The Famous Spiegeltent, Melbourne Tuesday, 21st November 2006 starring Mozes, Captain Frodo, Amg G, David O'Mer, Yulia Pikhtina, Los Hermanos Macana, The English Gents with special guest Ida Barr I was really looking forward to this show as I usually only get to see one show per year in the Spiegeltent, so I want it to be a memorable one. I had already arranged to go see this show before my work situation changed so I still wanted to go see it. It was a lot different to the Burlesque Hour that I saw last year, and I was planning on sitting in the front row, but remembered what happened last year and my friend's advice to sit near the tables behind the stage for a better view. The biggest surprise for the night was seeing Phil McLeod providing accordion accompaniment to the show and he is part of one act with Amy G and Los Hermanos Macana. I haven't seen him for a while so it was good to catch up after the show. It was also a very humid night to the point where I couldn't tell if it was steam or smoke inside the tent. Also steam was rising from bath boy during his act and people wanted to get splashed with water. There have been a lot of people writing about this show already, so I'll just recount some of the highlights, all the acts were great though. I thought the English Gents were great as they didn't even crease their suits even after all their contortions. I admit that wanting to see Amy G perform was the main reason I came to this show and she didn't disappoint. Her opening act with the sequins, feathers, fishnets, roller skates and ukulele was a stand out of the first half. Her singing voice is very interesting also as she goes all over the place and snorts just for a laugh which matches the act. The infamous kazoo performance was in the second half, but I thought it was very classy. There were a couple of trapeze style acts, but I liked Mozes performance the most as it was just him on a rope and he kept almost threatening to fall down at any moment, causing many gasps from the crowd. David O'Mer aka Bath Boy was a great act to finish the show with and provided much relief to a very hot and sweaty audience. There was some very artistic flicking of water and also a rubber ducky make a comedic appearance at one point. I noticed during the show that the other performers were watching each other's performances which shows how much of a tight group they are if they are still interested in each other's work after all the shows they have done together. I don't know if anyone fell down during their act (apart from Captain Frodo which happened a lot), but I am sure the other performers would be the first to their aid if they did. After the show I was lucky enough to get to talk to Amy G and even asked if her singing skulls were making an appearance this time (hopefully in a special show.) I was a bit over-eager and gushy I think as she wanted to know why I would look for footage of people playing ukuleles on the internet. I also wanted to ask her about the Mermaid Parade on Coney Island and the Daredevil Opera Company she sang for in New York, but thought it better not to. If you get the chance to go see this show, do it! The rest of the season is going to sell out really fast so I wouldn't wait around or you will have to go up to Sydney to see it.
Amy G's website
Video from the La Clique show in Melbourne in 2006
Video of Amy G doing her kazoo act
Created on ... December 30, 2006