So I guess you could say that for me 2012 was a year of Sport. Towards the end of 2012 I decided to take a different approach with 2013 and make it a year of music and art. Something very different. By this I mean all sorts of things. Live music, movies, plays, stand up comedy etc. Any kind of performances. And the year has certainly started off in that vein.
To kick the year off was Tripod + Eddie Perfect in "Perfect Tripod". Following their well received A capella rendition of Meet Me In The Middle Of The Air they decided to put together a whole show of A capella versions of Australian songs. From Kylie Minogue to John Farnham to the Bee Gees to Archie Roach it was a stunning performance. Not what you'd expect from a normal Tripod song, if you went along expecting solely comedy then you may have been disappointed. But it was a tour de force by all 4 guys, particularly Eddie Perfect. One of the most supremely talented people you'll see.
The following Wednesday I headed along to the Palais Theatre to see Band of Horses. A band I've liked for several years now, I jumped at the chance to see them without having to put up with the idiots at the Big Day Out. They put on a great show. They opened with just Ben on an acoustic guitar doing St Augustine, who answered the inevitable question of "Where's the horse?" with "I dunno man". Great bunch of guys who had a whole lot of fun on stage for the whole 90 minutes. Couple of pictures are below with a link to the gallery of all the photos I took.
Band of Horses Photos
The following night I spent at the State Theatre watching the London production of War Horse. Absolutely stunning production. Gone are the days of the old pantomime horses. These were full size puppets, two guys inside the horse and one outside operating the head. Slightly distracting for maybe the first minute but you immediately forget about it and get completely immersed in the story. If you get the chance to go then I can't recommend it highly enough. Even for people who normally don't like going to the theatre it'd make for a fantastic night out. Sadly no photos due to the Arts Centre's nazi like view on cameras.
Friday night was back at the Palais, this time for Elvis Costello. Now, not to cast any slights on Band of Horses, but from the moment he stepped on stage Elvis made them look like amateurs. Ripping into 5 songs straight off the bat. No stopping. No guitar changes or anything. Just 5 songs straight. All hard, loud rocker's too. Set the tone for the evening. Then the show proper started: The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook. A giant wheel was on stage with the names of all different songs. Elvis and his assistants would pluck people out of the crowd who would then get to spin the wheel to choose what songs the band would play that night. Took audience interaction to a new level and made it a thoroughly fun night for everyone there. There was a couple of surprises throughout the night too. An improptru cover of Purple Rain was without question the highlight. Closely followed by Elvis playing Pump It Up right at the end of the night despite it not coming up on the wheel. A master show man showing he's still got it.
Elvis Costello and the Imposters - Photos
Interspersed with all this has been movie galore. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Hitchcock, Gangster Squad. And screener versions of Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty. Some fantastic films and one awful one (Gangster Squad). So far my current tip for Best Picture is Lincoln, but I say that without having seen Django Unchained or Silver Linings Playbook. They're both being seen this week. So it's been quite the big start to the year. But it's only just begun...
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