ADELAIDE CABARET FESTIVAL - 27 CLUB
27 CLUB.
Directed by Tahli Corin.
Written by Joshua Tyler and Tahli Corin. Musical Direction by John Thorn.
Adelaide Festival Centre in association with Collide. Adelaide Cabaret
Festival. Dunstan Playhouse. Adelaide Festival Centre. June 17-19 2015.
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
Forever young. They are the 27
Club, dazzling stars of song and music who famously died at the age of 27. Household
names, they remain icons of their time, the voices of new generations and their
struggles for political and sexual liberation, singing the songs of freedom for
their generation and the world. Robert Johnson, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison,
Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse, all cut down by
poisoning alcohol, drugs and alcoholic poisoning. Were they the victims of the devil at the
crossroad, or is it mere coincidence that they should depart at the same age,
and in some cases on the same auspicious date of June 3rd.
 |
| Carla Lippis |
Coincidence or not, Collide, comprising the
charismatic host, Henry Wagons, the lady in the sparkling black body clinging
dress with the powerhouse voice, Carla Lippis, the bewitching rock goddess,
Hayley Mary and the virtuoso guitarist Daniel Champagne, backed by musical
director Johnathon Thorn and his band turn on an energy charged, mind blowing
rhythm-pounding celebration of talents too soon departed. Wagons spins the
mystery with audience interaction and banter with poor unsuspecting Josh in the
front row. He taunts belief with a host
of facts and strange coincidences to test the imagination and tease conjecture.
But it is the music, the legacy
and the song that reminds us of stars that lost their sparkle far too soon. But
for a time their firmament shone with their talent, , made even more
incandescent by the talents of the performers.
From Blues to Country and Western, they changed lives and helped those
who listened to find other ways to face their struggles and their pain.
 |
| Daniel Champagne |
You can hear it in Wagon’s rendition
of Jimi Hendrix’s People Are Strange, Hayley
Mary’s haunting performance of Janis Joplin’s
Me and Bobby Mcgee or Amy Winehouse’s
Back to Black.Carla Lippis explodes
the air with her powerful, full throttled version of Kozmic Blues and her salute to Nirvana Grunge.
As an opener to the final week of
the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, this show is a knockout. Upon the cyclorama,
quotes appear, such as Amy Winehouse’s observation, “Every bad situation is a
blues song waiting to happen” or jimi Hendrix’s “Craziness is like heaven” or
Kurt Cobain’s insightful “People laugh at me because I’m strange. I laugh at
them because they’re strange” or Jim Morrison’s ironic “Love cannot save you
from your fate”
27 CLUB is more than a
tribute to these young musicians from Johnson to Winehouse and their impact on
the music world and the people who loved and understood their songs. They faced
the devil at the crossroads and died far too soon. But 27 CLUB offers a powerful, uplifting and inspiring insight into the
lives and deaths of seven remarkable musicians who left us their music and
their lessons for all time. 27 CLUB premieres at the Adelaide Festival Club,
but hopefully these talented performers will take this show on tour. It’s
powerhouse entertainment and a dynamic tribute to members of the 27 Club.
