Spontaneous Tram Choir !!
October 3, 2009
Ah this could make you smile.. the Spontaneous Tram Choir on the Lygon St Tram.
i hope we’ll see more from this bunch:
from You tube of course.
Ha ha. Thanks Logan for this video.
Singing in the rain (first chorus meets emma bathgate)
September 28, 2009
It was windy, raining and cold.. but the show must go on, isn’t it!
Emma Bathgate opened this extraordinary gig at the Fairfield Amphitheatre by welcoming 8 year old Zafiya Witkoski-Blake on drums and poetry. Beats and words. There is something really moving about a child who’s able to get up and work her performance magic in front of a bunch of adults. Plus Zafiya is an amazing performer. A great way to start the show.
Several of Emma’s songs i’ve heard before, having seen her perform with Natalia Mann the incredible harpist in Shima and the Wikimen as well as solo. i enjoy the way her soulful voice jumps across various registers and tones as she searches for the most authentic sound at any moment. Great to hear Emma step away from the crowd-pleasing (crowd-horrifying?) Dilapidated Diva and sing as her own self.
.. and so it was lovely to be a part of the backing band of singers (first chorus), singing This Ancient Land, Flame Trees and Adoration – a song devoted to Emma’s singing teacher for many years. There were a few emotional moments in the show, especially when Emma was talking about her inspiration for the song about the wombats during the 2009 bushfires.
Plenty of deliberation before the show about whether to go ahead in the cold windy rain. In the end Tim the sound guy who’s had experience running outdoor gigs said, “Let’s just do it!”
i hope someone got a photo of the choir with all our umbrellas out. i’ll have to settle for these photos of the bridge at Fairfield park.
Links: myspace pages for the musioes:
fIRST cHORUS excitement (a fringe festival event)
September 25, 2009
First Chorus is part of the Melbourne fringe festival, this time featuring in
- an event with Emma Bathgate
- at the Fairfield amphitheatre.
- More details, plus book tickets at the Melbourne fringe site.
- (This Sunday 27 September at Fairfield Amphitheatre, near the Boathouse.)
- (Here’s the faceboo event page if you have a residence in that place.)
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Plus, from the Victoria hotel event in August:
The choir i’ve been singing with had our big big night.. seven original songs by the songwriters in the choir. Songs in genres including folk, pop, jazz, operatic and gothic-epic, the arrangements all worked by Virginia Bott the amaazing musical director.
i wish i could put up the video right now, but it’ll take ages to be ready. i’ve heard the bootleg recording came out well.
The first show was electric and intense.. while the second was more sedate, laidback, and somehow harder work. Probably because we were already exhausted. As Lou said, it was as though we had a whole season, from opening to closing night .. in the same evening.
The Victoria Hotel has really picked up its game, reshaping into a kitschie Melbourne style classic. Upside-down lampshades hanging from the ceiling.. which any self-respecting Melbourne bar must have.. since the Night Cat started the tradition back in ooh 1990-something.
Really great to be involved in such a dynamic and powerful performance, eh!
Lovely people.
relief concert at northcote church
February 23, 2009
Daryl the lovely minister at Northcote’s heathen / community church, has pulled together a bunch of performers for a big event in support of bushfire sufferers.
3-8pm this Sunday 1st March at- Northcote Uniting in High St.
- Heidi’s choir Expressive Women
- Kavisha Mazella
- Rod Quantock as MC.
$10/15 money goes to uniting church Victorian bushfire appeal.
Daryl says: “Please come and have a great time with us in solidarity with those who have not only lost so much but now contemplate a long physical and emotional rebuilding process.”
(Some moments of reflection involved.)
PS: i caught Heidi’s choir, and they were really good. Heidi sang solo and she was fab. Then Zeena and i fled the choir scene, over to Wesley Anne where “The Tiger and Me” were playing. They Were Good. Alt-Country-ish.
plus: get your Flyer here: Northcote-Concert-Flyer(pdf)
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photo credit: alana jonez
Emma Tonkin plays the northcote feast
September 9, 2008
This Saturday night looks fantastic on the Northcote High Street.
Emma Tonkin is playing the Uniting Church .. but not alone; she has a choir behind her to really stretch the beauty of her songs. (Have a listen here, or visit her space.)
Competing with “Girl, interpreted” which is a celebration of Auslan song interpretation. Oh, why are they on at the same time.
Boo.
