2010 Fringe: Previews, reviews, suggestions etc

[CK]

Not long now until the Fringe starts and will be heading along for plenty of shows as always.

Starting off with a blatantly grautitous plug for a mate's show, "Sung Like A Horse". Musical comedy duo who will be appearing on Feb 19,21,23,24,25,26 and 28 at the Stables:

http://www.sunglikeahorse.com/

Otherwise, already spotted the Bald Eagles coming back to play at the Old Queens Arms, in Wright Street. If you are a fan of the Eagles (the band, not the team), these guys are sensational. I'm really picky about cover bands, but these blokes are so close to the real thing, it's well worth a look.

[whufc]

Went last year (?) to the Best of Edinborough starring Steven K. Amos, extremly funny man was in sticthes for the entire show, if his at the fringe this year don't miss him

[CK]

"Sung Lile A Horse" joining us Monday morning on the RPH Monday Sports Show between 7.30 and 7.45 this week.

[zipzap]

Polyphonic Spree at the Thebby for $39. Which is great, but two words in the promotional ads have me concerned: fancy dress
(*shudder*)

[Sploosh]

I'm interested in hearing people's ideas about "The Boy with Tape on His Face". Apparently it was here last year. I'd be taking someone who has English as a Second Language, so was wondering if this is actually a silent show, or if the main person is silent but there is lots of other spoken information that might make it unsuitable??

[Lunchcutter]

Support some local Adelaide comedians at Late Night Improv at Sugar... Further info below

http://tix.adelaidefringe.com.au/ticket ... 1629bc10ff

[Dutchy]

http://www.fringebenefits.com.au/?p=2478

Nikki Aitken is Ian "elbows" Aitken's daughter and getting rave reviews as mentioned in todays Mail

[Sorry Dude]

Went last year (?) to the Best of Edinborough starring Steven K. Amos, extremly funny man was in sticthes for the entire show, if his at the fringe this year don't miss him

Saw him at the Fringe last year. very funny but already had seen most of the jokes on the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Still a veeerrrryyy funny man though.

Going to see Josh Thomas this year. The wife has a bit of a thing for him, always get a laugh from him on his podcast also!

[AFLflyer]

So another year of FRINGE is about to begin, what are we going to this year? Has anyone been to anything already and has a review?

i'll be attending on friday night with thousands of others, the opening night is alway a good night.
Art Vs Science should rock it. Also, got tics for Glen Robbins and Mick Molloy, but that's it for now.

The Garden is always a good place to be during Fringe.

[godoubleblues]

just got back from the Spegeltent
saw My Friend the Chocolate Cake, a sort of piano, violin, acoustic group
quite a good set, quite intimate with the small setting inside the tent
I have been a fan of these guys for years

[Pseudo]

Late Sunday morning, caught the train into town with the kids with the intention of walking them through that "Amococo" thingy; an inflatable labyrinth of coloured light.

First problem can be blamed squarely on TransAdelaide: Someone has changed the timetable without bothering to tell the public. The running times of the trains into town were about 20 minutes later than the published time. Consequently had to keep 2 preschoolers entertained on an empty train station for nearly half an hour. TransAdelaide = anagram for "complete and utter b@st@rds" (nod to the writers of the Young Ones, shortly returning to FTA telly)

Farted around in town for half an hour before realising that the park by the Torrens is not Rymill park. Nor was the park out by the Coke factory Rymill park. It's the park right next to the Garden Of Unearthly Delights. Facepalm. One wasted half hour and a short taxi ride later finally got to the right spot.

Admission = $2 per human. Promptly paid and received 4 blue tickets. Was told that there was a bit of a wait, and the blue tickets wouldn't be called for another 45 minutes. So we adjourned to the stage around the corner where a whole bunch of food stalls had been set up. Sat down and scoffed felafel rolls while stuffing the kids full of donuts and hot chips. Nothing silences a grizzling kid like warm junk food.

Went back in exactly 45 minutes to find that the blue tickets still hadn't been called. There was an undercover stage setup with a bar and beer garden so we milled around here for a while. After 10 minutes the missus was able to claim a recently-vacated sofa. Shortly after a clown rolled up and started an act involving balloons and unicycles. The kids were captivated. All was good.

Half an hour later the clown wound up, it was announced that the green tickets were currently going through, and blue would be next. The missus started to grizzle about wanting to spit the dummy, but the next entertainer on the stage was the mentalist (as he calls himself) Nicholas Tweedy. Seen this guy perform twice before, he is brilliant. I notice he has a few stand alone Fringe shows - I highly recommend him. So we watched Tweedy do his thing for a while ... levitation tricks, card tricks, reading minds etc.

After 20 minutes of this the missus went to see what the queue status was. Apparently the blue tickets had been and gone - they didn't announce it because the entertainment was on. Flippin' B@st@rds..... So they let us join the queue among the purple ticketed folk. Another 10-15 minutes and we were finally into the tent, a mere 2 hours after purchasing tickets.

The tent itself was very anticlimactic. Imagine the old "walk on the water" inflatable tube which used to appear on the Torrens during the Come-Out festivals, but perched on the grass, and organised into a sort of maze. Each cell of the maze was lit via sunlight shining through different coloured plastic. Lurid and disorienting. We would have spent 10 minutes tops in the thing before deciding we'd had enough. Left and wandered down Rundle St for some icecream.

So - thumbs down from the Pseudo family. Can't fault the price (almost free), and the supplied entertainment was top notch & kept the kids quite happy, but the Amococo tent itself was a waste of time, there were far too many people there for any comfort, and the organisation was well below par. Perhaps during the week when crowds are smaller it might be more tolerable; your mileage may vary.

[AFLflyer]

Late Sunday morning, caught the train into town with the kids with the intention of walking them through that "Amococo" thingy; an inflatable labyrinth of coloured light.

First problem can be blamed squarely on TransAdelaide: Someone has changed the timetable without bothering to tell the public. The running times of the trains into town were about 20 minutes later than the published time. Consequently had to keep 2 preschoolers entertained on an empty train station for nearly half an hour. TransAdelaide = anagram for "complete and utter b@st@rds" (nod to the writers of the Young Ones, shortly returning to FTA telly)

Farted around in town for half an hour before realising that the park by the Torrens is not Rymill park. Nor was the park out by the Coke factory Rymill park. It's the park right next to the Garden Of Unearthly Delights. Facepalm. One wasted half hour and a short taxi ride later finally got to the right spot.

Admission = $2 per human. Promptly paid and received 4 blue tickets. Was told that there was a bit of a wait, and the blue tickets wouldn't be called for another 45 minutes. So we adjourned to the stage around the corner where a whole bunch of food stalls had been set up. Sat down and scoffed felafel rolls while stuffing the kids full of donuts and hot chips. Nothing silences a grizzling kid like warm junk food.

Went back in exactly 45 minutes to find that the blue tickets still hadn't been called. There was an undercover stage setup with a bar and beer garden so we milled around here for a while. After 10 minutes the missus was able to claim a recently-vacated sofa. Shortly after a clown rolled up and started an act involving balloons and unicycles. The kids were captivated. All was good.

Half an hour later the clown wound up, it was announced that the green tickets were currently going through, and blue would be next. The missus started to grizzle about wanting to spit the dummy, but the next entertainer on the stage was the mentalist (as he calls himself) Nicholas Tweedy. Seen this guy perform twice before, he is brilliant. I notice he has a few stand alone Fringe shows - I highly recommend him. So we watched Tweedy do his thing for a while ... levitation tricks, card tricks, reading minds etc.

After 20 minutes of this the missus went to see what the queue status was. Apparently the blue tickets had been and gone - they didn't announce it because the entertainment was on. Flippin' B@st@rds..... So they let us join the queue among the purple ticketed folk. Another 10-15 minutes and we were finally into the tent, a mere 2 hours after purchasing tickets.

The tent itself was very anticlimactic. Imagine the old "walk on the water" inflatable tube which used to appear on the Torrens during the Come-Out festivals, but perched on the grass, and organised into a sort of maze. Each cell of the maze was lit via sunlight shining through different coloured plastic. Lurid and disorienting. We would have spent 10 minutes tops in the thing before deciding we'd had enough. Left and wandered down Rundle St for some icecream.

So - thumbs down from the Pseudo family. Can't fault the price (almost free), and the supplied entertainment was top notch & kept the kids quite happy, but the Amococo tent itself was a waste of time, there were far too many people there for any comfort, and the organisation was well below par. Perhaps during the week when crowds are smaller it might be more tolerable; your mileage may vary.

i bet your kids would have enjoyed themselves more if it wasnt for Mum and Dad having a good old whinge!

[Pseudo]

Just got back from "Dinosaur Petting Zoo". 35 minute show featuring lifelike dinosaur puppets. An educational thing, the sorta thing you might find put on for school exursions at the museum. Very much geared towards kids, though the bloke running the show did try to make it humorous for the adults. Only four sorts of dinosaur were presented: a couple of baby dinosaurs (which kids were allowed to approach and pat), a proto-dragonfly, a smallish bipedal thingy whose name I forget, and a "dwarf allosaur". The dinosaurs were all realistic - if one was prepared to ignore the bloke following it around with a stick, or with a hand shoved up its @rse, or (in the case of the allosaur) two sets of poorly disguised human legs protruding from underneath. A couple of young girls managed to be reduced to tears by the allosaur. Audience participation was encouraged. All were invited to come up and pat the baby dinosaurs (the 2yo junior Pseudomite was keen, but not his 4yo sister). Several kids were pulled out of the audience to assist with the other acts: feeding the allosaur, sticking one's head into the allosaur's mouth (!), holding up a fist for the proto-dragonfly to perch upon, taming the small dinosaur, etc. Both my kids loved it, and by the end their only grizzle was that there were no more dinosaurs. Still, you ain't going to get the whole panoply of prehistoric monsters in 35 minutes. A family ticket was $35, fair value for money.

Next week we're getting the kids sat and going to see something more adult.

[CK]

Went to see "The Merger" last night by Damian Callinan. One man show all about a year in the life of a country footy club and how they stave off the League's demands that they merge and how they get through the season. Callinan, who has been on Ten's "Before The Game" is fantastic, playing a number of roles at the club (albeit with the odd hiccup with lighting and a cue here and there). Laughed very, very hard when one character, a coach at the club, started a speech that reminded me very much of a very short lived coach at my country footy club, with some of the same sorts of phrasing and mannerisms.

Really entertaining show in the Tuxedo Cat Attic, on Synagogue Place (top of Rundle Street). Head along to this one - you won't regret it. One of the best shows a footy fan will hope to see.

[AFLflyer]

saw molloy, robbins and stintson last night. very funny, glen robbins stand up was the standout, but they were all good! it was funny hearing micks version of recent events at the games.. highly recommend. 4 stars.

[Squawk]

La Clique - saw it Sat nite for the third time.

Still as good as ever. A few new acts such as the Skating Willers and the Wau Wau sisters. Some old faves too such as Carl the Swedish magician and Freddie, Queen of the Circus.

I cant confirm this but I have a feeling it's sold out for the whole Festival already.

[Mythical Creature]

Went and saw Dave Callan at the Rhino Room last week. Was a comedy made from asking 100 women a 100 questions. Was average to good I guess, but you have to wonder how many of the funny answers were made by Dave himself.

[Columbo]

Went down to the garden last night, saw a Busker/Magician/Comedian/Sleight of Hand artist called James James in the little outdoor theatre just on the right as you walk in the gate.
Was on for about half qn hour, lots of interaction with the crowd, pretty much a kid friendly show (no more swearing than they'd hear in the school yard) and a few cool tricks that make you wonder how on earth did he do that!
All he asked for was a donation at the end if you liked the show, think he would have done quite well from his show last night.

[maxyoz]

pretty much a kid friendly show (no more swearing than they'd hear in the school yard) and a few cool tricks that make you wonder how on earth did he do that!

That much swearing!!! So don't take Nanna then. Oh, and wear a thick jumper, just in case the school yard kids are from Swallowcliffe.

We saw a Dance Theatre show at Glenelg Beach, it was very well performed - had no idea what it was about, but my wife and daughter, who both dance, assured me it was good.

[bayman]

we saw circus oz last thursday night, it was very entertaining & would be worth the $48.00 for the show (thankfully we had freebies ) with food & drink provided after the show as well.....had i paid for the show i would've said it was great value