Advertised as a celebration in song of all things decadent and wicked, 'Voices Of Vice' was tantalising in its offering and the expectation of getting ‘down and dirty’ in a cabaret atmosphere was alluring.
The Powerhouse auditorium was set up in cocktail mode with low lights and table settings and the stage reminiscent of an intimate speakeasy. As we settled in, all the D words came flooding in - debauched, decadent, depraved, degenerate, and debased.
This was going to be fun.
The band started with some sultry jazz, giving free range to the players who worked well together with violin, guitar and piano playfully entwined with the rhythm section.
The line-up of vocalists was equally promising with a long list of festival favourites and local identities including Cienda McNamara, Tyrone Noonan, Alison St Ledger, Bethan Ellsmore, Dirty Sexy Politics, Lizzie Moore, Sandro Colarelli, Greg Bird, Rebecca Grennan, David Megarrity and Bridget Boyle sharing the bill.
The show started well enough but despite the talented line-up it failed to fire. The voices were fine, the players competent and the production professional but the reality was stark – this show had been cobbled together with insufficient time invested in rehearsals or creative direction.
Most noticeably, it was the selection of songs that raised eyebrows. Almost without exception they were at odds with the theme. We were promised a night of songs about perversions, wanton debauchery, sexual corruption and decadence – instead we got covers of Queen, Frank Sinatra, Radiohead, Sia, and Tom Waits mixed in with a few lesser known numbers.
There’s nothing wantonly decadent about Frank Sinatra’s 1964 hit, 'Fly Me To The Moon', or Scott Burkell and Paul Loesel’s hit 'I Really, Really, Love You (Stalker)', or Tom Waits classic 'The Piano Has Been Drinking'. Likewise Sia’s beautifully haunting 'Chandelier'.
Given the rich vein of material that could have been tapped – this was a missed opportunity.
There’s no shortage of sassy songs to choose from. Lil Johnson's ‘Press My Button – Ring My Bell’, Salt-N-Pepa’s ‘Push It’, L’il Kim’s ‘How Many Licks?’ or Tweet’s ‘Oops (Oh My)’, are just a few that come to mind.
The 90 minutes passed easily enough, but there was little appetite from the audience for more. As the curtain raiser for the Queensland Cabaret Festival, this fell short of expectations. As I left the venue, the only D word that came to mind was Disappointing. I was hoping for Dirty.
