SINGALONG

Although Susan and I arrived in Adelaide at the tale end of the Fringe and the Festival, we did manage to squeeze in some musical events that appealed to everyone’s taste - albeit very different shows.

The first was the Victorian band Bush Gothic. A trio of talented multi-skilled musicians, they create interesting arrangements of both traditional Australian/Irish folk songs such as Black Velvet Band and Blood on the Wattle but also variations of contemporary songs such as John Williamson’s True Blue. Usually, their arrangements are beautiful to listen to but not easy to sing to but they did get us on board for Great Southern Land. 

I love the way they describe themselves:

“Bush Gothic wander through the dankest, weirdest corners of the trad song books and emerge as post modern slash anti establishment slash folk feminists.” 



We then wandered to the other side of Adelaide, to Gluttony in Rymill Park, and saw a very different show: Broadway off Broadway. Initially, the performance was made up of a cast of six talented local musical theatre singers and dancers, and towards the end, they were joined by about 30 young people who are learning to sing the songs of Broadway and the West End. A guaranteed way to sell tickets because all those kids had parents and grandparents in the audience. And in between songs from Frozen 2 and Wicked, Les Mis and Dear Evan Hansen, they had us singing along to Supercalifragilisitcexpialidcious. Not that I can actually sing but I mouth the words and enjoy the pleasure of a room full of people enjoying themselves.




Of course, that’s why the Taliban have been burning musical instruments recently. Misogynistic patriarchal religious men don’t want anyone enjoying themselves. But, as I said to my Indian Muslim Uber driver on the way home from Gatz who wanted to know what happened at the Festival Centre and in Her Majesty’s Theatre where he’d picked me up from, and who said he didn’t listen to music because his religion told him so, the Muslim call to prayer is like a song so god must like music!  




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