The enduring and iconic 'RocKwiz' goes cabaret without losing a drop of rock, as some of Cabaret Fest’s most familiar faces united with a pair of the nation’s most charismatic rock frontmen.
'RocKwiz Live' began, as it always does, with the quiz equivalent of the 'Hunger Games', as a gaggle of quiz tragics jockeyed for a seat on stage by filing through the archives and the record collections in their minds in response to brain benders posed by the razor-tongued star of trivia, Brian Nankervis.
On this night, though, competition was tougher, as the odds were only in the favour of two contestants, not four, and after a quick fire round of Russian roulette, where a wrong answer spelt your demise, 16-year-old musical theatre fan Grace and, at the other end of the spectrum, Steve, a DJ in his 60s, emerged victorious.
As the SBS TV show has demonstrated for almost a decade and a half, reality often produces moments of humour that cannot be scripted; Grace’s age and her knowledge beyond her years provided regular gags throughout the evening.
When this year’s Cabaret Festival director, 'RocKwiz' host Julia Zemiro took to the stage to begin the official proceedings, we soon discovered why only two contestants were required on this night; Festival performers, Robert Murphy, the AFL footballer and writer turned cabaret performer, and late night piano bar pianist and musical theatre lecturer Trevor Jones were both competitors.
After the customary 'Who Can It Be Now?' who am I round, two of the evening’s guest vocalists were revealed; the gravel voiced troubadour Tex Perkins, who is performing during the festival with Bob Murphy, and the much revered former festival director, Kate Ceberano.
The pair opened with numbers from Jesus Christ Superstar. While Ceberano famously performed the role of Mary Magdalene alongside John Farnham back in the 90s, Tex demonstrated that he is the Judas that we never knew we wished we had.
Tex’s ‘Heaven On Their Minds’ and Kate’s ‘I Don’t Know How To Love Him’ were highlights on an evening that saw more songs than a traditional 'RocKwiz' show.
Tex wasn’t the only rock god to grace the stage on this night, though, as the Roger Daltrey-haired hometown hero and Screaming Jets front-man Dave Gleeson utilised his soaring pipes on The Who’s ‘Pinball Wizard’ and Whitesnake’s ‘Here I Go Again’ from jukebox musical 'Rock Of Ages'.
RocKwiz Orkestra’s pregnant vocalist Stella Angelico made humorous use of her baby bump on Rizzo’s ‘There Are Worse Things I Could Do’ from Grease, while the evening’s all-in finale of ‘Tiny Dancer’ from 'Almost Famous' was as joyous as the famous bus ride scene from the movie.
Like this year’s festival in general, 'RocKwiz' was a party where everyone’s invited, from the teenagers to retirees, and all went home smiling.
★★★★★
