Don’t miss this one if you’re at Rainbow Serpent this year. Real Hot Bitches and Rockerobics doing more than an hour of lycra power.

3:00-5:30pm on the Saturday, Playground Stage (28 January).

Very excited to be selected for this performance.. you’d better be ready to rock.

Here’s the facey event with more details: Real Hot Bitches and Rockerobics at Rainbow.

Eleanor Jean Riley has done it again. But this time, she’s completely on her own.

I went to the preview of “This is My Show”, and was thoroughly delighted.

Firstly, the set itself is intrinsic to the experience, as you must choose your seating space before you enter.. and before you know what the choice will mean for your viewing. Which seat gives you the “best” view? What will you miss out on? (Sorry i won’t spoil your choice by telling you where i sat.)

The show is made up of different characters and aspects. In one space, the dancer’s body conveys a disturbing and awkward sense of discomfort.. and then soon enough she is transformed into the most confident circus show-stopper you’ve ever seen, in a glamorous outfit with a cocktail shaker. I felt i could identify with either of these archetypes, as her body played out the sensation – the uncomfortable one much more easily.

As well as movement, Little is exploring movement through shadow, and also concealment. Sometimes you’ll see everything, while at other times.. you must twist and turn to get the best view.

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And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for.. 18 months after first chorus band of singers recorded this album with Emma Tonkin.. the Album Party Launch. Cave of Lights is a beautiful album (i reckon), with songs by Emma, arranged for 4 part harmony by Virginia Bott. (I’ve heard that doors open at 8pm, and we sing at 8:45pm.)

I was in the audience for the launch of Emma’s first album at Bar 303 about 5 years ago, and i’ll be singing in this one. There are 25 voices in the band this time round.

8:00pm Saturday 17 Nov, in the Wonderland Spiegeltent (Docklands). Make sure you head to the Docklands, not the Arts Centre.

grab full size flyer here (link on pic)

The official blurb:

For one night only in the magical surrounds of the Wonderland Spiegeltent, Emma Tonkin and First Chorus Band Of Singers are joined by a great band of melbourne musos to launch their 2012 release CAVE OF LIGHTS, a collection of their work together as long-time collaborators of Melbourne’s independent fringe.

The night will kick off with an improvised solo set from guitarist and noisemaker Jed Palmer and the party will continue after the show to the tunes of DJ EDDY. Don’t miss all these folk in the one place creating the magic of this panoramic album live.

Relevant links:

• [Buy the album via Bandcamp]
• [first chorus facebook page]
• [The event on facebook]
• [Buy Tickets]
• [Songs via Soundcloud]

Here are some songs you’ll hear on the night, from the album:
Latest tracks by fc band of singers

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Now here is a remarkable performance, for both dance and costume.

You’ve got Zoe and Bronwen and Priscilla dancing in Rebecca Mayo‘s mistletoe dress.

Looks like Some Kind of Art to me.

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I work with Zoe. She is an amazing person to have around the office. Really brightens your day.

via

Finally we made it to the performance night.

“first chorus: a retrospective” was a celebration of the first 4 years of Virginia Bott’s amazing Band of Singers. Such a joy to be involved with a magic and gorgeous bunch of good people.

The venue: Anytime Place in Brunswick. Gray Taylor and her team of speakeasy angels worked hard to get the venue looking its best. They are incredibly adept at adapting their environment to suit different kinds of performance.

The acoustics and sound engineering: Simon did a truly amazing job with the sound setup. What a dude. Thanks to Marianna and Ro for pointing out the need to turn down the band and the solo singers. Amazingly, we really had a good balance of volume from choir and soloist/band. (i heard later on from someone who sat both back and front that it was still pretty quiet out back in the standing room.

The audience: what a delightful and generous audience we had, filling out the space with warmth and focus.

The director: everyone knows now that Virginia Bott is a complete genius.

The new CD: Cave of Lights, the collaboration between Emma Tonkin and first chorus: band of singers is now available, hot from the CD burning presses. Launch should be around February. So lucky to have a preview copy that we gave a good spin last night after the gig.

Woohoo. Wish we’d recorded it.

Did anyone video?