Looper (film)

I want to start on a foundation that establishes that I had no real idea what this film was about but was keen to see it as I'd heard it was good. Also: time travel!

Generally speaking, it is quite good as an action film. The performances by the three leads are spot on, and the ensemble cast was also well picked and supported the drama where they were needed most—in the fray.

Also praiseworthy was Rian Johnson's concept of the future: in the USA you could see the divide between the rich and the poor clearly and the cityscape was dilapidated enough to be a believable version of an America that was once great but had devolved into a slum-like state; in the Shanghai scenes you could see the Pearl Tower (currently one of the tallest buildings in the city) dwarfed by taller ones still, indicating China's future growth, wealth and power. Pre-empting this visual presentation is a verbal encouragement by the boss character for Joe to learn Chinese instead of French.

The premise of 'Looper' is fairly straightforward: In the future, time travel is possible but it is outlawed. A criminal organisation uses it to send people to the past (before time travel has been invented) to be killed and disposed of without a trace. A looper is a killer who works for this organisation in the past. He is called a looper because eventually the person he kills is his future self, thereby closing the loop. When the looper kills himself he gets a huge payout and lives comfortably for the rest of his life until such time as he gets sent back in time to be killed. This is presumably so the mob have no loose ends.

*** there are spoilers in this review ***

I have a fair few problems with this. Firstly, why would you need a looper to know he killed his future self? None of his other targets are identified. Except for the payout of gold bars, the looper would never know that the person he just killed was himself so why tell him? Just keep using him and then retire him. Get another looper to kill the future self, who cares?

The second, quite major, problem is the time travel element. Now, I've heard a lot of talk about 'Looper' and I can generally put the audience into one of two camps: action movie and sci-fi. I tend to find that the action movie audience like the movie a lot more, they find it cerebral without being too taxing with enough shoot 'em ups to make it a pretty good film. They believe they have a grasp of the sci-fi element.

The sci-fi camp are less impressed. They understand all the concepts of time travel presented in the film but they don't buy it because writer/director Rian Johnson has chosen to use a few theories in the one film and those few theories cannot coexist.

For example when one looper, Seth, fails to close his loop the gang hunts him down and then carves an address into his arm, knowing that his future self will bear the scars. As old Seth makes his way to the address, bits of him disappear—a foot, his nose etc—because the gang is hacking off bits from young Seth. Now if young Seth has all these deformities, how does he then grow to be old Seth, who is able to run from the young Seth when he is sent back in time to be killed? You cannot have a 'one timeline' theory (old Seth being affected by young Seth's amputations) and a 'many worlds' theory (old Seth, who originally closed his loop successfully and went on to live a good life and this situation, where young Seth does not close his loop successfully so therefore cannot go on to live the life that old Seth has evidently already lived) coexist.

So this is a really bothersome part of the main story in which one version has young Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) close his loop and grow up to be old Joe (Bruce Willis) and a second version in which young Joe fails to close his loop and has old Joe beat him up and escape.

When the two later meet in a cafe old Joe tries to explain things by saying his 'memories' are vague and are full of possibilities rather than concrete recollections. The only things that are clear are the things that young Joe has already done, not the things young Joe is about to do.

This is problematic because at the end of the film young Joe kills himself to prevent old Joe from existing to threaten a mother (Sarah) and her son Cid, a future threat to old Joe. Except if we go by the 'one timeline' theory this means that old Joe should not have existed at all to come back to threaten the two. Only, young Joe would never have killed himself if old Joe hadn't come back and set all these events in motion, in which case we are dealing with a 'many worlds' theory. But in that case, young Joe killing himself would not have an effect on old Joe, who would have come from another 'version' of young Joe, one who had successfully closed his loop to become old Joe. GAH!

Even more problematic is the idea that young Joe has clearly made up his mind to protect Sarah and Cid and yet this understanding of the two has no effect on old Joe's decision to kill Cid, which proves that this old Joe is not derived from the young Joe we have followed throughout the film.

As for Sarah and Cid, the son is creepy and Sarah sleeps with young Joe for no apparent plot consequence. Also, the fact that they are telekinetic feels tacked on, even though telekinesis was introduced at the start and becomes a big deal as young Joe learns the consequences of Cid's powers.

All in all, the film appears all slick and macho and brainy but is actually a kind of mess. The only thing saving it is the performances by actors who probably didn't question Johnson's multiple uses of time travel theory too much and therefore gave a straight performance.

Film rating: 7/10 – actually quite a decent action film if you forgive all the time travel nonsense.
Enjoyment rating: 5/10 – except I didn't forgive it.

Ruby Sparks (film)

*** there are spoilers in this review ***

I wanted to like this film so very much. It has been too long since Little Miss Sunshine and directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris certainly deserved a free visit* after the masterful dose of quirkiness from that film.

The premise—a writer bringing a character to life from the page and interacting with her—had a whimsy I thought Dayton and Faris could really work with, and the trailer looked promisingly full of writer jokes. Someone also mentioned a surprise ending. Goody, I thought, something refreshing at last. It won't be something lame like he stops writing about her and she ends up being a real person. And yet the most surprising thing about this 'surprise' ending was that it was no surprise at all.

First I'd like to say a few choice words about the good parts of this film. The performances were excellent. The rather diverse (from Annette Bening to Antonio Banderas to Steve Coogan in support) ensemble worked well and the two leads, Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan, had great chemistry as a duo. Zoe Kazan had the light-hearted kookiness of that other Z girl, Zooey Deschanel, but played her role with more vivacity.

If seen as a journey for Dano's Calvin, the film works well. We get a sense of who he is because when he stops 'writing' her, Ruby is a foil for him: she enjoys a weekend with his family while the distance he keeps from his mother and her partner couldn't be more clear, his solitude is more stark against her easy friendliness and his discomfort with writer's block (his first book was a bestseller and he hasn't written anything as hefty since) is played out against her burgeoning creativity as an artist.

Calvin writes Ruby because he wants to change all of those things. He wants to be emotionally engaged with someone, he wants company and he wants to write freely. When he gives Ruby up, he gets all of that in the most metafictitious sense: he writes a novel about a girl who springs from a writer's imagination, which unblocks him and leads him to meet a 'real' Ruby. If you love it set it free, et cetera.

The other great thing about this film is that it is genuinely warm and funny. There aren't a lot of one-liners, but it is generally good humoured and anything that can be played for laughs is woven in without malice.

Where the film falls down is in the idea of Ruby herself. The film is called Ruby Sparks so we want Ruby to be more than a figment, then we want her to be more than an unsurprising surprise ending but she never gets there. Curiously Kazan, who wrote the script and starred as Ruby Sparks, didn't think to push the character further. So Ruby as a foil and an idea = good; Ruby as her own being = not well realised.

On the way home my partner and I thought of better endings for the film, or at least endings that weren't as predictable, things like Calvin's ex, who is also a writer and who we meet at his agent's party, wrote him but lost control of her own creation, which is why he ends up being more successful than her. Or, it was a magic typewriter. Or something about Calvin's mother also being a creative type.

The other factor that disappointed me was that the directors didn't play enough with the story in a story in a story format (Calvin's novel, which was Calvin's life with Ruby, which was the film). I mean, that's a meta meta fiction and an opportunity lost. If you want to see a good story in a story in a story, go rent Stranger than Fiction (2006).

Film rating: 6/10 – fair expectations, but disappointingly predictable
Enjoyment rating: 7/10

* Free visit: where you see a film because of a certain director/writer/actor even if you don't really know what it's about, because you enjoyed the last one of theirs so much. When you have a favourite director/screenwriter/actor and will see anything of theirs no matter what the reviews, it's called a magnet.

Thoughts on the Sydney Film Festival

I was supposed to go camping on the Saturday and Sunday of the June long weekend so I cut back my Sydney Film Festival sessions to a Flexipass10 (usually I buy a Flexipass20 or 30 and watch 15-20 films and share the rest). Of course I knew that watching fewer films meant any 'bad' films would comprise a higher ratio of the overall selection and skew my impression of the festival as a whole. But even though I had to skip a few on my shortlist due to clashing schedules and other commitments, I was fairly confident of my choices because the last few years I seem to have picked films I've liked fairly universally.

So, how was it?

Here's are some short reviews (some spoilers—beware!):

NEIGHBOURING SOUNDS

Blurb: In this assured and astonishing feature-film debut, life in a middle-class neighbourhood in present-day Recife, Brazil, takes an unexpected turn after the arrival of an independent private-security firm. 

I gave it 4 out of 5 stars and surprised myself by awarding it that highly. In this 'slice of life' film, narrative plays a loose second to character. All the characters and the roles they play in the neighbourhood show the dynamic and culture of the street but there is simply not enough here to be more than a sketch of a film. We have a bored housewife, a bored building manager and his grandfather, a bored property magnate, and the families and ancillary characters that encircle them threatening, but never quite managing, to carve some sort of narrative arc.

Top marks go to mood and for the artful elevation of the neighbourhood into a character of its own. I suspect I gave one more star than it deserved because I have a soft spot for the underlying theme, the interconnectedness of all things.


POSTCARDS FROM THE ZOO

Blurb: Maverick Indonesian director Edwin creates a dreamlike world in this story about a girl raised in a zoo whose life changes when she meets a handsome cowboy with magical powers.


I gave it 3 out of 5 stars, one for the mention of 'postcard', one for the mention of 'zoo' and another for having a character best described as 'handsome cowboy with magical powers'. This film shows what happens when tight magical realism unravels into a 'then this happened' kind of story. The first thing that happens is a really cute little girl wanders around the zoo at night looking for her father. It's never explained how she was left behind. She finds an encampment of unofficial zoo workers and we accept that she grows up at the zoo as an unofficial guide before following said magical cowboy into the 'real world' as his assistant. During practice of a disappearing trick, he literally disappears and she gets a job as a masseuse in a shady parlour down the road.

I think Edwin was trying to hard to convey the parallels between this innocent girl and the captive animals that she loves so much. There's a sense of exploitation at both the zoo and the parlour, and even the cowboy's employment of her as his assistant. The reason it doesn't work is that he's trying to cram too many surreal moments into a fairly weak narrative and these quirks jolt us into realising there are too many unanswered questions, enough to make us distrust the quivery story. However, the lead actress was likeable and I love zoos so I'll stick with the rating.


L

Blurb: Drolly funny Greek 'Weird Wave' film about a driver, referred to as the Man, who lives and works in his car and spends all his time sourcing the finest honey for a narcoleptic—occasionally meeting his wife and children in a carpark.


I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. The theme of disconnection and connection is quite strong, coming through in the set-up of the Man living in his car and then, after he loses his honey-couriering job, joining a motorcycle gang. Meeting his estranged wife and children is also a recurring motif, as is dreaming about a dead friend who appears in the film as a man pretending to be a bear.

There's quite a bit of WTF?! in this film and in some weird way I do care about the Man, but the piecemeal story was too alienating for me to truly like it. At the end, all I could think was 'that was it?'


LOVE LASTS THREE YEARS

Blurb: This charming comedy follows the misadventures of a literary critic who meets an irresistible and inaccessible beauty and tries to hide the fact that he wrote a cynical bestseller denouncing love.

I gave it 4 out of 5 stars for its tight script, well-cast characters and real laughs. It was also a beautiful film with some excellent cinematographic choices, which is unusual for a comedy. The script plays for laughs on three levels: there is farce, there is slapstick but there is also plenty of clever wordplay (the main character is a literary critic, after all). Our protagonist is a likeable but self-absorbed rogue who is too smart for his own good but with whom we empathise in his quest to understand love after he's jilted by his wife and falls for his cousin's spouse.

There's no Hollywood ending here; although he gets the girl, he doesn't 'learn a lesson' about himself or about love, but in the meantime we do. Sort of. At least we laugh at what we think we understand, which is far more important in a film that bills itself as a comedy.



BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

Blurb: A Sundance and Cannes prize winner, this unforgettable feature-film debut is set in a defiant bayou community cut off from the rest of the world, as icebergs melt and prehistoric creatures descend.

I gave it 5 out of 5 stars for its heartbreaking beauty, vitality and indomitable spirit. This is magical realism at its best: grounded enough in reality for us to understand and care for these fringe characters who dwell in poverty but are otherwise happy, but wondrous enough to open our eyes to the world that they see for themselves, a sparkling, carefree future. The theme of freedom was as tearaway as the main character Hushpuppy and lingered long after the closing shot.



DEATH OF A JAPANESE SALESMAN

Blurb: The last months in the life of recently retired Japanese businessman as recorded by his filmmaker daughter: a surprisingly funny and immensely moving documentary.

I gave it 3 out of 5 stars but on second thoughts it should probably have one more (which I will take from 'Neighbouring Sounds'...). This film is incredibly droll for a doco about death and much of that comes from the filmmaker's well-scripted voiceover as she speaks as her father. An example: "That's my youngest daughter. She should stop following me around with a camera and find a husband." However, in some ways this makes the accompanying image lose some intimacy.

The scenes were well chosen, representing the traits of both her father and the wider family, while keeping to the thread of his preparation for death. It's amazing that throughout this doco we are prepared for his death and yet feel it so acutely when he does pass. I bawled my eyes out.


PINK RIBBONS, INC

Blurb: Provocative documentary that exposes problems with the ubiquitous pink-themed corporate fundraising for breast cancer research.

I gave it 5 out of 5 stars. For everyone who has ever been annoyed at how pervasive pink is during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, how entwined pink is with breast cancer, and suspicious about where all the money really goes, this doco is for you.

First of all, this is a brilliant film to see if you are interested in how to market a disease. 'Pink Ribbons, Inc' deals with the corporatisation of breast cancer and how it shapes the way we think about charities and medical research. But beyond that, it looks at some of the hypocrisies in the Pink Ribbon campaign (e.g. companies that sell carcinogenic products sponsoring Pink Ribbon events) and the gaps in where the funding goes (too much towards research to find a cure and not enough towards investigating causes).

While presented as a stock standard doco (talking head cut to Pink Ribbon event cut to animated graphic cut to talking head), it doesn't push a cynical view but fairly even handedly allows its interviewees to say what they need to say. Any cynicism comes from the audience's perception of that interviewee. Really made me think not just about Pink Ribbons but charity marketing as a whole.




ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA

Blurb: Turkish master Nuri Bilge Ceylan takes on the police procedural, and the result is a beautifully layered narrative in which every line of dialogue contributes to solving the puzzle.

I gave it 3 out of 5 stars, all for cinematography. The blurb lies: there is no puzzle, just long lingering shots of the Turkish countryside and a seemingly neverending night in which a team of police staff attempt to find the body of a murder victim using the testimony of a prisoner who has confessed to the crime.

This is a beautiful-looking film, badly made. I understand the Ceylan is trying to make us feel like the characters who must endure the long night, but all of that could've easily been rectified with an injection of narrative. By the end of it I didn't care for any of the characters, what they did or did not do, nor the murder victim, nor the prisoner. The 'twist' is more like a clumsy reveal that loses its meaning in the weak ending.


ALPS

Blurb: The team behind Greek 'Weird Wave' films Dogtooth and Attenberg return with the absurd tale of a secret club whose members are paid to act as replacements for the recently deceased.  

I gave it 2 out of 5 stars and was incredulous when I found out it had won the 2012 Sydney Film Festival Official Competition prize. Granted I came into the session at least 20 minutes late and may have missed some of the crucial setup, I mustered no sympathy for any of the characters and what should've been a compelling premise fell flat in every scene due to the thick layer of contrivance to be weird.

The addictive nature of the club's activities was the strongest part of the film and that was well played throughout, but the dynamic between the characters was stilted and the dialogue (albeit deliberately in some scenes) even more so.


A SIMPLE LIFE

Blurb: With perfect performances from Andy Lau and Deanie Ip, Ann Hui's moving film looks at the decades-long relationship between a man and a devoted family servant who suffers a stroke. 

I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. This film surprised me as I didn't expect to like it so much. Apart from being a touching story, the blurb was right about the perfect performances: for a sentimental story it was emotionally restrained and well played. It was also surprisingly humorous with some light touches that didn't feel inserted. The theme of family and belonging was very clear and although I didn't bawl my eyes as in 'Death of a Japanese Salesman', I did shed a tear for aunty when she passed, yet I was happy that she had found true friendship with her ward before she did.


OVERALL
Aesthetically this was one of the best film festivals I've experienced for cinematography, so I gave it plenty of points for beauty. For a festival that touted the slogan 'One festival, infinite stories', however, there was a distinct lack of narrative in many of the films I watched, which was disappointing from both an expectation level and an enjoyment level.

I watch films because they have a beginning, middle and end. The good ones make me think and are enjoyable to watch, the bad ones at least end. All these 'slice of life' films and movies with weak endings just make me feel like I've wasted my time. I mean, if you're not going to provide closure, all you're doing is setting me up for disappointment because hell, as a filmmaker, you have to give me enough plot, character, setting so I can construct something worthwhile for the time and money I've afforded you.

I can get a good plot from a book, I can get good characters from TV, I can get good settings from my travels: only in cinema do these three elements combine in an optimal way to become art. Unfortunately in the 2012 Sydney Film Festival there were too many parts missing for the films to really soar.

2012 Sydney Festival (theatre)

Image source: Sydney Festival

L'Effet de Serge
11 January (Seymour Centre)

Blurb: Meet Serge. Every Sunday he entertains his friends with a parade of homespun spectacles, animating everything around his basement and putting some magic back into their lives. With a nod to Jacques Tati, Samuel Beckett and Mr Bean, L'Effet de Serge is a haunting and humorous tribute to the pleasures and necessity of making art.

A disclaimer: I received this as a complimentary ticket for being a good little volunteer. I'd had it on my original shortlist, but it was knocked off due to limited funds so I was glad to be able to see it.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to name Tati, Beckett and Bean in the L'Effet de Serge blurb, even as a 'nod'. I'm not familiar with Tati, but Beckett is much more profound and Bean is far more slapstick than Serge turned out to be.

Which is not to say that the play isn't funny. The gentle humour of Serge is testament to Gaetan Vourc'h's performance as the titular character: a deadpan walkthrough that makes the audience do the work to find the humour in his actions. These days, so much is handed on a platter to the audience, everything is overplayed, that this was a welcome respite from being told what to think and when to laugh. How very European.

The pace was correspondingly slow, which would border on boring for the less patient audience members, but there wasn't much I didn't like. The premise was simple: weekends in the life of Serge, who wants to entertain his friends. His friends are enlightened by what he can do with simple household objects. C'est ca. Whether on not the audience is similarly enlightened is for each individual to say. Serge is what it is.

What I did enjoy immensely was the intro and the outro to the piece. It seems director Philippe Quesne's signature is to sandwich his productions with the end 'credits' of the previous one and an overview of the next, as if in a TV show. The preceding play was D'Apres Nature, so we first see Vourc'h don a spacesuit as if exploring Serge's apartment; the next play is something funny involving invisible people and wigs (perhaps La Melancolie des dragons). Here Vourc'h overtly plays for laughs and the effect is a counterpoint to the subtlety of Serge.

Play rating: 7/10 – placid piece of theatre requires input from audience
Enjoyment rating: 8/10 – enjoyed it more than I realised

*** *** ***

Image source: Sydney Festival

A History of Everything
14 January (Wharf 2) 

Blurb: Inspired by Darwin and Dawkins on the theory of evolution, by cosmology and the realisation that we're but a tiny dot on the timeline, A History of Everything spins backwards to the first fiery bang before leaping to our possible hereafters. A profound rollercoasting journey, this production will make you treasure your place in the history of everything.

This was an extraordinary piece of theatre. Starting with the news of the day, which I've totally forgotten now, the play exponentially cycles backwards in time to events of the past that have had an impact on humankind and then beyond that to when dinosaurs populated the earth and then beyond that to life's amoeba beginnings and the Big Bang in reverse. All on a large world map.

It is conceivable that the idea is not original, but the choice of what to represent (and the changing news of the day in each performance) was key to the effectiveness of the message: that not only are we just a blip in the history of the earth, we place far too little emphasis on how the past can teach us about who we are.

There were plenty of laughs, in particular the periodic Apple product announcements highlighting a revolution in technology in reverse chronological order: the iPad, the iPhone and then the iPod, and light-hearted look at politics and entertainment history. The performers also interwove their own personal histories, each saying a few words about the circumstances of their birth, which had the curious effect of breaking down the fourth wall while effortlessly integrating it into the piece.

As the days, months, years, decades, centuries and millennia cycle back the performance becomes more profound. Most affecting was the indication of war across the continents and across the centuries, all showing that despite numerous conflicts it seems we've never learnt our lessons. I enjoyed this trip very much and was highly impressed with the performers' energy and insight into our past, which carried well across the theatre.

Play rating: 10/10 – energetic, profound, perfectly executed
Enjoyment rating: 9/10 – highlighted my ignorance of history

2012 Sydney Festival (music)

• Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro
• Julianna Barwick
• 41 Strings by Nick Zinner
• Amiina
  

Image source: Hot Source

Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro supported by Electric Empire
8 January (Keystone Festival Bar)

Blurb: Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro combine the rawest soulful grooves that would spark up anyone's dancing shoes and the furious energy of rock and roll, laying it all down in the classiest of funk manners.

Firstly, it poured like crazy. I'm talking about constant rain alternating between buckets and steady drenching. Secondly, the Festival Bar is not the best place to be when it's wet. The red gravel outside gets stuck to your shoes/feet and the inside of the tent smells like mildewy sweaty people.

When I finally made it to the venue—wet despite my raincoat *and* umbrella—I headed straight for the bar and had a cider, then settled in a safe little corner in front of the mixing desk for Electric Empire's final three songs. The mood was jovial and people were bopping energetically. I wrung out my dress in a small puddle.

MMK alighted the stage to wild screams and applause. I'd seen these guys before, a couple of years ago at Festival First Night, and they were deserving of the over-the-top welcome. The gig hit all the right notes: amusing banter in stilted English from the frontman, some really tight jazz-inspired solo instrumentals from each of the musicians, and an infectious rhythm that got the house jumping early on.

I spent the better part of the night in the air, surprised at my own stamina as much as MMK's. The musicians played with vigour and verve, with a love for the music and the crowd that was clearly visible even from halfway down the tent. There wasn't anything to fault in the set, but correspondingly there wasn't anything extra special here, just a solid night of funk. Which, it must be said, is never a bad thing. 

Gig rating: 8/10 – top marks for making a miserable night worth coming out for
Enjoyment rating: 7/10 – it's hard to dance in a wet dress

*** *** ***

Image source: Sydney Festival

Julianna Barwick

15 January (The Famous Spiegeltent)

Blurb: Julianna Barwick's atmospheric world is one of ghostly echoes, galactic lullabies and traditional chants. By means of loops and pedals, and occasional piano and percussion, she builds layer upon layer of abstract vocals to create a delicate sound of lush ambient folk.

I'll start by saying that Barwick sings as if she's doing the theme music that might accompany a flight of angels. There are equal parts longing and wonder in her voice, a beauty so ethereal that it hurts the good hurt.

Coupled with the magnificent interior of The Famous Spiegeltent, my favourite festival venue, Barwick's songs capture that which most singers find elusive: a certain enigma in the aural aesthetic. Lush and ambient, indeed.

Unfortunately the performance didn't amount to much more than Barwick and her loop pedal and a couple of instruments. I spent a large part of the set squandering my second-row seat and gazing up at the chandelier (for Meow Meow's show) or closing my eyes and letting the notes sink in. There have been more interesting things done with loop pedals (I'm thinking of Mr Percival or Holly from Fergus Brown), so the method is a means of creating a choral effect rather than a novelty. Barwick also didn't bother to invest in a rapport with the audience, despite the reach of her music.

So, although I was glad for this introduction to Miss Barwick—and believe me, I spent a large part of the gig transfixed—I wouldn't rush to buy a ticket to another live performance of hers when the money and time would be better spent just acquiring her albums and getting to know them.

Gig rating: 7/10 – not so much a performance as a recital
Enjoyment rating: 7/10 – aurally spectacular, but no meaningful connections

*** *** ***

Image source: Sydney Festival

41 Strings by Nick Zinner featuring the Australian Youth Orchestra

5.20pm, 22 January (Sydney Opera House)

Blurb: The piece is part concerto in the classical tradition, but with the modern rock ‘n' roll feel one would expect from Zinner. Zinner conducts and plays an in-the-round experience with an impressive line-up of acoustic and electric strings, ranging from violins to electric bass (with some drums and synths thrown in for good measure).

I don't know Nick Zinner from Adam. Oh yes, I've heard of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs but have no idea who's in the band and would not be able to hum a bar of any of their songs if my life depended on it. So let's just establish that I came to the concert on the promise that this would be a dynamic and interesting orchestral experience more akin to an epic instrumental with rock sensibilities than an alternative version of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. I'm happy to say it was all that and more.

The support act was IIII, a piece also inspired by The Four Seasons, performed by a drum circle. The start was wayward, more noise than music, but once a more conventional rhythm kicked in, all was well. While the piece provided a good kickstart to proceedings and foreshadowed what was to come, I felt it outstayed its welcome. I love me a good drum (I'm a taiko enthusiast after all and a big fan of TaikOz and Synergy Percussion) but I felt the repetition drag on the ears after 10 minutes. The audience were also restless and eager to hear the main performance.

After the interval we were rewarded with the appearance of Zinner surrounded by members of the Australian Youth Orchestra, a handful of drummers from the first set and a few guitarists. To say the piece exuded big themes would not be an understatement. There was a palpable sense that music—and the musicians—knew what it was like to be alive, which complemented a feeling of human insignificance in a bigger picture.

It was great to hear guitar licks alongside the heightened emotions of the strings and I highly recommend that anyone who enjoyed this check out deepblue orchestra, which I would nominate as the only other group that could pull off something this ambitious on roughly the same scale. One petty gripe, one that affected the gig for me, was that the violins were far too shrill at the afternoon performance—more a fault of sound engineering than performance.

Gig rating: 9/10 – epic
Enjoyment rating: 8/10 – inspired some dynamic dreaming 

*** *** ***

Image source: Sydney Festival

Amiina

25 January (The Famous Spiegeltent)

Blurb: Beginning life as the string section for Sigur Rós, Amiina have a unique electronically-infused and ethereal sound. The band's original line-up has since been augmented by the percussive sounds of glockenspiels and bells, as well as saws and other instruments. Live, Amiina deliver an aural treat, creating a dreamy, enigmatic and precisely organised chaos. A must for fans of the beauty and subtlety of contemporary Icelandic music.

What exactly is 'contemporary Icelandic music'? Does anyone actually have a solid definition of this term? Is it sparse ambient music, the kind you'd expect whales to make talking to icebergs? Or is it an icy whisper, like snow falling on a leaf?

Amiina's music embodies the essence of nature in an eloquent, electronic form. There is much that is folksy about the band members' performance but the sound goes beyond a cabin in the woods to bring listeners a flavour of the outdoors. It's like one of those films where the protagonist goes off to 'find himself' and discovers that the world is so much bigger than he imagined. A lot of Amiina's work stands on the precipice where there's an overwhelming tightness in the realisation of the enormity of it all followed swiftly by an acceptance, a love of one's place in the big wide, beautiful world.

The performance, while at times shambolic, was comforting gig with enough humour and grace to make the wait in the pouring rain a worthwhile one. I was particularly impressed with the instrumental handsaw. I mean, where do you get that kind of thing? How do you learn to play it? How do you make sound that blossoms with such a tool?

As a whole there was a lot of love in the room. The lush interior of the spiegeltent fit well with the music, and even the rain outside contributed to the cosiness of it all. Amiina were talented and endearing, and I hope when I see them again it will be in a venue as intimate as this.

Gig rating: 8/10 – sweet but not exceptional
Enjoyment rating: 8/10 – too much drifting can make one impatient

Committed (book)

Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert (Bloomsbury, 2010)

The blurb: At the end of her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who’d been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. But providence intervened one day in the form of the United States government, which gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again. 

Having been effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving into this topic completely, trying with all her might to discover through historical research, interviews, and much personal reflection what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is.

Those who have read and enjoyed Gilbert's ubiquitous memoir Eat, Pray, Love will probably also enjoy this next chapter of her life—but not as much.

While there's travel, emotional upheaval and a cast of interesting side characters that Gilbert meets along the way, Committed is a far more intellectually involved book containing a good balance of history, informal interviews that say more than the questions ask, and a dash of politics under the unfolding drama of Gilbert's personal experience whereas Eat, Pray, Love sat heavily on Gilbert's physical and emotional journey.

For my part, I found this to be a superior book that 'spoke to me' more clearly. Gilbert's breezy tone is deceptively clever. She imparts humour and intimacy with ease and her anecdotes and emotions are well wrought. If anything, she is a better writer in this memoir than in the preceding crisis story: being more or less focused on the subject of marriage, the chapters work to convey certain elements of the ritual to make a whole, which satisfies long after closing the book.

She is also a master of pacing. Just as you think she's going to let the tearaway narrative have its way, she reins back the informational and emotional avalanche so I finished each section with a sense of bonding with the text that went beyond the words on the page.

Although Gilbert rightfully claims to know very little about marriage compared to the many scholars she lists in her appendix, the book's accessible style was the key reason I enjoyed Committed far more than its predecessor. And, let's admit it, I probably liked it because I am also a marriage sceptic.

While I read Gilbert's personal experience with interest and absorbed some of the wisdom she relays from the people she interviews about marriage, the chapter that secured my loyalty was 'Marriage and History'. My own feelings about marriage were changed by some of the facts revealed in this section, how marriage not only pre-dates but transcends religion, politics and the law, and the alternative view of marriage as a form of rebellion.

This chapter is pivotal to the book. Gilbert's own scepticism comes from a messy divorce but through her research she discovers that marriage is not the institution she thought it was. Reviewing marriage through the lens of her research, her experience and the experience of others she meets, Gilbert discernibly comes around—and I wouldn't be surprised if many a reader came with her.

This is the book for you if you are a fan of Gilbert's writing, a marriage sceptic, or need some good arguments for why excluding certain people from the institution of marriage is wrong.


Book rating: 9/10 – a convincing, accessible memoir written with panache
Enjoyment rating: 8/10 – marriage-sceptic reader makes peace with marriage

The Social Network (film)

The first thing I must mention is that I am not on Facebook and have never been on Facebook, so any profile you find bearing my name is not me. (My name does, however, appear as a group you can join, an in-joke by my friends).

The second thing I will mention is that I think 'The Social Network' is a stupid name for a film. I'd be quite tempted to call it 'Hackface' or 'About Face' or even just 'The Network' instead. These aren't very good names for films either but they are better than 'The Social Network'.

Given these aspects, why did I want to see a film ostensibly about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg? Well, because despite escaping the Facebook trap, I do recognise how it has changed the way people network online and I wanted to know Hollywood's take on what Zuckerberg was like, ie how they would present the character of Zuckerberg as a plausible programmer, one creative and talented enough to start a website that has become so crucial to social networking.

I took director David Fincher's film as *very* loosely based on the creation of Facebook. For all intents and purposes, the most dramatic parts of the film I assumed were exaggerated or fiction. Had this film been a biopic, it would've been boring as batshit. After all, who wants to watch the Zuckerberg character grow pasty in a back room after sitting at a computer all summer? Thankfully, Fincher treads the fine line between improbability and plausibility with some confidence, and Alan Sorkin's snappy dialogue takes the film to another level beyond the biopic and beyond most other films about computer nerds.

This is not a memoirish look at Zuckerberg. In fact, I was impressed that it had a surprisingly firm beginning, middle and end. This is about how Facebook could have plausibly sprung from the brain and fingertips of someone like Zuckerberg, an attempt, if you will, to put its birth into some form of context. For Fincher, it centres on Zuckerberg's breakup with a girl called Erica, who Zuckerberg is never quite over despite defaming her over the internet post-breakup, and his desire to be invited to a final club (I had to look up what a final club was - they are not usual for Australian universities as far as I can tell). This, I thought, was a bit extreme. They may have been contributing motivations, but not the main driver.

As a film it fares well on the back of some apt casting and solid performances. Jesse Eisenberg's Zuckerberg is believable in his arrogance, indifference, creativity and vulnerability - a difficult mix for much more experienced actors and one combined eerily well in him. The support cast is also exceptional, from the 'Harvard gentlemen athletes' of the Winklevoss twins (who successfully sued Zuckerberg for $65 million for stealing their idea to create a Harvard network) to Justin Timberlake as Napster's Sean Parker (he did such a good job I didn't recognise him).

Also in its favour is the eschewing of realistic, pedestrian conversation for zippy dialogue containing memorable repartee and some gems of one-liners. The scene where Zuckerberg runs a hacking competition for Facebook intern applicants is priceless.

All up, the film's disadvantages, such as the legal stuff, were well traversed, interspliced with the meat of the story, the 'flashbacks'. Fincher has done well to make all these parts a watchable whole, fascinating and plausible without being burdened by truth or reality.

Flim rating: 9/10
Enjoyment rating: 8/10

Inception (film)

I love Christopher Nolan. He is without doubt my favourite director. 'Memento' and 'The Prestige' certainly rate in my list of favourite films - I even own them on DVD (for those who know me, I have a very small, select DVD collection of movies I'd watch again and again). Another I'll be adding when it comes out is 'Inception', Nolan's latest blockbuster.

Now, the word 'blockbuster' is quite a deceptive word. It implies brainless action and a big budget. I'm going to take out 'brainless' from that inference because what you get from 'Inception' is something that has been thought out very carefully but shaped into a heist thriller entirely relevant for the medium. It is one of the very few movies around that has not come from a book, a graphic novel, a TV show, another movie, someone's life or an actual event, so it wins on originality.

The second area it excels in is the narrative style. Nolan focuses on the protagonist, Dom Cobb (Leonardo di Caprio), such that during the film we discover more about him than any other character. This is his film. Essentially it's the story of Cobb, who specialises in stealing ideas when victims are in a dream state. After a job goes wrong, he is hired to complete a more difficult task - to plant an idea - to pay his way home.

Nolan is firm about the rules of the dream world: who is dreaming, who is populating the dream and how and what happens when you wake up. This means, when you watch carefully, everything actually makes sense no matter how confusing it may appear at first. This is very important because it allows the audience to suspend any disbelief despite the fact that you'd expect disbelief in a movie about dreams. There's no obscure reasoning hiding in trickery here.

Lastly, the casting is extraordinary in this film, which meant that the characters were quite vivid despite the fact that it is Cobb's film. And the reason it is Cobb's film becomes apparent in the ambiguous ending (no spoilers here), which is trademark Nolan. Never has sitting in a grey area been so comfortable.

'Inception' was style, substance, people who could act and authenticity all in the one film and deserves all the praise and hype it has been getting.

Film rating: 9/10
Enjoyment rating: 10/10

Sydney Festival - Week 3b (festival)

Sydney Festival
Various venues, Sydney (9-30th January, 2010)


Rogue's Gallery by Hal Willner
Sydney Opera House Forecourt (28 Jan)


I bought tix to Rogue's Gallery because the concept sounded fascinating, a retrospective, if you will, of sea shanties and ballads to warm the cockles. Besides which, Sir, my impoverished but pirate-loving flatmate, even saw sense in shelling out big bucks for this gig. And because I'd bought so frickin' many Sydney Festival tix, I was entitled to a 20% discount which saw the price drop from $140 to $116, an extra bonus.

In the lead up to the date, I then discovered how very awesome the lineup was: in addition to the unexpected but welcome appearance of actor Tim Robbins, there were stalwarts like Marianne Faithfull and Peter Garrett as well as crowd favourites Camille O'Sullivan and Sarah Blasko. It was going to be a musical bonanza.

Now, I'd retired home from work at 3-ish due to oncoming illness and general fatigue but couldn't nap cos of some inconsiderate power gardening going on outside. I give you this context because when the rain came buffeting down on us as we sat on the hard steps of the Sydney Opera House Forecourt (not a very comfortable place, mind you) I was kind of resigned to enduring the gig rather than fully embracing it.

It didn't start off well. Some artist named Baby Gramps sang some incomprehensible country-style twaddle that didn't even sound like it'd ever heard of the sea and hogged the stage for a good 10 minutes. Sir and I sighed with relief as he was replaced by Peter Garrett, best known as former Midnight Oil frontman (before his current stint as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts). Who knew that Garrett had a pirate voice? He was surprisingly good, though I thought he could've dressed more piratish to get us all in the mood.

I won't disseminate the whole gig for you but I will provide you with highlights and lowlights. On the up side was the delightful Camille O'Sullivan and Todd Rundgren, who both brought the right attitude and a bit of panache to the whole evening. Camille was wench-like in her flirtation with the audience, while Todd was suitably charismatic as a veritable captain of a ship. Their pairing on 'The Good Ship Venus' was a killer and there should have been more of that sort of thing.

Honourable mentions go to local gals Katy Steele and Sarah Blasko, whose steady, worldly voices encapsulated journeys around the world in each of their pieces. Gavin Friday and Liam Finn also impressed; Gavin especially with his filthy shanty about whores - ha! They both had the spirit of the night at the right level, giving as much to the crowd, which had already endured thunder, rain and lightning, as the crowd was pumping onto the stage.

Peaches' appearance was also suitably chaotic with a troupe of dancers in costume parading about the stage. The rest of the show would have been much livelier - colourful, rowdy - following her lead.

On the down side there was Marianne Faithfull, overhyped and underperforming in such an achingly obvious way (reading the lyrics off the song sheet, anyone?). Marry Waterson's a capella was unfortunately interrupted by the departure toot of the Diamond Princess, but it didn't excuse the fact that she sung the beautiful ballad mostly offkey. I mean, if you're going to sing a cappella, you have to be able to hit the notes, right?

David Thomas also failed to hit the right notes, growling his way through his numbers. I don't know anything about David Thomas as an artist, so I don't know if this was expected, but it just brought an unwelcome edge to the show. Look, I understand that pirates are supposed to be gruff-voiced, but you'd think you'd at least be able to hear the words.

Neither up nor down were Tim Robbins, Glenn Richards and Kami Thompson. Tim wasn't a bad singer nor guitarist, but there was no real flavour to his performances, and I can't even remember Glenn Richards being there, so unmarked was his contribution. Kami did a competent job of her part, but again, nothing of note.

Overall the show was an uneven collection of performances. If the 'shambles' were more colourful I could have forgiven it, but it seemed like two-fifths of the company were unable to muster enough energy to get into the spirit of things. I expected a bit more pluck, a bit more Peaches-like rowdiness and filthy fun songs good for a singalong. We needed this night to be rollicking and Rogue's Gallery did not provide this in the quantities required.

We came in the wind and the rain and the thunder and the lightning but the Rogues had battened down the hatches and left us with a damp show.

Gig rating: 6/10
Enjoyment rating: 7/10


Six Characters in Search of an Author by Headlong Theatre
York Theatre, Seymour Centre (30 Jan)

I'd never read Pirandello's original of this play, but the premise of characters looking for an author harks back to my cultural studies education and almost made me want to return to university. Almost.

The start is a little unsettling, setting the scene as a documentary-maker struggles to get the footage she needs to finish off a piece on euthanasia. Tempers begin to fray in the editing suite when six people dressed in black enter the scene. After much confusion, it is established that they are characters, abandoned by their author. Against her better judgement, the filmmaker allows the patriarch to tell his tale, which is then interrupted and twisted by each of the characters in turn. Things come to a head when she begins to recreate their story on film and they refuse to be recreated, insisting that they just are.

Throughout, I could see echoes of Beckett and Stoppard and this pleased me no end because I have always found discussions of existentialism most fruitful in theatre and literary demonstrations. There is also reference to 'Hamlet' - "To be or not to be" to describe the euthanasia that occurs in the doco as control over one's life, but also the "O what a rogue and peasant slave am I" soliloquy to illustrate the 'playing' metaphor - and a funny reference to the German 'Hamlet', which also played at the Sydney Festival.

It also reminded me of a Year 12 English unit I used to tutor, 'Telling the Truth'. I would give my students a reading of 'Rashomon: In a Grove' to illustrate how one event could have so many versions depending on the author of the story. The story from which the six characters derive undergoes a similar fragmentation as each brings their own attitude and bias to it, trying to bring the author, the filmmaker, onside. Everything thens twists away as the filmmaker herself becomes a character - which she is, in this play - and things go awry.

Outstanding performances by Catherine McCormack (the filmmaker) and Ian McDiarmid (the patriarch) make this production a real eye-opener of a play. Where many ensembles would make the premise seem contrived or even self-indulgent, Headlong's cast show a restraint that serves the corkscrew premise of the play well and bring everything to its poignant, razor sharp end.

I haven't seen a play that has made me think so much as this in a long while and I was surprised at the occasional bites of humour interspersed in the material. Not only did the troupe not make the mistake of taking the text too seriously, it gave complete control of meaning to the audience. Audience as author? Barthes would be proud.

Gig rating: 9/10
Enjoyment rating: 9/10

Sydney Festival - Week 3a (festival)

Sydney Festival
Various venues, Sydney (9-30th January, 2010)


Oedipus Loves You by Pan Pan Theatre
Everest Theatre, Seymour Centre (24 Jan)

I wanted to like this production, I really did. I eschewed the traditional 'Oedipus Rex' on the program for what promised to be a refreshing - even humorous - retelling of the classic Greek tragedy.

The first thing I saw when the curtain rose was a naked man, about 1.5m away from me. Curses be to the blight of the centre front row when this unexpectedly happens. The worst part was I'd been put in C row, thinking it was the third row, but apparently the theatre had done away with A and B.

Having recovered, I watched as the drama unfolded - in a very odd, haphazard way, I might add. This 'Oedipus' retelling was set in a suburban home, with all the premise of the original. But there was no majesty in Oedipus that put him at the head of a city, let alone his own household. The house seemed overrun with the activities of Antigone and Creon, who had formed a band, and the sage elderly mutterings of Tiresias.

But in the end I had no emotional connection with any of the characters. I actively disliked Jocasta and felt the others were just going through the motions that they were supposed to as scions of their Greek character namesakes. The actor who played Creon was the only one who got close to that fine balance between past character and present remodelling.

The use of video was engaging and one of the standout features of the set. It featured a camera focused on the bed and another in a studio where a video actor wrote and used objects to illustrate things further. The scene where the family go into 'therapy' was also well done, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that this was a clumsy attempt at a post-modern 'Oedipus' that failed to hit its mark.

(I could also never understand why no one thought it odd that Oedipus would marry a strange woman some 20 years his senior, mother or no.)

Gig rating: 6/10
Enjoyment rating: 6/10


Smoke & Mirrors
The Famous Spiegeltent, Hyde Park (25 Jan)

Cabaret and the Spiegeltent go hand in hand, so it was with great anticipation that my friends and I descended upon the Smoke & Mirrors performance. And iOTA took that buzz and rode it right through the show with unforgettable musical numbers (by himself and by Todd McKenney, and band) interspersed with theatrical acrobatics provided by ThisSideUp and Chelsea McGuffin and breathtaking (no, really) illusions by magician Timothy Woon.

The only thing I would question was the 'bearded lady' number by Queenie van de Zandt near the end. She is a great singer, but the fact that iOTA had already sung her song in the first half meant it was a repeat rather than a reprise. It would have been more powerful if the song were introduced earlier, but not sung in its entirety.

The crowd-pleaser was definitely ThisSideUp's 'strong man' act. What's not to like about three buff young men hamming it up on poles and showing their strength and skill? My friends all decided they had a crush on James.

One friend remarked that the show was too music-heavy. Compared to previous years' 'La Clique', which also featured physical acts such as contortionism, hula-hooping and burlesque, it was definitely music-led, but I thought iOTA did a great job turning the dark quirkiness of the circus/cabaret into song and personally hope that he will release an album of the show's tunes. I was surprised to learn he'd written everything but Todd McKenney's two vaudeville numbers so rich was the music, steeped in the murky 1920s.

Overall, the performances, the music and the costumes were spot on, so I'm not surprised the three weeks of the show sold out so quickly - otherwise I would have gone again.

Gig rating: 9/10
Enjoyment rating: 10/10


Dirty Three and Laughing Clowns
The Enmore Theatre, Enmore (26 Jan)


Other than wear green undies, seeing these two Australian bands was the only Australian thing I did on Australia Day on account of having just $7.50 to my name (I was deciding whether to buy beer or gelato but ended up with neither).

I was pretty early into the moshpit and staked out a spot about a third of the way back from the centre of the stage, sitting and reading a book (well, I was going to be standing for three hours, so had to get my sitting in), but when the lights went down it was ridiculous to leave so much room, so I ended up three rows back for Laughing Clowns.

I didn't know anything about Laughing Clowns, other than they were Australian, so I was pleasantly surprised to find myself folded into their punk-ish, rock-ish world with some really curly lyrics off their 'History of Rock ‘n’ Roll Vol. 1' album. I took particular note of drummer Jeffrey Wegener because I thought he was a genius on the kit. Seems weird to write it, but I felt he and the drums were one being. (How very Zen!). Their set was epic.

I then found out I was standing next to an acquaintance of mine, another festival junkie, so we spent the break swapping notes about other events and complaining about being on our feet, which passed the time quite nicely.

Dirty Three then swaggered onto the stage. I don't think a band that contains Warren Ellis (violinist) could possibly go anywhere without swaggering. He may possibly be a nutbag, but by god he's good on the strings. I mean, violins are meant for sweet serenading, right? They don't get angry unless it's the 1812 Overture or something. But no, there's nothing quite so expressive as a punk violin. The skill is in having the notes rip at your sensibilities without grating on your ears, and that's the beauty of Dirty Three.

Was quite amused by Mick Turner's (guitarist) comparatively placid playing next to the shenanigan that was Warren, stamping and striking his way through their 1998 album 'Ocean Songs'. (Can shenanigan be used in the singular? Never mind.)

Just as amusing were Warren's introductions to each of the pieces, for example: "This song is like that time that you had to live in a hallway for five years and you discover it's a hole. But you fill it with furniture and make it all nice with pictures. And then you think back years later and go 'geez, they were the best five years of my life'."

Simply searing - and that's not even taking into account the amount of sweat I saw and made all evening.

Gig rating: 8/10
Enjoyment rating: 7/10

Sydney Festival - Week 2 (festival)

Sydney Festival
Various venues, Sydney (9-30th January, 2010)


Jai Ho by AR Rahman
ABC TV / Parramatta Park (16 Jan)

I'd planned a public transport odyssey to Parramatta Park long before the Sydney Festival push, but a family emergency meant that I had to commute in from West Pennant Hills instead of Waverton and I wasn't likely to reach Parramatta Park before 7pm. The clincher was no services coming BACK after 10pm; without a car, I was stranded.

As a result, I ended up going to my crowd-phobic friend's place (actually, it was my Waverton flatmate who was at her parents' place in West Pennant Hills too) to watch the ABC telecast on a widescreen TV.

Jai Ho looked a colourful and well choreographed medley of hit after hit. Sir took the time to semi-translate the Hindi songs and also give me a big rundown of the musical pedigree of all the singers, plus the movies from which all the songs came, which gave the presentation solid context from which to view the spectacle.

The telecast was superb, switching focus among the musicians as well as showing shots of the crowd. On TV, the gig seemed much more intimate than the 70,000-strong audience should allow. (I feel I would have enjoyed it more by soaking up the vibe with some other friends who were there from 2pm, had I been able to go at that time, as the gate system meant if you arrived separately you'd be put in different sections.)

The colour and light of the performances, and the peaceful overtones of Rahman's songs was a poignant reminder of Indian talent, and you could not miss the friendship exuded by the troupe.

A feast for the eyes and ears, this gig seemed like a gift from Sydney Festival to the people of Western Sydney, particularly those of Indian descent, while opening the culture and the music to other Sydneysiders who may not be as familiar with Rahman.

(A side note: The chick who hosted the telecast kept pronouncing AR Rahman 'ramen' - like the Japanese noodle - when it's 'ray-mahn'. You would THINK she would learn it before mispronouncing it to the whole of Australia and some of the world...)

Gig rating: 9/10
Enjoyment rating: 7/10


Camera Obscura
Beck's Festival Bar, Hyde Park Barracks (21 Jan)

Apart from The Famous Spiegeltent, the Beck's Festival Bar is my favourite Sydney Festival venue, beating out the likes of the Domain, the Sydney Opera House, The Carriageworks and The Seymour Centre. It's a tent beside a monument that, for most of the year, is a museum. An austere building that used to house the army (and other people throughout history) could not ask for a more exciting neighbour than the marquee that brings it to life every January.

Usually, I visit the Beck's Bar twice a festival (largely because I suspect the lineup there is curated by my favourite radio station FBi, whose taste is impeccable) but unfortunately this year I missed out on Grizzly Bear tix as they were incredibly popular. So Camera Obscura was it.

The thing I love about the Beck's gigs is that they almost inevitably feature some artist you kind of know but not intimately (some exceptions, but bear with me) so it's always a gig of discovery. Supporting Camera Obscura were the Popfrenzy DJs and The Slow Club, a lively duo of folk-pop goodness that got the dancefloor bopping. Unfortunately I had neglected to change my shoes from work so had to beware the red gravel but had a good, but oh-so-short bop-along. The Slow Club were only warming up so I think this calls for a show of their own next year, don't you?

Camera Obscura were sweet and true to their indie folk pop sensibilities. The roof of the marquee was different from years before, higher and more accommodating of hundreds of rhythmic jostling bodies that were simultaneously coping with a warm summer evening. And here's the funny thing: their music glided through the night as if it were created for warm Sydney nights instead of cold Glasgow ones. The gig was thus well suited and well constructed, the right setlist of new and old, popular and more obscure songs and the right amount of intra-band banter that made them endearing.

Alas, Sir and I succumbed to old people-itis, which is when we decided our feet hurt and we needed a sit-down. The Beck's Bar is good like that, especially this year when it provided us with plenty of areas to hang out in with long comfy seats and everything.

The only two gripes I have is: this year the new marquee has commandeered the best breakout spot, under the tree at the back, as part of the VIP area; a continuing gripe is the house beer, Beck's, is $7 (or $7.50... I don't recall exactly). A bit much considering they don't import it any more. Sir and I always have the same discussion every year - surely they could sell it for $5 and really make it a Beck's night? Oh well, it was just one bottle apiece.

Gig rating: 8/10
Enjoyment rating: 7/10

Sydney Festival - Week 1 (festival)

Sydney Festival
Various venues, Sydney (9-30th January, 2010)


Barely Contained by Circus Oz
Big Top, Tumbalong Park (9 Jan)

The first thing I noticed was the fact we had Row A seats, which meant if any performer misstepped, they were probably going to hit us. No one did, of course, but we did have a close call with Tom, who ended one flip staring closely at my companion and grinning, and I did get asked by Mel whether her bum looked big in the roo costume.

There was plenty of mayhem to keep amused for 90 minutes and each set was well-constructed with a nice balance of character and skill in each segment. While Circus Oz don't have the polish or awe-inspiring acrobatics of something like Cirque du Soleil (or the budget), they certainly have a lot of humour and irreverence, which I greatly enjoyed.

The win was definitely the endearing nature of the characters constructed through performance, something bigger acts tend to forget in favour of smick costumes. The dynamic of the cast was also a joy, and for a lot of it, it felt as if the audience were incidental to a bunch of performers having fun. Definitely worth the admission price.

Show rating: 8/10
Enjoyment rating: 8/10


Festival First Night
Various venues, Sydney (9 Jan)

My evening began when I headed up to Hyde Park to see Seekae. Although I'd caught them at Peats Ridge, I felt they could really kick start the festival vibe, which they did in style via a very interesting rendition of White Town's 'Your Woman'.

After their set I made my way to Martin Place to see Jay Katz and Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro (below), a Japanese funk band I'd only heard of that morning when FBi radio played a track and I rang in and won a copy of their album. They were incredibly tight with their set and I was impressed at how energetic they were, considering the chilled out (albeit enthusiastic) nature of the crowd. Definitely a band to follow.


I returned to Hyde Park to see Bobby Singh and friends (including Circle of Rhythm and Band of Brothers) and The Manganiyar Seduction, an Indian group of some 40-odd musicians who sing and play instruments while encased in lit boxes (that's the best way I can describe their show).

Circle of Rhythm presented a complex timbre to a flight of beats, while Band of Brothers layered that loosely-defined 'world' music onto some skilled musicality, a deep understanding between the two sets of brothers that fed a exceptional dynamic.

Manganiyar was mesmerising, simultaneously an introduction to Indian singing and music as well as a display of its finest components. The set of lit boxes worked well to, by turns, highlight individual members of the group and bring them together. I felt as if I'd fallen into a trance while listening, and yet I also believed parts of my brain awakened upon hearing the woven sounds.

I was supposed to meet a friend but she bailed because it was really hot (that's what you get when you do Bollywood dancing in full sun), so I left after that and went to eat ice cream at Passionflower, foregoing Al Green in The Domain. I heard I missed a good show.

Night rating: 8/10
Enjoyment rating: 7/10


The Arrival by Red Leap Theatre
The Carriageworks, Eveleigh (10 Jan)

I was walking down Wilson Street, very close to The Carriageworks when I saw a man who looked remarkably like illustrator Shaun Tan alight from a taxi. I've seen him a few times at festivals (Sydney Writers, Melbourne Writers and National Young Writers) so I was pretty sure it was him but I didn't want to be caught staring. (Turns out it was him; he received thanks for his book 'The Arrival' at the end of the performance and was sitting just a few rows in front of me.)

If you've never 'read' the book (it's a wordless illustrated tome, how do you describe 'reading' that?), I suggest you at least have a flick through in a book shop prior to coming to the show to get an idea on what it's about. You will thus also appreciate the exquisite sets, which pay homage to his work but also work as practical scene-changing devices.

'The Arrival', like the book of the same name, is deliberately disorientating as the audience is taken on a journey of discovery akin to that of the protagonist, a man who leaves behind his family to search for comfort in a new land. To call it theatre is a misnomer; it is as much interpretive dance and performance art as it is a play. The most wonderful aspect is that it contains just enough humour, and a balanced dose of endearing charm, to outweigh any element that seems contrived.

What really worked was the encounters the protagonist had with the land's inhabitants and the segue as they 'tell' him their story, always done in a moving, beautifully dark way. I have to commend the ensemble, whose dynamic really shined throughout. The only thing I would criticise was the recorded sound, which was occasionally overbearing, and used a tad too often.

As a mostly wordless performance, I would recommend against going with, or sitting near, a kid who asks lots of questions about what's going on, which was the unfortunate position I found myself in. At least take them through the book before you go!

Show rating: 9/10
Enjoyment rating: 8/10


The Handsome Family
The Famous Spiegeltent, Hyde Park (15 Jan)

I'd heard a couple of songs by The Handsome Family, but still didn't know what to expect when I walked into The Famous Spiegeltent with my friend Ness (who also had no idea as I'd bought her the ticket for Christmas).

Brett and Rennie Sparks delivered 90 minutes of alt-country - the 'alternative' meaning 'more than slightly disturbing in a poetic kind of way' - using electric guitar (Brett), banjo/electric bass (Rennie) and pre-recorded drums (Mac laptop).

Although Rennie's humorous introduction buttered up the audience, the gig started slowly, a little sleepily, and I was afraid I might get bored by halfway through. I was wrong. Who could ever get bored with songs about bottomless holes in the garden, snakes and whiskey, and scenes in graveyards? And better yet, Rennie's hilarious introductions to each song? "I wanted to write a song about the night sky but instead it ended up being a song about how sad convenience stores are." The banter between husband and wife also kept things fresh and kooky.

Even if you only have a passing interest in their songs, definitely try and catch a Handsome Family show because these two are two-thirds country/folk musicians and one part comedy duo.

Gig rating: 7/10
Enjoyment rating: 8/10

This is Not Art (festival)

Above: The All-Star Literary Smackdown

This is Not Art
Various venues, Newcastle (1-5th October, 2009)

Despite having half a dozen unfinished reviews sitting in the drafts folder on the back end of this blog, I've decided to come through with this one because of the profound effect TINA has on me every time I go.

I'll start by saying that I go to TINA primarily for the National Young Writers' Festival but occasionally (though not this year) go to other sessions under the TINA umbrella. But I have to say it's all about 'the vibe of the thing'.

I drifted in at 1.30pm on Saturday on account of train trouble, which I won't go into (a whole separate blog post) and left on the 2.35pm train to Sydney on Monday, so this is my account of the parts of TINA I did actually attend.

SESSIONS
Adaptation (Sat): For a panel that has been in the making for several years, it was surprising to find this tucked away in a pocket room of the Newcastle City Hall, with predictable audience spillovers. As someone who has often been in debates about book vs movie vs play, I found the overall conclusion to this rather satisfying: that a creation needs to fit the medium, not concern itself with what's left in or left out.

I also liked Marieke Hardy's answer to my question on 'definitive' versions, which was (roughly) 'the medium that best tells the story to an individual', though Philip Gwynne emphatically said: "The book, always the book."

Give me Cleo over Kerouac (Sat): This was a pop culture vs literary panel. I have to admit I've read neither Cleo magazine nor Kerouac's work (though considering the number of times Kerouac kept being mentioned through the weekend I've since picked up 'Windblown World'). Despite the excessive number of panellists, the message came through clearly: it doesn't have to be literary to be good, and pop culture is 'consumed' differently to literature so stop bloody well comparing apples with oranges.

Journalistic Ethics (Sun): Some thought this an oxymoronic title but to that I say: you should have been there. You would have encountered an intelligent discussion of the commercial, political and temporal pressures compromising journalists these days, with the upshot being that we need more transparency, and we need to educate readers so they can identify agendas and read between the lines.

Life in a Lonely Planet (Sun): Travel writing fascinates me, mostly because I'm terrible at it. I'm a decent writer and an enthusiastic traveller, but after this panel, my self-diagnosis is that there's not enough of an internal journey in my travel writing. A lot of the panel focused on how to make a journey your own, which I found a nice contrast to those bland travel articles in mainstream newspapers that pay badly anyway.

'Neon Pilgrim'/'Apply Within' launch (Sun): Caught only the end of this on account of being at the Zine Fair but I did get my copy of 'Neon Pilgrim' signed by Lisa Dempster and learnt that it was actually more difficult to write the book than do the henro michi.

Moving Units (Mon): Marketing has been a dirty word for a very long time but the practical nature of this advice panel was really good at dispelling the myth that you have to sell out to make sales. Among the best tips: choose your marketing medium (ie don't blog if you're not a blogger), don't be afraid to get out there and do as many things as possible, and don't associate yourself with The Chaser if they've just been nationally abused for a sketch they did on TV.

Writing the Big One (Mon): It was a nice insight into the working lives of some very different writers; juggling work, life, study and family with writing as well as dealing with agents and publishers. I think the best thing that came out of it was the message that there's no definitive way to complete a work, you just have to be aware of the issues and navigate them the best way you can. Sigh.

HIJINKS
The All-Star Literary Smackdown (Sat): Fiction vs non-fiction. Well, my bum got sore sitting on the fence as a journo who makes a living off non-fic, but also an aspiring novelist. However, the Smackdown was highly entertaining with both well constructed and ill-conceived point-scoring from both teams. I think the highlight of the night was Shantaram shot-put as the tie-break (followed by Philip Gwynne arm-wrestling Anna Krien for the second tie-break). Maybe use a hardcover copy of 'Shantaram' next time?

The Great Gatsby Ball (Sat): I had on my drop-waist dress, a string of beads around my neck and a ribbon wound around my head as a headband, but without a program or a map at this point I could not for the life of me find the damn venue (which I knew was on King/Thorn but that was it). When I eventually encountered it on the way back to the YHA (having more or less given up at this point) there was a massive line out the front, so I took a detour and went up to The Obelisk.

I did make it down the hill again, and into the venue, to catch the last set of The Civic Big Band that gave the partygoers a grand swing sound to jiggle to. I was mightily impressed with the amount of effort that went into costumes and accessories, with a suprising number of people competent at moving in a 1920s kinda way. Don't ever let anyone tell you that writers don't know how to party in different eras.

Zine Fair & Makers Market (Sun): Despite the Sydney Writers' Festival now hosting a zine fair component in its program, this is still my favourite part of TINA. I like talking to zinesters about their work and I like supporting them, even if it means I skip a meal (yes, once again I blew my entire budget at the fair, which meant I had to find a dinner venue with EFTPOS. It's fortunate the YHA makes me put down a $10 key deposit so I can get a train home).

Every year I think: THIS YEAR I WILL MAKE A ZINE I CAN SELL. And every year I get a little closer. One Side Only #3 will be ready in about 11 months...

Wriron Chef (Sun): A Rosie Pham, Benjamin Law and Lisa Dempster cook-off was always going to be a fun premise, but add Bryan Whalen's random hosting - and a healthy dose of audience participation - and this was a veritable funhouse. This included an audience poll about whether to keep peanut butter in the cupboard or the fridge (cupboard! der!) and Benjamin Law forging a third path: "Who has a nut allergy?"

He was also responsible for the best call of the session: "I'm just going to the toilet to drain my eggs." Maybe this contributed to his eventual win.

Spelling Bee (Sun): This took spelling (and other word nerd processes) to another level, made extremely palatable by beer. The world needs more entertaining competitions based around literary devices hosted by Lawrence Leung with a vendetta against a contestant named Patch.

The best part was the huge amount of audience participation (all the contestants were audience members who'd nominated themselves) and the fact that I learnt a little bit more about grammatical, cheese and font terminology.

Un-Erotic Erotica (Sun): A highly amusing, highly social night out. Loved the MC, Rebecca Meston, and the barrage of literary (an oh-so-un-literary) smut read/performed. Audience engagement was very high, which also makes for a great night out. I think the Mystery Meet followed this reading, which was not nearly as entertaining, especially as I was at that point wedged in a booth with six alternative types with questionable personal hygiene.

RENEW NEWCASTLE
Just also wanted to say a little about Renew Newcastle, a project that takes vacant premises and turns them into cool venues for shops or galleries and the like. Ever since my first TINA (hmm, that would be 2000, I think) I've viewed Newcastle as this dying phoenix, with only the arts to reignite it.

I'm possibly a lot biased because the only times I come to Newcastle are for creative pursuits (TINA as well as The Shoot Out), but thanks to Marcus Westbury, the godfather of Newcastle, the city is a place worth visiting. So, thank you Marcus, for reigniting Newcastle.

A special mention to my favourite Renew venue, Totoro's Teahouse (above) because I love tea and writing and art so very much.

Every time I go to Newcastle I feel inspired and connected (despite not going up with anyone on account of plentiful indifference from several regulars - yeh, I know Lee Tran Lam hosts a radio show on Sunday afternoon, whatever - but I did meet some great people). Can't wait for next year. Will definitely (definitely) have something for the zine fair.

Festival rating: 9/10
Enjoyment rating: 10/10

Leonard Cohen (gigs)

Leonard Cohen
Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney (28th, 29th January, 2009)

Australian troubadour Paul Kelly accompanied by his nephew Dan Kelly (formerly of Dan Kelly and The Alpha Males) opened the show for the bard, and while Kelly's songs don't quite have the guile of Cohen's, it's easy to see how their folk roots have parallels. Kelly delivered an engaging set, one that creates modern history as he sings, which was a suitable introduction to the Leonard Cohen mood.

The last time Leonard Cohen toured Australia I didn't even know my alphabet, let alone the mark of a great poem, so it was with great pleasure that I attended both of his Sydney shows - and with some luck I hope to attend more on subsequent tours.

Leonard has an unfair reputation for producing dark music with suicidal overtones, but I actually find that a lot of what he does has an element of fantasy to it, which holds a mirror up to some really big issues in society. Creating mirrors is what great art does, so it's no wonder that all he had to do was appear on stage to receive a standing ovation from the crowd.

Cohen and his performing band, Unified Heart, are a sophisticated lot. They have the slickness of professionals with the warmth of a cabaret band that belied the vast Sydney Entertainment Centre auditorium. And let's not forget they were all decked out in dark suits. The bard himself spent the first three songs alternately kneeling on the large red decorated rug and honouring his virtuoso guitarist Javier Mas and standing with his eyes closed, facing the audience.

There was a particularly brand of humility and sincerity that I was interested in. The spotlight seemed to anoint him, the songs were killer hits and yet he seemed genuinely touched that the audience applauded them so, in thunderous cascades. He removed his hat after each number, nodding his acknowledgement to the crowd and to the support Unified Heart afforded him.

I was a little disappointed with 'Everybody Knows', one of my favourite Cohen songs, as it was performed rather haltingly in spoken word style over a marching rhythm rather than echoing the recorded version - the vocals expressing deadpan resignation over a futuristic synth beat - but 'Who by Fire' was a surprise highlight of the first set. I've never really cared much for the song, but it began with a riveting guitar introduction by Javier Mas and then transcended into something akin to a gypsy-infused performance-long question.

Despite a few laughs, such as in 'Chelsea Hotel No. 2' - "you told me again you preferred handsome men, but for me you would make an exception" - Cohen didn't address the audience until after 'Hey, that's no way to say goodbye'. It went something like: "It's been 15 years since I've been on the road. Back then at 60, I was just a kid with a crazy dream..." The first half ended with a striking, extended 'Anthem', introducing each member of Unified Heart, my second pick of the first set.

The man sitting next to me on the first night described Leonard as looking like "a Galapagos tortoise" and I could see his point. The ancient bard with his weathered face and saddened eyes peered into the spotlight imploring and wise, later undercut by an anecdote he shared to head the second half: "One day I was drinking with my [Buddhist] teacher. He was about 95 at the time. He leaned over and said 'excuse me for not dying' - I know what he means."

With that he launched into 'Tower of Song' playing a dinky keyboard with one hand and with plenty of irony for his "golden voice". 'Boogie Street' was performed by prime collaborator Sharon Robinson in cabaret style while 'Hallelujiah' was suitably reverent, built like it was meant to be built, stanza by stanza until the emotion spilled out in crescendo on the later choruses. But there was no stopping him, popular song and thunderous song or not, he launched straight into 'I'm your man', another song I never cared too much for - but which blew me away with what? Sincerity?

I tell you, it was like he was writing the song there and then, giving birth to it fully formed with all the bones, the emotion and inspiration for it, audible for all to hear. This was followed closely by another naked rendition, this time 'A thousand kisses deep' performed, heartbreakingly, in spoken word.

The encore was more upbeat, with more vigorous vocal stylings, particularly as it began with 'So long Marianne' and 'First we take Manhattan', both songs which could be construed as calls to action. He then contrasted these with a sombre 'Famous Blue Raincoat' which eased the animation of the first two songs.

He was barely gone before skipping back for a second encore, opening the way for 'If it be your will' with a spoken word introduction, which was then exquisitely sung by the Webb sisters, part of Unified Heart. He then rounded off with a knees-up - 'Democracy' (first night) / 'Closing time' (second night).

Ovations were abundant so it was with tongue firmly in cheek that the last encore began with 'I tried to leave you' and a touching all-company send off to the tune of 'Wither thou goest'.

============
Set list:
Dance me to the end of love
The Future
Ain't no cure for love
Bird on a wire
Everybody knows
In my secret life
Who by fire
Death of a ladies man *
Chelsea Hotel No. 2
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye
Sisters of mercy **
Anthem
~~~
Tower of song
Suzanne
Gypsy wife
The partisan
Boogie street
Hallelujiah
I'm your man
A thousand kisses deep
This waltz
~~~
So long Marianne
First we take Manhattan
Famous blue raincoat
~~~
If it be your will
Democracy *
Closing time **
~~~
I tried to leave you
Wither thou goest *

* First show only
** Second show only

A few points to note:
* 'careless sex' replaced 'anal sex' in the lyrics for The Future
* 'mighty heart' replaced 'sacred heart' in the lyrics for Everybody Knows
* 'you' replaced every 'ya' in the lyrics for Hallelujiah
* 'I didn't come all the way to Sydney to fool you' - Hallelujiah

============

It's hard to top a standing ovation before a note has been played but Leonard Cohen and Unified Heart did it with a very classy show and some really deep performances that drew out the essence of the songs and launched them over the 12,000-strong audience.

It was a well-balanced show, a mix of old and new pieces, the bass-baritone of the bard against the angelic harmonies of Sharon and the Webb sisters, the stark lyrics and proud musicality of the band and the humorous touches encased within the transcendental truths of the songs. Loved it. Will be hard for anyone to top performances like these.

Gig rating: 9/10
Enjoyment rating: 10/10