1998
Cabaret Convention - Saturday Night
Sydney
Australia CABARET CONVENTION Reports
Here
is a report of the 1998 Sydney Australia CABARET CONVENTION as reported
by our Australian correspondant, David Schwartz.
1998 SYDNEY
CABARET CONVENTION - NIGHT 1
Last night
was the opening night and the Cabaret Space at the Sydney Town Hall
was filled. It will be quite a week with approximately 178 performers
participating in 65 acts. The majority of the time is given over to
showcasing talent and so the results can be quite mixed, as you might
imagine.
What follows
is a very personal view of the night, so here goes: A local performer
named Genevieve Lemon is acting as MC. She is quite a talented singer/comedian.
The first night was bracketed by star turns from Lana Cantrell, Australian
by birth and New Yorker by residence, and David Campbell, a man with
a huge future whose talents have grown immensely since I first saw
him 3-4 years ago in ONLY HEAVEN KNOWS.
Lana opened
the evening with "When You Wish Upon A Star" and proved that the passage
of years has not been harsh on her voice. She will be performing in
the Gala Evening on Saturday night.
David Campbell
chose much more adventuresome target by performing a bracket of 5
songs from John Bucchino's show URBAN MYTHS. His last song in that
bracket was the stunningly beautiful and moving song GRATEFUL which
was the opener of his second CD, TAKING THE WHEEL.
Finishing
the evening on such a contemplative note was both risky and brilliant.
Even this early in what promises to be a long career he has learned
the are of economy and understatement, allowing the material to make
its impact. A fantastic ending.
And what came
in between Cantrell and Campbell? Well, there were 9 showcased acts
in all, including turns by single acts (Derek Metzger, Adele Johnston,
Rob Martin, David harris, Fiona Leigh Jones and Avigail Herman), some
comedy/song from the Tiboldi Brothers, jazz close-harmony work from
a quartet called Vocal Design, and truly elegant jazz styling by Janet
Seidel.
The highlights
for me were Avigail Herman, a witty and bright performer who wowed
with the Cleo Laine number CONTROL YOURSELF, and Janet Seidel, a cool
professional with a sort of Barbara Carroll sensibility, who did a
great rendition of Hoagy C's SKYLARK. In addition, there was a very
funny version of THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY from Genevieve Lemon.
Tonight promises
to be more of same, though no celebrity acts are listed. More about
that tomorrow.
David Schwartz
1998
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