were given even more impact through raconteur tales about the song’s creation, content and meaning. The humour was genuine and the self-depreciating nature of the comments only helped to draw the audience in. The comments were so ripe with insight that post gig spinning of that album yielded heightened riches.

His break with the separation of audience and artist was so complete he had audience members join him on stage to help out with songs (in this case Tim and Kelly from Screamfeeder, who were there as fans after a support set) and even venturing out into the audience, standing on a milk crate and performing a Posies tune that was sublime in the sumptuousness of his completely acoustic and un-amplified delivery.

His voice was in great shape and completely transcended the tendency to be disappointed when seeing a singer live and they can’t hit those high notes. He also has such a wide sense of dynamics and unerring grasp on proper volume that it just drew you in closer; once again the usual separation was severed. It was like having a musical deity materialize in your living room and holding you and your friends spellbound for two hours of pure bliss.

It was one of those shared moments that will stay vivid forever and form the basis of a standard that few if any artists will be able to achieve. Thanks for the memories Jon, you’ve set the bar impossible high.
Rob Hudson
www.jonauer.com



Tenacious D
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
How many bands can sport not only a movie star as a front man but a rhythm section comprised of Coronal Sanders, Charlie Chaplin and the Antichrist as well as having Satan on back-up vocals. As you can tell from that intro Tenacious D is no ordinary band and last night’s gig at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre was no ordinary performance.

Jack Black and Kyle Gass, collectively known as Tenacious D or to hard-core fans just The D, play a version of folk-metal with an emphasis on humorous interludes and tonight’s set included a surprising number of set pieces after their more stripped-down performances of year’s past. The show started with a stage design that mimicked a typical metal-head’s bedroom from the Dio poster on the wall to the bong on the end table. Tucked under a Superman doona on the couch was The D. They soon woke up and proceeded to rock the house.

Featuring songs from their self-titled debut album and current release The Pick Of Destiny, the two had the large room in the palm of their hands. In fact it was surprising how well they filled the cavernous barn that is the Entertainment Centre with just the sound of two acoustic guitars and their voices. Black was the real sparkplug and keep the music and humour at a peak. Kyle in his role as sideman was always there with understated comments and some mean guitar picking.

The second part of the set featured the above-mentioned full band with a filmed into on how the band came together (naturally they met in Hell). The theatrics were over the top and fitting to any number of metal shows seen in the past but with the tongue more firmly in check. The crowd was giving the love throughout the hour and a half set and this included a well received encore that consisted of their Australian hit song Tribute and then they finished with a medley of Who songs. The also dropped a few notes from AC/DC in to add local spice

After the set, walking out past all the fans with black tee shirts featuring their favourite metal gods made me chuckle. Slayer, Opeth, Slipknot, Possessed, Entombed and Tenacious D, only in the crazy mixed-up world of metal would those bands fit together so seamlessly.
Rob Hudson




Pearl Jam
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Formed out of the remains of Seattle pioneers Mother Love Bone back in 1990; a lot of people have always put the band’s initial success down to timing. Well, when the band hit the stage at The Brisbane Entertainment Centre for the first night of a two-night residency, it was anything but a dry history lesson, they were completely in the here and now and were more than able to transform that big barn of a room into an intimate community. The audience hung on Eddie’s every utterance and the band’s every move.

Front man, Vedder’s stage demeanour has changed little over the years but he seemed particularly invigorated by the current political events in the United States with its swing of power into the hands of the democrats and his between songs banter was filled with a long missing sense of optimism. His band mates were the consummate professionals as well and keep the band’s organic sound from being too precise with just the right amount of rock slop.

Looking around the room, the crowd looked more like your next-door neighbours than a room full of rock pigs and it was very encouraging to see that music could still unite such a conservative looking crowd. They knew almost all the words to the songs and helped out with harmonies all night, even once carrying the song solo and getting the verses and choruses just right.

Using very little theatrics and a minimal light show, the band kept the faithful enthralled for over two hours; a long first set then two generous encores. The first encore was a little shaky and dissipated a bit of energy but the second and final encore really delivered the goods and after sent the audience out into the night floating on a cloud of relived memories and present day satisfactions.
Rob Hudson



Tom Waits For No Man
Brisbane Powerhouse
Closing out the 2006 Brisbane Cabaret Festival was Tom Waits For No Man and a better closer would have been hard to find. Mystery opening act Queenie Van de Zandt was an amusing surprise. Her routine was loosely based on an A to B lesson on how Cabaret is done. Her velvet smooth voice and the stellar back up by just grand piano were often left in the background by the humour of her set but her antics were hilarious. Her shot at the absurdity of political correctness was especially funny as was the reaction of the crowd including two audience members that had the most distinct laughs, they both cut through the proceedings like a dentist drill.

After a brief intermission it was time for the main show. The Trevor Hart Quartet (plus two) set up on the minimally decorated stage and was soon joined by songsters Greg Bird, Pearly Black, Sandro Colarelli and Alison St Ledger. What followed was a grand tour of some of Tom Waits’ most theatrical songs. Hart’s band got the nuances just right especially guitarist Toby Wren and Hart himself on trumpet whose tones and phrasing were always extremely complimentary to the song and moment.

For those unfamiliar with Waits material, the songs chosen out of his back catalogue were exceptional in their wordplay and references to nightlife and well… drinking. It all made you feel that if you didn’t have a drink before, you certainly would be having one after. The hour plus set featured many sublime moments but the tunes that stood out the most for me were the ones with the impassioned vocal deliveries by Sandro Colarelli and Alison St Ledger.

Cabaret may be difficult to accurately describe but with events like Tom Waits For No Man, it’s very easy to enjoy. If you missed any or all of the events on this year’s schedule, don’t make the same mistake next year.
Rob Hudson



A Love Supreme – a sacred concert.
Jeff Usher
Judith Wright Centre
Friday night’s performance clearly illustrates that great songs are living things. Even thought the original A Lover Supreme suite was composed almost 40 years ago it still provided a fresh and creative platform for a modern day jazz band to bring to life.

The band’s interpretation of the complete suite (all four parts) was sublime and a beautiful composition was brought to life again. An almost perfect duet version of Naima followed and showed how well suited Jeff and Saxophonist Martin Kay are as musical partners. A deconstructionist take on Giant Steps closed the Coltrane composition segment on a pleasing note. Then Spirit-Train, an Usher original keep things hopping till the end of the set.

Set two was a more uneven affair. It relied too heavily on round robin soloing and lacked the atmospherics that the Coltrane material brought to the earlier proceedings. It had some good moments but lacked compositional dynamics and was too long by a good twenty minutes.

Afterwards, satiated with jazz and thinking about JC, we walked out into the night humming Alabama.
Rob Hudson



Missy Higgins
The Tivloi
“She can sing, Missy can fucking sing,” “Holy c---, you da shit Missy” and my favourite “Your mother musta bin a terrorist Missy ‘cause you da bomb” were just a few of the comments hurled at Missy Higgins during the first gig of her National tour at the Tivoli on Wednesday night. And these were just from the woman standing behind me. She also added a chorus of “woooohooooos,” several “it’s a school night” and a resounding “Missy - I’m following you ta the coast tomorrah.” Poor Missy.

Higgins oozed confidence and produced a set that was much more varied than I expected. She expanded on her album tracks with several new songs including the organ driven Peachy, which I thoroughly enjoyed – she should get angry more often! She also played singles Greed for Your Love, Falling and the Triple J unearthed tune All for Believing.

Feeding off the crowds’ enthusiasm, Higgins indulged in witty, yet unrehearsed banter about her song writing and influences. She closed her set with the radio friendly Scar after which the crowd lost it, then she calmed them down with a mellow encore of five songs.

Yup, Missy Higgins really is “da bomb.”
Lisa Domrow



Grandaddy
The Arena
Grandaddy began their set with a moody atmospheric instrumental that gave a nice foretaste of the rich multi-layered sound this ‘lo-fi’ five-piece would bring to the Arena. They followed immediately with the catchy El Caminos in the West, one of the best songs that Frank Black never wrote. While not exactly rocking out, they showed immediately that they were there to make the hairs on the back of our necks bristle and they succeeded.

Since they are not a dress-up band, they included some clever visuals on a screen behind them, everything from old cartoons to shadows of bees in flight. During the inevitable wait for the encore this screen came into particularly good use; a recording of the band’s music played while we were shown a clever Alice in Wonderland meets 2001 animation.

It’s hard for me to select individual songs to comment on, as this kind of music becomes a sort of meta-song where the individual tunes are subsumed by a flowing melodic hypnosis, a case of truly getting lost in the music. The final encore - after the lights had come on so that only the true faithful stayed behind – was a mesmerising performance of the He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot.

Brisbane was the last show on their tour. Rather than getting the fag-end of their energy, it felt as if all the other Australian performances had been a rehearsal for this one. It didn’t take too many minutes of their warm unadulterated style of presentation to make me thank whatever senile god there might be watching over the world that there are still bands like Grandaddy for whom the fans and the music really, really do matter.
Stas’ Wiatrowski



EELS
Tivoli Theatre
It was a night filled with the unexpected, especially for those that saw the EELS the last time they were in this town. The surprisingly referential cabaret of the previous visit was replaced by a full-on rock set that only stopped for the occasional witty ditty from frontman E. It was mutant rockabilly and it filled the room with energy. This approach was not without it shortcomings though.

The set started with a Spike Lee entrance that saw E glide to stage from the back of the room while the band warmed up the substantial crowd. Once the band was four members strong, they tore through three covers before tackling the first EELS' song. The room was buzzing and Mr. Everett was having fun with the crowd and his perceived persona, making funny observations in his world-weary way. The energy lasted all set and through multiple encores.

The only real problem with this approach was when the quiet songs got trampled. Rearranging classic tracks to keep the energy high took a lot of their individuality away but with the curve balls that life has thrown E, it was great to see him get so much out of his back catalogue and he appeared to be really enjoying himself onstage rocking out.

The EELS have always occupied a unique place in popular music and with their future in question, it was great to catch up with the boys but next time, if there is one, I hope the set has a bit more shading between light and dark.
Rob Hudson



Yo La Tengo
Tivoli Theatre
It was one of those magical nights, an event where the elements converged to make up an evening of truly enchanting music. Take the wonderful surrounds of the Tivoli, Brisbane's best live music venue, a place where you feel welcome, not just tolerated, mix in the hard to categorize sounds of Yo La Tengo, add a few close friends and you have the making of a great night.

When the band took the stage, they provide a visual reminder that they are indeed a three-piece outfit, something that you would be hard pressed to discern by just listening to the massive sound they are able to create on record. The depth of talent and width of performing styles is even more pronounced live, the all out rockers snarl more and the quiet moments come across very surreal. When was the last time you were at a rock gig filled with excited fans and been able to hear a pin drop?

The set leaned heavily on tracks from the band's last two albums, this year's Summer Sun and 2000's And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out, but the set was less about individual songs and more about moods and feel. Just when they had lulled you into an almost trance like state with washes of keyboards and minimal percussion, they would rip your ears off with a guitar driven, feedback laden attack that could peel paint. The difference between loud and soft was so wide you could drive a lifetime through it.

For those that know the band, it was a reaffirmation of all that is good about live music, for those unknowing music fans, a golden opportunity lost forever.
Rob Hudson



Henry Rollins
Tivoli Theatre
This was my third Rollins' spoken word gig over the years and the progression of his stage persona has been very interesting. Starting with a somewhat stark view of the world around him back in the mid-nineties, he tried very hard to keep most of his ego in check. He has now expanded the range of topics covered in his spoken word routine and has let a larger amount of his ego colour his on-stage presence. He has even begun to include ramblings about sex, a topic he mentioned infrequently in the past. One thing that hasn't changed is his anger and with the current world situation ripe for ridicule, world events made up a large portion of his set.

Henry's set has become a lot more like stand up comedy and much less like the vitriol enhanced ravings of an underground alternative rock god. He hasn't completely become a stand-up comedian though, his sense of timing isn't as razor sharp as someone who tells jokes for a living and there were a few times during his set when he let the topic at hand go on much too long.

The two and a half-hour set had many hilarious moments and Hank's desire to connect with his audience was largely successful. Expanding the range of topics also gave those that have seen him numerous times something new to experience. He has begun to let the audience see him in a more venerable light and this makes his words more accessible than ever.

The topics covered ranged from the joy of children to the stupidity of the current US government and its handling of the Middle East to his life off the road. But for me, the most moving part of the set was his recollections of seeing The Clash as a kid and then later as an adult, actually meeting Joe Strummer in person. This mention of a hero that left us too early, showed the true fan boy in big Hank and provided the moment with the closest connection between this audience member and the man on stage.
Rob Hudson



Midnight Oil / Oscarlima
QPAC’s Concert Hall
Midnight Oil at QPAC’s Concert Hall? Beer swilling, loud and raucous fans at Brisbane’s home of refined music? Vitriol charged political rants amid fine wood floors and cummerbunds? This was shaping up to be one of the year’s most intriguing musical events.

Opening act, Oscarlima rose to the occasion with a set of energetic pop songs that included the radio friendly, If You Want To Be My Friend, Things That You Say with its soaring harmonies and the title track from their criminally underrated album, Desert Caravan. The band appear to be enjoying themselves and the audience return the favour.

When The Oils walk out on stage, it’s surrounded by more crowd noise than I’ve ever heard at these hallowed walls. The set opens acoustically and that relative calm only lasts about six songs. Amid those tracks is an arresting take of Short Memory, that proves the more things change, the more they stay the same. Soon the output tubes in the amps are glowing bright red and the members of Midnight Oil charge through the remaining set and it’s one that stops at all points of their 20+ year career. For long time fans it’s nirvana, for new members of the Oil’s army it proves again and again why this band is still relevant. The energy and fire has not subsided over the years and even though their recent recorded output has become more pop oriented (with the exception of the wonderfully pissed off Redneck Wonderland) live, they still have real power and purpose. The set is also infused with a sense of real enjoyment. The band must be delighted performing in such posh surrounds after playing in so many shit holes throughout the years. After a blistering set and the obligatory rock star wait, the band return for an encore that features a potent reading of Read About It and a version of Power & The Passion that more than lives up to its name. The Oil’s finger in the socket frontman, Peter Garrett summed it up best when he said "This place isn’t for Mozart, It’s for Midnight Oil." This band is a national treasure and deserves to be considered with those greats.
Rob Hudson



Asian Dub Foundation
The Arena
Bridging the gap between listeners that like their music from a can and those that have to have human crated vibrations, bands like The Asian Dub Foundation stich up electronica and analogue with verve and style. The band’s on stage energy is legendary for a reason as they expend more energy in their relatively short set (70 minutes) than most bands manage in a week of gigs.

Second song into the set sees them deliver the current radio hit, Real Great Britain, this raises the intensity to a fever pitch that never subsides. For those of you unfamiliar with the band, the ADF feature five multi-cultural lads from the UK and a sound that mixes elements from a wide number of both cultures and attitudes. Live guitars and bass compete loudly with a drummer in a can, scratching, samples and washes of keyboards. The half rap, half sung vocals help to raise a socially conscience skank that has the audience popping up and down like a percolator on the boil. The between song rhetoric is of a political nature with a leaning towards social harmony regardless of county or colour and Australia got its usual serve for the treatment of its indigenous peoples.

The band also paid homage in song to the late Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan which sounded nothing like his work but captured the singer’s life long service to the reaffirming power of song.

As often happens with a band that has electronic drums and samples at its core, the sound level at times was almost overwhelming and rather shrill, my ears are still ringing! When oh when will front of house sound mixers learn to leave a little in reserve so the dynamics have a chance to breath? This overload wasn’t helped much by the lack of bodies soaking up the excess sound as the venue wasn’t its usual overstuffed self. But that criticism aside, the night represented a great chance to feel part of a community bigger than us all.
Rob Hudson



The Valley Member
The Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts
Written and performed by E.C. Brown
Consultant Director Jean-Marc Russ
Doug Light has something to say, a lot to say actually. Born the bastard son of a dalliance between rival party members and raised on his own he initially missed his true calling. He spent his youth and early adulthood hustling, making a buck here and there and then finally ended up running a brothel. He was constantly at odds with the law and consistently put money in their coffers through fines and pay offs. Well now that the reigning party member that represents the Fortitude Valley area has suddenly passed away under mysterious circumstance (in bed with a unnamed woman) the balance of power is about to change and Dougie is about to answer his true calling and put into practice what all those years of sleaze have taught him. He is about to enter politics.

So begins E. C. Brown's new one man play The Valley Member. This is his fifth solo performance and follows Drunk and Disorderly in 1995, Reading Patrick in 96, Showing A Clean Set Of Heels in 97 and Live At Rics in 98. The single performer format is flushed out with off stage radio broadcasts and video screen programming that includes fictitious news broadcasts and interviews.

E.C. Brown as Doug Light directly addresses the audience throughout the play and does a good job with large blocks of dialogue. The occasional video and audio aside helps to keep the pace interesting as the audience tries to digest large amounts of information about Dougie's views on politics, commerce and human nature. We are also given hints of the manipulation going on behind the scenes, a manipulation that will ensure victory for our man.

The play builds to a surprise ending but the power of this is slightly diluted by Doug's last visual appearance being on a video screen and the message of this last vignette doesn't really work contextually. During the plays over one hour running time, it doesn't underestimate the audiences ability to process information and trying to wrap up its message in a tidy little package does it a disservice. Having said that it was wonderful to experience a play based in a familiar location and featuring background scenery viewed on a daily basis.

With the general dumbing down of most cinema, the theatre still represents a valid challenge and a way to experience the human condition in a more direct and thought provoking way.
Rob Hudson