May 24

Toby Martin – New Album Preview + Download

Ivy League Records is excited to announce that TOBY MARTIN will release his debut solo album LOVE’S SHADOW on July 27.

Following 10 years and four albums with rock band YOUTH GROUP, the singer and songwriter has stepped out to share a new collection of songs that see him foreground the aspect of his writing focussed on what might be termed ‘character’ songs: the interior thoughts of impressionistically-sketched protagonists.

The songs on LOVE’S SHADOW were written in various rooms in Sydney and New York and are imbued with a sense of place. Co-produced and engineered by Toby’s long-time friend, YOUTH GROUP collaborator and musical genie Tim Kevin, LOVE’S SHADOW was mixed in Nashville by Mark Nevers, who has made some of Toby’s favourite records by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and The Silver Jews.

New track POSTCARD FROM SURFERS offers a taste of what to expect from the record. Stream and download it here for a limited time: Download by Clicking Here

Since YOUTH GROUP played their last show in Brooklyn in 2009, Toby has played a handful of solo shows – a residency at Sydney’s Low Bar and New York’s The Living Room and as opener for Seeker Lover Keeper, and has also sung with legendary bands The Triffids and Glide at special tribute shows.

As a quick refresher, YOUTH GROUP released four albums: Urban & Eastern, Skeleton Jar, Casino Twilight Dogs and The Night Is Ours. Their single Forever Young reached number one on the ARIA Charts and they received an ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist. YOUTH GROUP saw international releases via the ANTI and World’s Fair labels and toured the USA with the likes of Death Cab For Cutie and The Get Up Kids. They were also handpicked to tour Australia nationally with Coldplay, Kings Of Leon and Interpol.

Live dates for TOBY MARTIN in solo mode will be announced soon.

May 24

Visual and Performing Arts – ChoreoCraft Exhibition – Fest Centre Foyer

The Festival Theatre Foyer will play host to an exhibit of material from a new form of dance composition in the ChoreoCraft Exhibition, presented by Adelaide Festival Centre’s Performing Arts Collection from 25 – 30 May.

ChoreoCraft helps bridge the gap between dance training and choreography, integrating the two in a seamless syllabus, tailored to any age or ability.

Kenneth Norman devised a notation system based on a five layered pyramid, relating to the five Greek elements. Combined with up to 200 other tools, countless combinations can be created to drive choreography.

Although he has taught this method for many years, the exhibition will showcase the debut to the public of Kenneth’s intriguing new method of dance composition teaching in Australia, and will include examples of his notation, pictures, documents, and composition aids.

Kenneth Norman has successfully taught ChoreoCraft in the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and New Zealand before settling on our soils.

ChoreoCraft’s creator Kenneth Norman says,

“Most theatre-going patrons familiar with plays, concerts and ballets have a general idea that plays are created and recorded by writing the various characters’ words on paper. Similarly, most have a general understanding that music is composed and recorded by writing the music notes on manuscript paper. However for the theatre-going public at large…the means by which ballets are recorded on paper is a deep mystery!”

The ChoreoCraft exhibition will be shown during the Adelaide season of The Australian Ballet’s Romeo & Juliet.

What: ChoreoCraft Exhibition

When: 25 May – 30 May 2012

Venue: Festival Theatre foyer, Adelaide Festival Centre

Hours: 9am – 6pm Monday – Friday and performance times

Cost: FREE entry

For further information visit: www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

May 23

Punch Brothers Aust Tour Including Adel Itl Guitar Fest

The critically acclaimed American band Punch Brothers will arrive in Australia in August to perform shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, the first Australian visit by the band.

On their inaugural visit to Australia, Punch Brothers will perform at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Monday 6 August, followed by a headline show at The Basement in Sydney on Wednesday 8 August. The band will then venture to South Australian for a performance at the 2012 Adelaide International Guitar Festival at the Festival Theatre on Friday 10 August. The fast rising starts were hand-picked by the Festival Artistic Director and revered Australian classical guitarist Slava Grigoryan.

Described by legendary producer T Bone Burnett as “one of the most incredible bands (America) has ever produced”, Punch Bros combine indie rock, folk, jazz, bluegrass, and classical music in a sound that is unprecedented and inspiring. Unbound by notions of genre, their collaborative, porous approach to music making results in an extraordinary dynamic performance, laced with breathless motion and humour.

Punch Brothers was formed in 2006 by mandolinist/singer Chris Thile, formally of platinum-selling bluegrass outfit Nickel Creek. He formed the band with four other virtuosic musicians: fiddler Gabe Witcher, banjo player Noam Pikelny, bassist Paul Kowert, and guitarist Chris Eldridge. Recorded in Nashville, Who’s Feeling Young Now? is the bands third album. The album was produced by Grammy Award winner Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Modest Mouse), and features ten songs written by the band (including two co-written with their friend and fellow forthcoming Australia tourists Josh Ritter) Who’s Feeling Young Now? is the follow-up to 2010’s Grammy-nominated Antifogmatic.

Punch Brothers are also featured twice on the new T Bone Burnett–produced Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond album. The band has appeared on such programs as Late Night with David Letterman, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Later With Jools Holland, and at festivals including Bonnaroo, Telluride Bluegrass, and Newport Folk. This year they were nominated for two Grammys, and Chris Thile was also nominated for a Grammy for a duet album of traditional bluegrass tunes he recorded with guitarist/singer Michael Daves.

“In their willingness to subvert pop melodies with startling dissonance and rhythmic jolts, they’re like an acoustic Radiohead.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“I never flinch or hesitate to say the Punch Brothers are the tightest, most impressive live band I have ever seen.”

—Boston Globe

“Their songs glitter and soar, capable of pushing beyond traditional bluegrass into alternative rock.” —BBC

Friday 10 August – Adelaide Festival Theatre, Adelaide

Presented by Adelaide Festival Centre,

Tickets from $40 book at bass.net.au or 131 246.

Adelaide International Guitar Festival August 9 – 12. For further information visit www.adelaideguitarfestival.com.au

May 22

Pennywise – Profile and Adelaide Tour Date

PENNYWISE are one of the most significant bands to emerge from SoCal.

“The crowd’s energy could barely be contained, and the floor erupted into a massive pit right when the curtain opened. Nothing could be more punk rock.” – artistdirect.com

A thriving, ground-breaking punk rock band for two decades, the Hermosa Beach group’s relentless, in-your-face, anthem-chanting sound has never wavered.  In fact, they have just created their most ferocious, engaging and career defining album to date in ‘All Or Nothing’.

And just to prove that their live shows have lost none of their legendary vitality for which they are infamous, Pennywise have invited 2 of the most talked about rock bands of the new crop to test themselves against!

Philadelphia natives, THE MENZINGERS have been turning heads in the punk world.  A mixture of catchy punk rock and honest lyrics THE MENZINGERS are raw, rough, and bluesy.

British rock ‘n’ rollers SHARKS are a band with absolute heart, that embellish their hardcore D.I.Y ethics with the raw power of the soul.

Tickets go on sale Friday 25th May, 9am

TUESDAY 28 AUGUST                    ADELAIDE, HQ – 18+

www.oztix.com.au

May 20

Theatre – Next To Normal – The Opera Studio – 5K

In the Opera Studio at Netley, The Factory and Six Foot Something Productions have produced a truly outstanding show. Director David Lampard has created an experience which is emotionally engrossing and technically brilliant.

In the suburbs of Middle America, the Goodmans are trying to make life work, with mixed levels of success. Diane (Rosanne Hosking) has bipolar disorder and, as she once again becomes worryingly symptomatic, her family try to walk the fine line of helping her to get on top of her illness while not letting it overwhelm their own lives.

Next to Normal is one of the new breed of rock musicals. It doesn’t have the big chorus numbers of Gilbert and Sullivan or Rodgers and Hammerstein, with all of the songs performed by the seven main actors. Nor does it create a world of fantasy and romanticism but is rather focused on showing an accurate portrayal of life and some of the harder aspects of it. The subject matter is treated with honesty and respect by writer and lyricist Brian Yorkey and this has continued throughout Lampard’s staging. The realities of mental illness are acknowledged and portrayed without unnecessary over dramatisation. At the same time, the harsher aspects of living with such an illness, and the undesirable side-effects of some of the treatments undertaken to deal with them, are shown. Next to Normal illustrates that it is not just the person with the illness who has to live with it.

The music (Tom Kitt) is moving and powerful. Under the direction of Peter Johns, the six piece band delivers it in all its glory, shifting from impassioned acoustic songs with beautiful string lines to powerful rock anthems, with ease. However, this would mean nothing if it were coupled with substandard vocals. Quite the opposite is the case, with all performances being of a level which must surely match, if not surpass, those of the Broadway cast.

In addition, the structure of the show, with the small cast and intense plotline, means that characterisation is just as important as musical prowess and the cast also manage to shine in this area. Hosking shows both vulnerability and strength as she struggles with competing emotions, desires and obstacles.  As husband Dan, Paul Talbot’s performance is human and gripping, with his final scenes particularly heartbreaking. Their son Gabe (Mitchell Sanfilippo) is a strong antagonist and his vocals reach impressive heights.

Emma Bargery (Natalie) and Scott Reynolds (Henry) make an engaging couple, with their interactions creating a nicely contrasting relationship to that of Diana and Dan – though hints of the early days of Natalie’s parents’ marriage highlight the possibility that things won’t necessarily go to plan. Rounding out the cast is Rod Schultz in the dual roles of Dr Fine and Dr Madden, to which he brings a clinical disinterest to the former and a warm, truthful empathy to the latter.

On an impactful, inspired and adaptive set (David Lampard) the performers bring each scene of the show to life. Lighting (Daniel Barber) and sound (Matthew Curtis) also add to the overall feel of the production and punch home the more intense moments of the script. There are no weak links in this show and it will rightfully draw audiences back for a second or third viewing. This is the finest musical theatre produced in Adelaide for a long time.

Kryztoff Rating: 5K

May 18

Pari Passu – Touch – Leigh Warren Dancers – The Space til 26th May – 4K

Through a tumultuous funding kick in the guts, with Pari Passu – Touch Leigh Warren and his dancers have emerged no doubt much the wiser but thankfully no less accomplished, inventive and exciting.

Pari Passu is structured into three segments. The first, ‘random’, makes merry use of Mary Moore’s stage and video screen. It is a touch and movement sensitive slightly curved barrier in two pieces that, sitting backward of centre stage, is seemingly charged by the gyrations of the dancers on both its sides, sometimes translating them into three dimensional bulges and hollows, then transmitting the movement down and along its own face as waves.

‘Tangled’ sees the dancers pair (Tim Farrar with Lisa Griffiths and Bec Jones with Jesse Martin) and take turns to delight on the white circular stage, working each other with great grace and precision.

The last stanza, ‘synchronic’, sees all four working together in harmony as the screen plays a blue swirling type of whirlpool and Adam Synnott’s quadraphonically projected musical score continues to both guide and lift the whole effect.

However, for all its technological elements, Pari Passu – Touch is a remarkably minimalist presentation, ensuring audience members’ attentions are drawn to the synthesis of the whole and, of course, the quality of the dancing. The concept of the pari passu portion of the title being ‘on equal footing’ between the male and female is well made and the three movements roll out seamlessly. The synergy between the three main creative elements (Warren, Moore and Synnott) is remarkable.

A highly creative work that brilliantly works its various elements together without ever confusing just exactly what audience members have actually come to see. Another dance gem for Adelaide in this month of May.

To see LWD’s behind the scenee video for Pari Passu Click Here

For more on the dancers you should also visit these two video links – Link 1 and Link 2, again from LWD.

May 17

Riverdance – Festival Theatre until May 20 – 5K

Riverdance is back in Adelaide for a very short season, only until May 20, for its Farewell Tour.

Opening at the Festival Theatre to a near full house it’s not difficult to see why Riverdance quickly developed into a full stage show which has now been seen by some  22 million people worldwide throughout 32 countries over 16 years, after it originated as a 7 minute performance during an interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest.

In essence it is the story of the Irish culture and of the Irish immigration to America and originally choreographed by Michael Flatley consisting mainly of traditional Irish stepdancing.

This performance is a mesmerizing masterpiece combining the Irish stepdancing and the beautiful score composed by Bill Whelan, which is wonderfully played by the band directed by Guy Rickarby, and sung by very  talented singers including an amazing angelic solo passage.

In contrast to the Irish stepdancing which is known for its rapid leg movements while body and arms are kept very rigid, there are several amazing Flamenco performances by Rocio Montoya and the very entertaining Tappers, Kelly Isaac and Michael E. Wood who also performs a baritone solo.

Definitely a must see for the whole family, Riverdance is full of energy and Irish happiness. Beware some new young dancers may be discovered during the interval of this 2 hour performance.

Book tickets here: http://www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/?cat=3355&id=183643

http://www.riverdance.com/

Kryztoff Rating   5K

May 17

Circa – Her Majesty’s Til 19th May – 5K

By Peter Maddern

A bare black stage is all patrons get as the house lights go down. A topless male dancer arrives, flops to the floor on his shoulder, stands and flops again and then again – Circa is away. Former Adelaide based member of Cirkidz, Jarred Dewey, then delivers a spellbinding solo exhibition of flexibility, virtuosity and grace. Blink twice and you may capture a still in your mind of extreme poise, balance and physical magic beautifully lit for effect. (If Crows supporters think Taylor Walker has some moves, then after you see Mr Dewey you will only be able to compare him to the most able of your aging local EFM participants.)

Circa brags about bringing circus to dance, but is it all only a marketing spin to another contemporary dance show? No, there is everything you would expect at a circus; a graceful and awesome trapeze performance, a hoop dance that makes you question if it is not a result of magic and a red stiletto dancer prancing her way over the bare torso of one of the males in a new twist on the strong man act.

But whereas circus acts can just seem to go on and on at times, drawing applause with diminishing enthusiasm, artistic director Yaron Lifschitz has structured his show so that each segment has a character of its own, musical accompaniment of great variety and relevance, all there with humour and a seeming devil may care attitude by the dancers to their own well being, all of which draws oohs and ahhs and spontaneous recognition from an audience like the best big top can generate.

The aforementioned Dewey is a physical marvel matched only by the entire cast’s ability to execute their routines without, it seems, either perspiring or sucking in the big ones. So why only 75 minutes, can’t you keep this up for another hour?

May seems to be dance month in Adelaide this year and unless Leigh Warren and his troupe have some real surprises in store tonight, Circa comfortably tops the ratings. What a show, what strength, what grace, what characters.

May 14

Namatjira – The Exhibition – Artspace – Til 27 May – 3K

By Douglas Abbott

By Peter Maddern

Allied to Namatjira, the show (just concluded), is Namatjira, the exhibition, on now at the Artspace until 27th May.

The Hermannsburg School that promoted the use of water colours of outback scenes by indigenous painters, of which Albert Namatjira is the most famous exponent but with which the Namatjira name remains actively synonymous is really the focus and then particularly its current exponents. To be sure, a retrospective of either Albert’s work or the best of those who have come before over the past 50 years this is not.

Still, within the basic parameters of the style – white gums in the foreground, purple / blue distant ranges and accentuated red rocks in the landscape between them – there is much individual nuance and vision to be appreciated in this adaptation of the white man’s way to depict the land but as seen through indigenous eyes.

By Robert Hannaford of Trevor Jamieson - winning entry in the Salon des Refuses Exhibition - 2011

Douglas Kwarlple Abbott has five works of which his three of the Finke River are the most stunning with brilliant reds used for the soil offset by grey green saltbush or scrubby mulga growing throughout the dry creek bed. Mervyn Rubuntja’s two works also standout along with Peter Tjutatja Taylor’s Mt Sonder.

What works of Albert there are (and it is a pity that a decent retrospective of his works could not have been mustered for the occasion) are in the ‘Museum’ section and include a lovely water colour of the Hermannsburg mission itself and seven wooden pieces. But to be honest, these alone hardly warrant the effort to attend.

Also, scattered throughout the walls are portraits done by the resident artists on stage with the show. Local doyen portraitist, Robert Hannaford has three, as does Michael Peck and Evert Ploeg four, all bar one of all of these is of Trevor Jamieson, the lead actor in Namatjira, the show.

While understanding that their presence is a means to drive sales and thus returns for the show and exhibition promoter Big hART’s work near Alice Springs, they do tend to make for a bit of hodge podge of an exhibition, these styles being so different to the Namatjira style that it is meant to be promoting.

Kryztoff Rating  3K

May 13

Theatre – Land & Sea – Brink Productions – Queen’s Theatre – 4K

Sometimes theatre is not linear, it’s not clear cut. It’s confusing and surreal and beautiful. Brink Productions’ latest offering, Land & Sea, from writer Nicki Bloom, is this type of show. In the old Queen’s Theatre, a dreamscape has been created by director Chris Drummond and his team.  Presented in the round, the stage is initially viewed from behind a screen of fabric, making it feel like you are watching the characters through a fog. The action takes place across times, across countries, across worlds. We are provided with short glimpses into each of these worlds. The content of these vignettes is widely varied, generally strange and always emotionally charged.

There is a man (Rory Walker), a woman (Jacqy Phillips), a girl (Danielle Catanzariti) and a boy (Thomas Conroy); while their characters shift from scene to scene and their names change slightly, they always remain essentially the same. How they relate to each other is not always clear; at times even they do not know – are they siblings, parents, friends, acquaintances, lovers, all of the above? In some way, many ways, they are connected, coming together in fractured glimpses, as the worlds link through the ether. The performances of the four actors are intense, captivating and moving. They are an accomplished ensemble who respond well to one another and bring to life the poetic beauty inherent in Bloom’s text.

As each scene morphs into the next, the set (Wendy Todd) and lighting (Geoff Cobham) cleverly adapt to create a different space and feeling. Tying the scenes together, and combining the segmented snippets into a whole experience, is the music. From the opening haunted notes, the songs roll around you like an enveloping blanket. Whether it is the instrumental soundtrack created live on stage by Music Director Hilary Kleinig, or the verses performed by the actors in each scene, it is appropriate, enchanting and exquisite.

The whole performance could be likened to a song. While you might not understand every line of the lyrics, the melody is entrancing and it’s the overall feeling that is important, that touches your soul. Of course, not all people have the same taste in music and, likewise, not everyone will enjoy this show. However, those who can appreciate theatre as an experience rather than just an exercise in storytelling will reap the rewards on offer from this production.

Kryztoff Rating: 4K