Cirque du Soliel - Dralion - Wed 31 Dec 2008 - Hamilton Portside

The Girl says:

In November, the Bear mentioned that I had a surprise coming up sometime before the end of the year. Although I enjoy surprises, I can't stand being in suspense, so I have been hounding the Bear for some time trying to get any clues. The most I got was that the surprise would be sometime over the festive period, before the year was through.

31st December in Brisbane was an absolute stinker of a day, and I went for a shower at around 5pm to try and cool off a little. The Bear casually mentioned that I should think about getting dressed soon because we might go out. Well, we got dressed and drove out to Hamilton Portside, near the International Wharves. On the way, the Bear confirmed that this was indeed my surprise, but I still had no idea what to expect. I wondered if we were going to see a movie at the Dendy, but we drove past the Dendy without stopping.

On arrival, we walked for some time before approaching what looked like large blue and yellow circus tents. It was not until we got really close that I saw on the top of the largest tent the words "Cirque du Soleil" and I knew then what was happening.

It was like a dream come true. I had wanted to see Dralion since I heard it was coming, particularly because I feel a special affinity with dragons and I have long wanted to see the Cirque du Soleil live. I know now I will never see anything else like it.

It was a magical experience. The performers were just incredible and many times I was holding my breath, fingers clenched, hoping nothing would go wrong. There was a fantastic trampoline act, with performers flying left, right and centre with ease and grace. The music was incredible and the costumes were stunning. There was a great balancing act on large balls, a truly skilled juggler, awesome Chinese dragon dancing and acrobatics and an incredibly agile young woman balancing on one hand whilst doing all sorts of amazing contortions.

My absolute favourite part though was the aerial pas de deux, a truly romantic and heartbreakingly beautiful aerial act, just like the most lovely of ballets. It was magnificent and breathtaking.

Our seats were in the second row and you could see the muscles rippling on the performers bodies. It was a truly amazing experience and I have to say the best New Years Eve event I could imagine. What a way to end 2008.

Thank you Bear!

The Bear Says:

I first saw Cirque du Soliel on what I think was their first visit to Brisbane in the year 1999 with their show Saltimbanco. I had gone along, a little skeptical, but found a show that actually lived up to its hype; it really was like nothing I'd ever seen. When I heard Dralion was coming, and knowing the Girl's thing for dragons, I knew we had to go.

The overriding sense that you're left with from a Cirque du Soliel show is how do they do that? The flexibility of the human body gets pushed far beyond the limits of what's reasonable and right out into what's implausible. Then they do the same with what you think is possible in terms of balance, then reflexes, then timing. Unforgettable moments from Dralion include the girl in the opening act twisting her body into improbable shapes while balanced on one hand, the acrobats perfoming their act atop large balls, and later in the show, the acrobats diving through tiny hoops, a few at a time in perfect sychronisation.

The most spectacular feature was easily the trampoline act. Again, it's the timing that makes this so hard to believe. I mean, plunging down a wall and bouncing back with enough momentum to run up a vertical surface is amazing enough, but to have up to six people performing these acrobatics in close confines becomes almost terrifying.

That said, what the aerial pas de deux didn't have in showiness, it more than made up for in lyrical, romantic perfection. Truly a ballet suspended in mid air.

Glad you liked it, Girl. Happy New Year :)

Saruzu Quartet CD launch – Sat 20 December 2008 – The Old Museum

The Bear says:

We found out about this event because we're on the mailing list of (the late?) Stringmansassy, and thus we learned that the incomparable vocalist of that duo, Kacey Patrick, would be appearing at this gig. The fact that Red Chair, who manage both Stringmansassy and Saruzu Quartet, described this as "fiery flamenco-tango-jazz... the rich harmonies of Argentine tango, the wild improvisations of gypsy jazz and the fire and grace of flamenco" give us a second reason to go along, and the fact that it was being presented at the Old Museum gave us a third! We duly headed in tonight, accompanied by some picnic snacks, as advised by the promoter!

Well – the venue was nothing less than amazing. A section of the old museum had been divided off by fabric that floated down from the ceiling high, high above. Tables had been set up and decorated with flickering candles (battery powered, unfortunately, but still...) The whole vibe was mellow indeed, with a distinct cabaret flavour.

The support act was a touring Canadian solo performer, Ann Vriend, who sang and accompanied herself on the piano. Her music is sultry, quirky, and very smart. Unfortunately, the sound mix let her down a bit; music that's as lyrically intelligent as this really needs the vocals to come right out to the front. Instead, I found myself straining to make out the words a lot of the time. Definitely an exciting find though, and a back-catalogue I think we'll need to collect.

Saruzu Quartet presented a solid set in the world music tradition: lots of energetic gypsy fiddling, and irresistible Flamenco rhythms stamped out by dancer Simone Pope. A particularly memorable part of the performance was bassist Andrew Shaw pulling off a solo that I wouldn't have previously thought possible on a double bass. The real treat for me, however, was hearing Kacey Patrick's unique, magic voice in performance once again.

Tonight was so wonderful in many ways. Saruzu's music was joyful and vivacious, the venue was so perfectly atmospheric, and I really hope that Red Chair organises something like this again soon.

Pink Floyd double feature: The Wall & Dark Side of the Rainbow – Thu 18 December 2008 – Globe Theatre

The Bear says:

So, after only a week, it was back to the Globe Theatre for another musical double feature, this time by Pink Floyd. I'm not a huge Pink Floyd fan – really, the only one of their albums that I really love is their psychedelic first one, Piper at the Gates of Dawn. However, the powerful visual images in The Wall have always really appealed to me and I'd never seen it on the big screen before, so I was keen to catch this showing.

The other attraction was Dark Side of the Rainbow, which I'd heard references to for many years but never actually investigated. If you haven't investigated it either, the title refers to the practice of watching The Wizard of Oz with the sound turned off while listening to Dark Side of the Moon instead. Yes, really. Proponents of this allege amazing bits of synchronicity between the images on the screen and the sounds on the album, to the point where some people claim this to have been intentional on the part of the band.

I'm not going to repeat last week's comments on the Globe experience, except to say once again that I'm so glad that the venue exists to put on the programming that it does. I am, however, going to say that whoever first thought that The Wizard of Oz and Dark Side of the Moon somehow synch up was clearly out of his or her head. There's a lot of information (words, beats) in a 45-minute album, and it doesn't terribly surprise me that when played against a movie (any movie), Dark Side of the Moon (or any album) will contain words that match an image on the screen from time to time or beats that match a movement. To me, the most striking co-incidences were close to the end of the "experience" where there were about three "matches" in close succession during the confrontation between the Wicked Witch and Glinda. A few minutes later, there's another funny match as the scarecrow dances around like a lunatic as Pink Floyd sings "the lunatic is on the grass". But that was about it. I'm very glad to have finally seen this for myself, so I can now say from personal experience, "nothing to see here".

Brisbane City Council 4KQ Christmas Lights Tour – Tue 16 December 2008 – Western route

Western route


Some other description here

Beatles double feature: Help! & Let It Be – Wed 10 December 2008 – Globe Theatre

The Bear says:

A couple of weeks ago, I overheard a couple of my co-workers discussing what seemed to be a double-feature of zombie movies playing on the big screen sometime soon. On further enquiry, I learned that the venue was to be the Globe Theatre – no, not that one, this one right here in Brisbane. More precisely, it's in Fortitude Valley, just a couple of doors up from the train station in what used to be the Valley Twin cinema a long time ago (I seem to recall Dad taking me to see Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan here in 1982...) Since then, I think it's been a Chinatown cinema, an arthouse cinema (briefly) and even a cinema for the "raincoat brigade". Now it's a live music venue and about once a week shows a mid-week double-feature of classic, cult films.

Apparently, they've been doing this since 2005, so I was amazed that I hadn't heard of it until now. Perusing their list of coming attractions, I started kicking myself when I saw what I'd missed in 2008, but was happy to see a few upcoming features of interest. The first of these was this Beatles double feature. I was especially keen, because Let It Be was on the programme, easily the most obscure of the Beatles' films, and the only one I haven't seen multiple times. In fact, it would be easily 15 years since I've seen it, and even then on a very fuzzy VHS copy. And I've loved Help! ever since I saw it as part of a Beatles marathon at Annerley's old Boomerang Cinema. So, off to the Globe it was!

On arriving at the venue, we had to sign in (since they have a bar) and then waited in a lounge area until the cinema itself opened. It felt like stepping back in time. The lounge was outfitted with disco lights, armchairs, and black lights, and Beatles music was playing loudly to set the scene.

The cinema itself looks very much like little refurbishment has taken place since its days as the Valley Twin, and I tried not to think too much about the previous clientele of dirty old men.

When Help! started, I was very surprised at the quality of what I took to be the "print" . I had been expecting a faded, scratched copy of the film, but this was bright and razor-sharp. It was so good, in fact, that it was quickly apparent that this had to be a DVD copy played through a digital projector. That's good and bad. I mean, it's nice to see a clean, crisp image, but I think it lacks something in the atmosphere that seeing an old classic demands. I just think it adds something to the nostalgia of the event, like at a screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark at the Village Twin a few years ago where the first and third reels had taken on a strange, magenta tone...

Still, this is quibbling! Actually, I'm delighted that someone, anyone in Brisbane is putting these movies up where they belong – on the big screen.

I'm not going to comment on either film, except to say that Help! was as much fun as always, and multiple viewings haven't diminished that for me, and that Let It Be is what it is – a slice-of-life as the Beatles ceased to function as a creative entity.

For $13, well worth a trip back in time.

Queensland Theatre Company – The Importance of Being Earnest – Sat 1 Nov 2008 – QPAC Playhouse

The Bear says:

This was a very special surprise treat that the Girl bought for us. We'd wanted to go to this, but (as is too often the case) left the booking too late and thought we'd missed it. Anyway, she somehow managed to get us two of the "point blank" seats that we like and on a Saturday matinee as well (a favourite time for a show).

This was a particularly and wonderfully eccentric production by Queensland Theatre Company. Any attempt at verisimilitude is abandoned from the outset, and the characters are portrayed as the caricatures that they are. This is a wonderful example of what can be pulled off on stage but would be much harder to get to work on film (except possibly in animation). For example, Cecily (Francesca Savige) is given a very peculiar set of physical and vocal mannerisms, almost skipping about the stage with hands set at an improbable angle by her sides. These elements of caricature carry over into the costuming and set design as well.

The production also features an interesting "take" on Gwendolen (Georgina Symes), made out to be an edgier, almost voracious character than I've ever imagined her or seen her portrayed. This is particularly so in her confrontation with Cecily over who of them is really engaged to "Earnest". Another particular joy was watching Paul Bishop's Algernon and Tim Dashwood's Jack play off each other as "funny man and straight man", again in a way that seemed new to me. It's always a delight to see something new in a familiar and much-loved text.

The Girl says:

This was a fantastic production of a fabulous play!

I was very lucky to be able to get good seats. The Bear and I have learned through bitter experience that it is better not to see some things than to go and have poor seats, so I had pretty much given up hope when all the available seats were Row M or worse. But a week later I tried "just once more" and was lucky enough to get seats in AA. Upon arrival, it was clear that these seats had been newly installed and thus released later - yay for us!!

I can't really add much more to The Bear's comments above - a truly flawless production with excellent performances and very interesting costume and set design. Wonderful laugh out loud humour!

This is the only QTC production we've seen this year, and I am always impressed by the quality of their productions. It's just a shame that most of what they choose to put on isn't worth viewing. I'm very glad we didn't miss this one.

Sinister Sisters Halloween double feature: The Exorcist & Carrie – Fri 31 Oct 2008 – Dendy George Street Cinema

The Bear says:

This week's City News bore the sad tidings that Brisbane was to lose another indie cinema venue, this time the Dendy at George St. As part of the winding down, we were going to get a double-feature of classic 70s horror in the form of The Exorcist and Carrie, plus an "after party". This sounded way too good to miss, so off we went.

The Exorcist screened first, in its "Director's Cut" version. This is an old favourite, and I think that the film has stood the test of time and while maybe not as shocking today as it was thirty years ago, I think remains confronting, disturbing, and "wrong". This was the first time I've actually seen it on the big screen, and I was interested that the crowd's reaction to the more grotesque parts of the film was laughter, particularly to Regan's sexually-laced obscenities. The wrong crowd? Or are we just that jaded now? This is the version of the film with the "spider walk" sequence restored to it, and finally seeing it in its original context I agree with Friedkin's original decision to remove it; I think it does work to "confirm" the supernatural aspect of what's happening to Regan far too early in the piece. Anyway, I thought the film still worked and was glad to see it on the big screen.

On the other hand, I don't think Carrie has weathered nearly as well. But I don't think this is really the fault of the film-making (except for maybe the gratuitous nudie shots in the girls' locker room at the beginning of the film). Rather, Carrie looks dated largely because the fashions of the 1970s look so absolutely ludicrous to us now (case in point - Tommy Ross' hair and frilly prom shirt). On the upside, I found Sissy Spacek's wide-eyed, blood-soaked vengeful Carrie to be eerie and compelling even today.

I'm really glad that the Dendy did this. I used to enjoy the double-features of classic films that the Village Twin was doing a few years back, but I guess that with home cinema taking off more and more there's less and less demand to see old movies on the big screen. What a pity.

Thanks, Dendy. You'll be missed.

PS: Does anyone else find it amazing how much people smoke in 70s movies? Even doctors in hospital wards (The Exorcist) or teachers in principals' offices (Carrie)?

The Girl says:

When I saw this advertised in the City News, I was very excited - I love going to the movies and I especially love double features and themed specials at the movies.

I was probably in a minority of viewers in the cinema, in that I had never actually seen either The Exorcist or Carrie previously. Of course, I'd read the Stephen King novel, but so many years ago that I really can't compare them. With that in mind, it is somewhat difficult for me to comment on whether the audience had any effect on the films' impact - but I can say that The Exorcist was mostly laughable - creepy and yes, wrong, but not really horror by todays standards. The acting was great though and there was a real mood set in the film, so I did enjoy it, I just wasn't scared! Carrie was just offensive - all that gratuitous teenage nudity, horrid bullying by awful American cheerleader girls and a purely evil main character that you were somehow meant to feel sorry for. Nah, it just didn't work - even if I did jump when Carrie's hand came out of the grave!

Despite the somewhat questionable quality of the films, it was a terrific night. It was very nostalgic sitting in the uncomfortable Dendy chairs and admiring the garish faux balconies on the walls. Yet another great loss to Brisbane cinema - with only the Myer Centre cinemas remaining, this will probably be the last time I see a movie in the Brisbane CBD :-(

Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble – Twelfth Night – Sun 19 Oct 2008 – Roma Street Parklands

The Bear says:

Judging by how easy it was to get tickets at short notice, the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble has to be one of Brisbane's best-kept arts secrets: these guys are nothing short of amazing. We first saw them last year in Much Ado About Nothing, performing on the stage of the auditorium in the Roma Street Parklands and sharing it with the audience – this is Shakespeare intimate-style. Twelfth Night was performed in the same venue but with a slightly different stage arrangement. While Much Ado About Nothing had been played with the audience on tiered benches either side of the performance space, Twelfth Night had the audience seated on the stage in long rows facing outwards towards the auditorium proper, with a Japanese-style screen with a sliding door erected at the edge of the stage serving as a backdrop.

Everything here is minimalist: the set doesn't change, the ensemble is small requiring doubling of roles, and props and costumes are minimal and stylised. This is risky business; it reduces all the elements of theatre down to essentially just two: the text and the players. And with an established, more-or-less fixed text, that leaves a lot riding on the players. But it works! I think that a large part of the success lies in QSE's approach, summarised in the programme as:

QSE believes that theatre is at its most powerful when actors work with clarity, honesty, vulnerability, and generosity of self.

It seems to me that in this, they succeed.

The two QSE performances we've seen so far have been comedies, and I wonder how this intimate, almost casual approach to Shakespeare would work with tragedy? Anyway, we're already looking forward to seeing what they might give us in 2009.

The Girl says:

I think the QSE are by far my favourite Brisbane theatre group - I may have only seen two of their productions, but they have been amongst the best theatre I've ever seen. And, of course, they don't put on any modern rubbish :-) Oops, sorry, my bias is showing!

Like Much Ado About Nothing that we saw last year, this production was simply excellent. The performances, all bar one, were flawless and the actors are simply wonderful. I was struck again by the effectiveness of the use of physical comedy by QSE performers and the minimalist approach to sets and costumes simply allows the talent to shine through all the more. The other noteworthy thing about the QSE is their wonderful musical talent. The performances of both Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night were complemented by wonderful live folk-style music, both before, during and after the plays themselves. This music is an excellent addition to their plays and adds a whole new layer to the plays themselves.

Brilliant!

The Queensland Orchestra – Handel's Water Music – Sat 11 Oct 2008 – Conservatorium Theatre

The Bear says:

This was always going to be a highpoint of 2008; we've been consistently impressed by the Queensland Orchestra's "Intimate Classics" series, and this was no disappointment. Of course, it would have been hard to go wrong with a programme that included not only all three suites of the Water Music (played after the interval), but also "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba", which opened the concert.

A real and unexpected surprise, however, was the amazing voice of countertenor David Hansen who sang two arias from Giulio Cesare and one from Rodelinda. This was easily the most wonderful performance by a countertenor that I've head yet, and the response from the audience was enthusiastic to say the very least – some of the young ladies in the audience appearing to be on the verge of tossing their knickers on stage.

I clearly remember the first time I heard a countertenor, it was a Queensland Symphony Orchestra performance of Messiah sometime in the early 1990s singing parts that I'd always heard sung by an alto. I remember being shocked and even a little annoyed as my expectations were frustrated. But then, Queensland came late to the countertenor revival, and it took my ear some time to adjust. Hansen's performance tonight, however, finally shifted my appreciation for the countertenor voice from "accepting and tolerating" to pure admiration. Magic!

The Girl says:

What a wonderful performance this was.

I can't really add much more than The Bear already wrote. I had never heard a countertenor before and David Hansens voice was almost otherworldly in its beauty. Just awesome. And if you take a look at the link The Bear put in, you'll understand very quickly why the girls were ready to "toss their knickers" - angelic voice and gorgeous to boot :-)

From memory, this was our only Queensland Orchestra concert this year - again, a disappointing range of selections has limited our choice. I was also very sad to note that the Intimate Classics series has been dropped from the 2009 season. I can appreciate that with funding cuts, the arts producers are forced more and more to choose only the most popular selections, but it is sad all the same.

Australian Defence Forces Airshow – Sat 4 & Sun 5 Oct 2008 – RAAF Base Amberley

The Bear says:

The venue of the Australian Defence Forces Air Show rotates from year to year, and in 2008 it was RAAF Base Amberley's turn once again. This was our second of these shows together, the first being in 2004, and we'd been looking forward to its return to Queensland since the dates were announced around a year ago! Seeing as we enjoyed it so much last time around, we decided to go both days this time - and very glad we are of it too. There was definitely enough to see to make both days worthwhile; and the differences in the flying displays made us very glad not to have missed either of the day's displays. This was a massive event, with tens of thousands of people milling about and sunny, cloudless skies that were perfect for the flying displays but merciless to the spectators.

The displays fell into three categories: the modern, the aerobatic, and the vintage (and I group the 40-year-old F-111s in with the "modern").






Modern combat aircraft are inherently impressive: they're large, they're fast, and they're so loud that they make the ground shake. Therefore, the flying displays by the F-111s, the Hawk, and the group and solo performances by the F/A-18s were real show-stealers, especially with the F-111s putting on their famous "dump and burn". This will be a nostalgic event, as it was the last time the F-111s will be performing at an Amberley airshow before their retirement in 2010. But for me, the real star was the solo F/A-18 being put through its paces as the finale to the show. It was a real shame that so many people left after the F-111 display and didn't see some truly incredible flying. Unfortunately, the two USAF F-15s and the Singapore Air Force F-16 stayed on the ground as static displays and we didn't get to see them in their natural element.






The aerobatics included truly breathtaking, "no way!" flying by Pip Borman (Zivko Edge 540), Paul Bennet (Pitts Special), and Matt Hall (Giles G-202), as well as the RAAF's own Roulettes team with a brand-new display.







My own personal favourite displays, however, were the vintage warbirds. These included a CAC Mustang, Lockheed Hudson, de Havilland Vampire, Gloster Meteor, and English Electric Canberra. It was really magical to see these machines in the air. My greatest regret of the weekend was missing the Canberra's display and formation flight with an F-111. While this was happening on Saturday, we were otherwise occupied with getting lunch, and I was thinking "don't worry, I'll catch it tomorrow". Well, unfortunately, the Canberra didn't fly on Sunday, so the brief glimpses I got while standing in the fast food line were all I saw of it in the air. We must make a pilgrimage to its home at Temora one of these days!

Tips for future shows:

• Don't assume that there will be a chance to see it "tomorrow" (or "today" for that matter - those who only came on Saturday didn't get to see the C-17 in the air).
  
• Don't underestimate how much water, sunscreen, and batteries you will need
• Don't underestimate how much the food could possibly cost!

All in all, a weekend close to my idea of heaven; shared with a lovely wife who not only supports my strangely obsessive fascination with flying machines, but actually came all day both days to share the event with me!