Blog — Page 252 of 284

Kooza, Cirque du Soleil

Entertainment Quarter

Sydney, AUS

October 6, 2016

Kooza first premiered in 2007 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada where circus conglomerate Cirque du Soleil, the largest theatrical producer on this earthround, was founded in 1983 as part of the 450th anniversary celebrations of Jacques Cariter’s voyage to Canada.

Defining “nouveau cirque” by combining circus styles from around the globe, animal free thrills, continuous live music, death defying stunts and its theatrical, character driven approach, Cirque du Soleil expanded rapidly through the 1990s and 2000s, going from one show to 19 shows in over 271 cities on about every continent except Antarctica.

Accessible, earnest, yet undeniably artful – these were Cirque’s trademark qualities.

It became a brand.

A brand with a myriad of incarnations. 

As brands become bigger, financially successful and multi-faceted, extending its offerings whilst retaining vitality and relevance without compromising its artistic integrity can be a challenge.

Your humble narrator has had the pleasure of seeing Cirque du Soleil productions in different locations. Especially recent ones were hit and miss, especially when the shows derived from the realm of traditional circus traditions: it got bigger, flashier and at times over-poised and acrobatically underwhelming.

“When in doubt, go back to the basics” might be a worn out, clichéd phrase, but it certainly holds true for Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza, which sees a return to the trademark blue-and-yellow Big Top.

Kooza reflects Cirque du Soleil's return to more traditional circus arts with clowning and acrobatics: Inspired by the Sanskrit word “koza” – which means box, chest or treasure, the name KOOZA was chosen because one of the underlying concepts of the production is the idea of a “circus in a box” – only fitting that Kooza kicks off with the Trickster being unleashed like a jack-in-the-box to kick off the proceedings.

The return to the Grand Chapiteau creates an intimacy that is vital to foundation of the Cirque du Soleil experience: Kooza's stage is designed to evoke a public square that changes into a circus ring.

The sight lines offer views of up to 280 degrees which serves as the platform for an international cast of 50 acrobats, musicians, singers and actors presenting heart-stopping feats and clowneries to a seamless live soundtrack fusion of jazz, 1970s funk and Bollywood beats emanating from a dominating traveling tower dubbed the "bataclan."

The structure of the Grand Chapiteau is always in full view and all aspects of the performance are transparent - the fact that there is no effort made to disguise or conceal the performances helps to focus the attention on the artists and thus creates an environment where the danger of the acts is palpable.

The comic-book aesthetic of the more than 175 custom-made, intricate costumes complements the scenographic set design with its focus on archetypes and universal characters, drawing on a wide variety of sources of inspiration: Paintings of Gustav Klimt, Indian and Eastern European touches, Mad Max and timetravel movies laced with winks towards the Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland.

Kooza delivers on every level with its ten acrobatic acts, which are supplemented by minor burlesque acts that develop the storyline:

Be it the house troupe creating human towers Nutcracker-style inspired by the Inuit game of “Blanket Toss,” jaw dropping feats of contortion creating a tableaux of sculptural beauty, an aerial hoop act, a pas de deux waltzing on a unicycle, fencing and other stunts on the high wire that most of us would have trouble with performing on the ground, the artist powered wheel of death or the teeterboard catapulting artists into lofty heights where they perform quintuple twisted summersaults with stilts strapped to their legs– with each act Kooza combines thrilling acrobatic performance with infectious fun and genuinely warm and funny undertones.

Kooza is engaging, charming and gradually upping the ante throughout the show.

A true return to form focusing on human performance in its rawest, most frail yet glamorous and awe-inspiring state.

If Cirque du Soleil’s mission was to invoke the imagination, provoke the senses and evoke the emotions of the spectators, Kooza as a colourful mélange and tribute to the core values of the golden days of the circus - accomplishes it.

Kooza does not only have the “wow factor” but firmly establishes Cirque du Soleil as the “wow factory”: This is Cirque at its best - an immersive, thrilling and entertaining night out.

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Photos courtesy of Cirque du Soleil

KOOZA by Cirque du Soleil will conclude its Sydney season on November 13. Following Sydney, the tour moves to Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.

Totally Unicorn

Newtown Social Club

Sydney, AUS

September 29, 2016

Do not let the name deter you: You want to see Totally Unicorn in all of their unbridled beauty before they blow up and no longer grace the confines of small clubs with their sweaty, nude, booze-soaked presence.

It has been a while since I’ve been to a fun hardcore punk show that left everyone with a smile on their faces, singing along to Toto’s “Africa.”

Totally Unicorn’s recently released full-length album Dream Life draws influences from the likes of Converge, Dillinger Escape Plan, Botch, Cave In and the likes.

What reads on paper like a diligent mathcore band, is an entirely different beast in a live scenario -- a beast with a spiraling, large, pointed horn projecting from its forehead at that.

Some say there is a difference between grotesque and antic.

It might be a fine line but Totally Unicorn not only walks but inhabits it when it comes to their live performance: Take the best parts of early Fucked Up’s crowd engagement, i.e. front man buried in the pit -- clothes optional -- add ample measures of alcohol and medication generated oomph and hilarity, garnish with balloons, sprinkle with the trademark Australian pisstaking and stir with the barrel of a confetti canon.

Voilà! A fascinating, seriously fun and uncontrived live show that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Totally Unicorn is an example par excellence for the fact that being technically gifted and musically spot on, the ability to effortlessly bring the party and defying stereotypes do not have to be mutually exclusive.

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Photos by T

Sounds of the Suburbs Festival

Wilbar Lane

Cronulla, Sydney

September 25, 2016

Cronulla, the “place of the pink seashells," is a beachside suburb, about 30 kilometers south of the Sydney central business district in the Sutherland Shire, an area serving as the backdrop for the classic 1981 coming of age movie Puberty Blues, for which a big part of today’s laid-back, beachy crowd would have been the perfect cast – given that Sounds of the Suburbs festival is aimed at Sydney’s beautiful young things, people aged 18 to 24.

Squeezed into the Wilbar laneway behind the Space 44 gallery, which quintessentially turned a house into a live music and arts venue, and the Mexican restaurant/bar El Sol, the fourth installment of the boutique-y yet burgeoning Sounds of the Suburbs festival was held.

Sounds of the Suburbs is a laneway festival packed with Sydney’s newest and brightest of the indie variety, the odd touring band, Mexican food and culture located deep in the southern suburbs of Sydney. Summa summarum: All the key ingredients for a great DIY festival.

The 2016 all-day indie bill incarnated on multiple stages, one of which open for anyone bringing a device and plug whatever they wanted in, were supplemented by an art room displaying works from local creatively inclined folks, as well as Mexican food from El Sol and Italian wood-fired pizza.

Unfortunately only Budweiser was served on the beer front and while one was salivating at the prime selection of tequilas at display in the back of El Sol’s bar, only sangria and rum was served. Sacre bleu!

With DZ Deathrays (fresh off from an immensely successful Australian tour with Violent Soho), surf-inspired Guantanamo Baywatch, Peter Bibby, Alex Lahey, Verge Collection, Big White, Wild Honey, James Crooks, Tees, Pist Idiots, Baxter, Wash, Amyl And The Sniffers, Heads Of Charm, Red Wine Roses, The Cloacas, The Moving Stills, MVRKS, Mini Skirt, Uplifting Bell Ends and Stay At Home Mum this year’s incarnation of the festival lineup was not only eclectic, but even if you’re unaware of the protagonists, the names alone made you want to check them out.

For the most part, the bands gracing the main stage played fast paced, condensed sets, the lion’s share with an electric combination of lo-fi riffs coupled with energetic, offbeat stage presence, which did not fail to elicit boisterous and at time reckless responses from the willing, sold-out crowd.

Inside Space 44, in a more intimate environment bands like Wild Honey channeled their alchemy

Sounds of the Suburbs is a unique festival that has not merely found but created its very own and unique niche.
Having progressively gotten bigger and better with each year, one would not be surprised if it would evolve to a mainstream fest.

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Photos by KAVV

Apocalyptica, We Lost the Sea

Metro Theatre

Australia, AUS

September 24,2016

Rumor has it that Ritchie Blackmore tried to get into mastering the cello, the attention-getter among instruments – try to ignore a woman lugging one around, at some point of his career.

He came to the conclusion that one has to dedicate one’s whole life to it, after which he went back to playing guitar and turning it up a bit louder.

In classical music the bowed string instrument is often considered to be one of the less interesting instruments, eclipsed by the piano and the violin, because it tends to be used for drawn-out notes to give a melancholic tone.

Apocalyptica are a classically trained cello metal band and have mastered the art of exploring the range of the cello, showcasing how diverse and powerful it can be – playing it as low as the double bass and a high as the violin, along with making it sound like the human voice.

Apocalyptica started 20 years ago with an album solely consisting of Metallica covers played on cellos. Twenty years on, eight studio albums with compositions of their own along with collaboration with the likes to Ville Valo of HIM, Corey Taylor of Slipknot fame and Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil later, they descended upon Sydney as part of their “Shadowmaker” tour.

The set list consisted of a mix of originals and crowd pleasing cover songs, including heavy hitters by Metallica and Sepultura, interspersed by a segment with their current touring singer, Frankie Perez, which was the most conventional part of their performance.

Bringing together fans from heavy and more traditional musical spheres, the multi-faceted range Apocalyptica draws from makes them a very powerful and fun live act to see, keeping the audience on its toes as they seamlessly slide from Wagnerian tributes via somber moments to their various collaborations/covers, which elicit reactions and participation from the audience that you normally would only expect from hard rock acts with more traditional instrumentation. A great evening for anyone into heavy and classical music.

The evening was opened by We Lost the Sea, a great post-metal instrumental band from Sydney. 

For some, music is nothing but a mundane distraction of background noise.

For others music can serve as a tool of survival and bring hope to otherwise hopeless situations.

Life is complex. The emotions it evokes even more so. Music can provide solace.

We Lost the Sea gives consolation by wonderfully executing lengthy, hefty instrumental songs with towering guitar arrangements that create an active, immersive and cathartic listening experience.

A band to look out for.

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Photos by KAVV

Descendents, Modern Life Is War, Color TV

First Avenue

Minneapolis, MN

September 15, 2016

The only people luckier than those who get to see the Descendents are those who get to open.

Color TV kicked off the show with a surfy-garage punk vibe as the room filled in, while vets Modern Life Is War played to a mostly interested crowd in a surprise billing of hardcore and pop-punk. While it was fun watching Jeffrey Eaton straddling the banister as crowd control security rushed over, the real star of the show was the Descendents, now on tour in support of their 7th studio album (Hypercaffium Spazzinate, Epitaph, 2016).

“It’s been 20 years since we’ve played here,” Milo announced as they took the stage. You wouldn’t know it other than the gray hairs on both stage and in audience—except perhaps by the swelling enthusiasm of the crowd that seemed to dwarf the excitement of a more regular show.

Descendents live are something special. That’s the bulk of the story. There are bands who come and play a nice show that promotes their new album, then they move on and do it again. Then there are bands where the magic on a record isn’t reproduced, it’s created on stage and makes that record sound dull in comparison. The Ramones had it (or so I hear, I only have their live records to go by) and Descendents have it. Yes, the set list is sort of a best of compilation, but the manic energy from Milo on the mic to Stephen Egerton on the guitar and Karl Alvarez on the bass fill it out. With Bill Stevenson blasting at the kit, they still feel like a group of young kids who enjoy the songs, what they’re doing, and each other. That may sound trite, but it’s important, especially for a band pushing 38 years.

I felt a little young at this show and I guess that’s why. Descendents and I are essentially the same age, so naturally the crowd has a few years on me—though you wouldn’t know it by the atmosphere in the packed room. Despite it being a Thursday night with a lot of scheduled to get up early the next morning, it felt like the weekend. I’m sure 12 hours later it was all grumpy coffee mugs at the breakfast table in their suburban homes mumbling, “I don’t want to grow up” (see what I did there), but time stood still for their hour long set followed by two encores.

As stated, it really was a best of, though with a good chunk of new material and the oldest and best known material peppered within cleverly, never dropping momentum or losing a beat.

It’s tricky to summarize an hour and half of live Descendents because it’s a moment trapped in time where age and calendars and work fade away. The band is older and the stages are bigger, but it doesn’t feel like Milo and company ever grew up, and it feels great.

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All photography by Loren Green.