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By Shane Murphy
About five years ago, I picked up a copy of Koraly Dimitriadis’ first book of poetry – Love and Fuck Poems – in a bookshop in Fitzroy. Idly flipping its pages, I realised that she was writing with a fire and fervour that I hadn’t seen much in recent times. I was hooked straight away,
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By Shane Murphy
Tropical Fuck Storm, the latest project from Drones mainstays Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin, Erica Dunn from Mod Con/Harmony/Palm Springs and Lauren Hammel from High Tension, collaborated with promoters Hear My Eyes to present a live score to the Coen Brothers’ 2013 film No Country for Old Men this week. TFS as a rock band incorporate
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By Shane Murphy
The Melbourne City Council (MCC) has embarked on quite an ambitious program in using the Town Hall’s grand organ for new works it has commissioned for it. Thursday (November 8), showcased the work of JP Shiloh, the well-known multi-instrumentalist from a number of bands, most notably the Blackeyed Susans. Before JP, the MCC presented artists making
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By Shane Murphy
It’s Melbourne cold, dark and pressing. It’s been a year or more since I’ve seen Cash Savage, and with a single launch tonight and a new album only 90 days away, it’s a good time to check in and see where she is taking her music. It’s at the good ‘ole Corner Hotel in Richmond, scene of
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By Shane Murphy
The Melba Spiegeltent is a fitting venue for After Dark Theatre’s Society. It’s nestled in the old car park of what is now Circus Oz’s HQ in the depths of old Collingwood. It’s just a building away from the grind and noise of the Tote Hotel and the echoes of Collingwood Tech’s courses in boot making still hang in the air. Society is an “adults
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By Shane Murphy
Englishman Alistair Barrie is appearing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for the first time and his show is a delight. Titling the show The InternationAL, Barrie sets out playing the left wing anthem The Internationale on the PA merely to see if anyone recognises it enough to hum along. The Friday night audience sits numbly through it, vaguely wondering what
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By Shane Murphy
The title of this show was enough for me. The tension that a Millennial would feel in not looking at his screen for a whole hour sounded a funny premise around which a show could revolve. The New Zealand comic (latterly located in New York), Guy Montgomery has a gentle manner. This is not super aggressive
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By Shane Murphy
The Comic’s Lounge in North Melbourne feels like the beer barn of comedy venues in this festival. It brings a chunk of Frankston’s infamous Pier Hotel into the inner city, while conjuring up some memories of the long gone Last Laugh in Collingwood. It’s big, and quite full considering it’s a cool Tuesday evening. It’s
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By Shane Murphy
After a blessed run of terrific, thought provoking shows and a lot of laughs, there had to a misfire. Unfortunately Gabe Hogan’s show was it. Hogan’s show is ostensibly about discovering her inner gay self at age 36. She bounces onstage and makes straight for her wine, making a crack about only wanting to get there
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Speakeasy HQ is an entirely appropriate venue for the First World White Girls. Speakeasy bills itself as the home of vaudeville and these girls are very showbizzy. In fact, you might even call their show a musical, and a very funny one. The White Girls sing their way through an hour of first world problems accompanied
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