Melbourne, Australia

Posts Tagged ‘original songs’

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Review: LACHLAN MACLEOD’S A Very Merry Christmas

In Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Performances, Whats On on December 10, 2011 at 4:02 am

Get into this christmas comedy quick!

By Melissa Trickey

After having a somewhat scrooge-y day, I was a bit “bah humbug” when I entered The Butterfly Club on Thursday evening…. But the “magic, majesty and hhhhhwhimsy” of Lachlan’s Macleod’s A Very Merry Christmas soon warmed the cockles of my heart to turn my frown upside down and make me Madame President of the Christmas Spirit Club!

Christmas sure smacked me in the face as soon as I walked in the door, with the busiest set I’ve ever seen in that performance space. I had no idea the stage could fit so much! Three musical instruments, a fully decorated Christmas tree, a framed Jesus picture and a curious object that was concealed by some kind of mystery Christmas material…

This turned out to be Lachlan himself, who promptly did what I did not expect at all - sat as his keyboard and played a (seemingly) serious song about Christmas. Next second he totally bazinga’d me with the lyrics: “The doors are locked, I’ve got your cash, so f***you all!” People didn’t seem to mind though – we were all laughing too hard!

There were many lyrical gems like this along the way. Lachlan touched on such topics as re-gifting, office work parties, due rewards from Santa for being a bad little boy, and the evergreen last-minute present shopping. His lyrics are simple, direct and right on the money (except for the priest thing…), and his songs are very funny and appealing to a broad audience with great writing, delivery and chorey!

Lachlan has a gift for simple and effective storytelling that is quite endearing and suited the show very well. Some opening night nerves made Lachlan appear slightly jittery at times, but I’m sure they will settle down and Lachlan can relax into his performance more. From a performer’s perspective he has put A LOT of pressure on himself with his all-singing, all-gags, mostly-playing and sometimes-dancing agenda! In accompanying himself on no less than three instruments, Lachlan certainly is working harder than most. 

I thought there was a slight lag in the middle of the show that could be tightened up by shaving back some verses and material. It was good to be mellow but the feeling rather overstayed its welcome.  However, the finale was sharp, witty, and brilliant to watch, with the emergence of a special Christmas costume and resulting song. I don’t want to give too much away but it was absolutely hysterical and a closing highlight for the show!

Lachlan is everyday funny like Hamish and Andy, writes clever and witty lyrics like Tim Minchin, and delivers them with the pathos of Tripod. One day I will see him on TV and be like, “Hey, I reviewed that guy once!” Thanks for the Handy Christmas Facts, Lachlan, and for the numerous laughs! Merry Christmas!

Dates: Thurs 8th to Sun 11th Dec
Time: Thurs-Sat at 9pm & Sun at 8pm

Venue and bookings: The Butterfly Club, Sth Melbourne

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REVIEW: Luke Escombe is CHRONIC

In Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Performances, Whats On on November 11, 2011 at 4:11 am

Hilarious and no-holds barred comedy still has heart

By Jessica Cornish

Presenting Flight Of The Concordesque cabaret, Luke Escombe, armed with his trademark off-white suit and cream peak hat, certainly entertained his small, but enthralled Thursday night audience for the latest season of his hit show Chronic at The Butterfly Club.

Equipped with a beautiful acoustic guitar,the five-dollar keyboard that he snagged off a young girl at a garage sale, a loop pedal and a battery-operated pink dog that occasionally made cameo appearances, Escombe’s show was the perfect amounts of uncomfortable, edgy and very funny.

The evening begun with a short autobiographical AV presentation of Luke’s life, before the Sydneysider cruised through the audience on to the stage to kick off his one-man performance.

His hilarious songs were continuously engaging, and segments such as ‘The Riddler’ encouraged his audience to yell out answers to his questions while his miniature keyboard’s MIDI loop ploughed on through the PA.

Other musical highlights were his advice to budding singer-songwriters regarding the use of  weather as a cliched metaphor, his achievement in coaxing the only unfortunate male in the female-filled audience to sing  ‘It’s hard to be P-I-M-P’, and the failed conga line attempt to the ridiculous and outrageously titled, but very catchy song ‘Jerk Ya Cock.’

Whilst Chronic was sixty minutes of light-hearted entertainment and presented an array of outlandish songs, the show also fought to raise awareness of crohns disease that currently affects over 30,000 Australians, including Luke himself.

Weaved throughout his web of songs Luke tells the tale of his personal battle with the illness, including his eleven-day stint in hospital, his determination to get back to good health and his motivation to rejoin society in full strength. He’s even being flown to Canberra next month to raise awareness about the disease (through song) to Australia’s finest political folk.

Lucke Escombe’s Chronic is a great distraction from the mundane happenings of everyday life, and will bring a smile to all who can share or take a joke every now and then.

Chronic will be performed at The Butterfly Club on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 Nov at 9pm and Sunday Nov. 13 at 8pm.

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REVIEW: EastEnd Cabaret

In Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Performances, Whats On on February 11, 2011 at 12:53 am

“Discovered in a bedsit over a gin-joint in London…”

While Victor Victoria hugs his/her piano accordian lovingly and begins to play another darkly funny pop song-cum-polka, the luscious Bernadette Byrne flutters her outrageous eyelashes at us, concedes to put down the gin, and unleashes her wonderful voice in chanteuse parody.  

EastEnd Cabaret is what two Aussie artists have brought back from a performing sejourn in London, and while the opening night show was a little haphazard and uneven in places, the two characters demonstrated impressive musicanship and delicious comic potential.

Photo courtesy of Laura Oliver

Jennifer Bryne‘s immersion into her alter-ego as bawdy Russian femme fatale is beguiling: her repartee with the audience and improvised witticisms are excellent, and her voice has a lovely mix of rich warmth and brash character sound to keep her blackly comedic songs in real cabaret style.   As her androgenous multi-intrumentalist, Vicky Falconer-Prichard‘s Victor Victoria is a talented musician and a funny man-lady in her own right, though her delivery is often too low and apologetic for all the audience to appreciate the cutsy comic one-liners.

While there is some taut, clever writing in places, the real strength of the show lies in the reworked songs: Madonna, Right Said Fred and Devo make for sensational neo-cabaret fodder, and the satirical rewrites and arrangements were hilarious.   The opening night audience adored recognising the introductory riffs, but the suggestive proved more popular than the blatant when they were more reserved about the original songs where the broad ribald humour tended to only get nervous laughs.

A few elements were not entirely successful: the ‘divide and conquer’ approach to audience interaction where the characters regularly began separate conversations or spoke over each other’s songs served to distract and pull focus rather than complement the other’s comedy and performance, while a more deadpan style of humour from Victor would perhaps be a better foil to Bernie’s energy and animation.   The pseudo-communist interludes felt clumsy: some context or preamble in introducing them and flagging their connection to the characters and relevance to the show would also have been worthwhile.

Photo courtesy of Laura Oliver

Nonetheless, EastEnd Cabaret will clearly continue to flourish and evolve,  the mis-matched characters are adapt at exploring the shadowy regions of creepy, comic and cute, and hopefully these two very talented artists will become regulars in the Melbourne cabaret scene where their edgy eccentric style is in the process of becoming just what our audiences love.

Venue: The Butterfly Club
Dates: 10th – 13th February, 2011
Tickets: $27/ $24 (con)
Times: Thurs – Sat: 9pm, Sun: 8pm
Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com

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