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REVIEW | MARTHA WAINWRIGHT AUSTRALIA IN NOVEMBER

November 23rd 2008 05:08

REVIEW
Fri 21 Nov, 10pm
The Gov, Adelaide

MARTHA WAINWRIGHT

Martha Wainwright is a wonderful singer and her down to earth personality is always somewhat droll. She bemoaned that she'd spent the day in Adelaide in bed, and joked about the whole serial-killer thing here... until a local shouted out that we were all "glad to see her", when she got the idea it would be best to move on. That she certainly did, without leaving any strange question hanging of why that sort of a joke she simply requested more beers for the band and got on with the show. It was a windy balmy night in serial killer central, and we were out in force to appreciate the great and spirited Martha.

Her new material mixed in with her old, and her voice as ever captures great depth and emotion. Perhaps some of the melodies she naturally resounds creep over from one song to another, but I think it's that lilt and stream of sounds that ground her, and us in the listening.

I couldn't say I've seen her all by herself before, so I did hanker for moments in the past when I've seen her in concert with brother Rufus and mother Kate, or on stage for Came so far for beauty at the Opera House in 2005. However having said that - she held her own without the need of any support as such, and the support she received from the band was excellent.

I think everyone at The Gov had themselves a great and adorable time in spite of a cold and windy night, Martha shared the great resonance of her warmth and noone went homew without a special glow.

David Jobling

MARTHA WAINWRIGHT IN AUSTRALIA NOVEMBER

I interviewed her brother Rufus when he was over and the two of them were doing the Leonard Cohen Tribute, Came so far.... Make no mistake both siblings are great on stage and I'd say it's because they have both been involved in the music and entertainment industry on account of their show biz folks, since they were kids. This will be a concert not to be missed.

David Jobling

“Martha Wainwright excels at both singing and songwriting, and earns herself a spot among this decade’s foremost performers.” Popmatters.com

“…a grand, glowering gravitas – part Patti Smith, part Leonard Cohen” Uncut Magazine

“…taking music and wringing from it a startling wealth of shiver-inducing moments.” Pitchfork Media

“Wainwright moves amid prettily finger-picked folk-rock and more eccentric arrangements” NY Times

“…her stage presence suggests several things at one time - defiant and strong, yet with an edge of sadness and vulnerability as well.” Spin Magazine

As part of the famous Wainwright/McGarrigle musical dynasty, Martha Wainwright was engulfed in a sea of music from childbirth. But the Brooklyn-based chanteuse has cemented her claim as a bona-fide artist in her own right.

Following the release of her sophomore album, I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too, Martha Wainwright and her full band are returning to Australia in November 2008.

Disbanding her initial career choice as an actor when she realized her priorities lay with songwriting, the Montreal native moved to New York City where her burgeoning singer-songwriter career began. Performing in bars and coffee-houses across the city, her signature raw stage presence blossomed and bloomed into the rousing live performer we see today.

With a constantly changing timbre of depth, Wainwright displays a remarkable polarity between songs of harrowing despair that also show a sense of spontaneity and playfulness. It is this striking mixture of light and shade and her ability to conceptualize, tackle and achieve dynamic arrangements that marry so beautifully with her heartfelt lyrics of remarkable candour and acrimonious humour.

She can, within a single verse, play both angel and demon.

On Wainwrights’s second album, I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too, she is joined by legendary figures including Pete Townsend, The Band’s Garth Hudson, Donald Fagen from Steely Dan, as well as Rufus, mum and aunt Kate and Anna McGarrigle respectively, and cousin Lily Lakin - another rising star of the lineage. Though an impressive lineup, they serve as a backdrop to what is a compelling one-woman show.

Embarking on a European tour with her band in October before heading to Australia, this show is one not to be missed.

AUSTRALIA TOUR DATES – OCTOBER 2008
Wed 12 Nov Enmore Theatre, Sydney
ticketek.com.au 132 849
Thu 13 Nov The Forum, Melbourne
ticketek.com.au 132 849
Sat 15 Nov Meeniyan Hall, Meeniyan
lyrebirdartscouncil.com 03 5664 9239
Tue 18 Nov The Tivoli, Brisbane
ticketek.com.au 132 849
Wed 19 Nov Wrest Point, Hobart
wrestpoint.com.au 1300 795 257
Fri 21 Nov The Gov, Adelaide
thegov.com.au 08 8340 0744
Sat 22 Nov Fly By Night, Fremantle
moshtix.com.au 1300 438 849

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Posted By: David Jobling - Category: Review, Live, Adelaide Scene, Australia National , News, Qstage

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REVIEW: The DC Vault (LINK)

September 3rd 2008 13:32

The DC Vault
by Martin Pasko

Everywhere you look, on every surface imaginable one way or another there is an image from the world of DC Comics and that’s just the way they like it over at DC. This new book The DC Vault is a complete beauty as far as the art work and treasures it holds goes.

I’m a little skeptical about the ring-binder style of publication, it’s practical to a point but a little frustrating because you have to be quite careful with it; not as tear-proof as Superman’s cape. I guess that contributes to the sense of ownership and its special status as an interactive object. Obviously a book is an interactive object, but this one more so than the average because it contains a variety of awesome little treasures inside plastic slips; so in the act of reading the book, or even simply looking through it, one is tempted consistently to pull out each of the treasures and have a look. It’s something you unfold and avoid damaging. Speaking of the treasures I have to say I was a bit flabbergasted with delight.

Excellent objects such as: The No.1 Action Comics cover; great artwork. Spicy Detective cover, Passion Killer (1922); what a rare little hoot this is. Face down but searching up with her eyes, a woman bound at the wrists on a red rug with a dead match on the wooden floor. No wonder there was such a close watch on comics from the moral majority. Double Action Comics #2, Ashcan (January 1940) a great reproduction. A Batman Mask reproduction from 1943; cute as. Wonder Woman Button (May 1942) reproduced as a sticker, so you’ll have to decide yourself if you want to peel and stick it or not.

This is a collectors dream. A reproduction of original artwork by Joe Kubert (1976) with a deliciously devilish story referenced. A Wonder Woman Bookmark (1987); I love that the princess is saying reading is strength, and DC Moving Notice (1980) another fabulous plaything, wonderful artwork. Shazam Cellophane Button (1972) reproduced as a sticker; Shazam is Coming. It’s magnificent stuff with the freshest from the vault feeling you could hope for.

There’s a great insight into the whole DC Comics universe which means television and animation production as much as publishing comics. What a remarkable thing was The New Adventures of Wonder Woman in the 1970’s. Lynda Carter cut a fine figure, but possibly not as fine as Jenette Kahn the incoming manager in 1976 who led a shift in the entire comic industry between 1976 and 2004.

How much do people love the comic world of DC Comics? Plenty; for example when the publishers decided to create a story called Crisis where various planet Earths in the Multiverse are crashed together, and a range of super heroes are brought together onto one planet Earth it created a bridge for readers into the stories of characters they’d never considered to read. Some readers were annoyed by it, but others responded by publishing an index in two volumes of the whole thing. That’s love, dedication and wonder.

If you know little or nothing of this vast world, here in the Vault is the best place to start; highly informative and containing a beautiful reproduction of the History of the DC Universe Poster (1987) with everybody’s favourites all in one big group. For a considerable period of time there was censorship in cartoons in the form of the Comics Code and you had to publish outside the seal of the code if you wanted to publish horror or crime titles. Once the Time Warner merge happened in the late 1980’s DC Comics promised to pour many fine stories into the Hollywood machine…

The Batman Movie changed a great deal for Warner and DC as well as Michael Keaton who rode a few good lead roles on the dramatic trail after his moody portrayal. I personally will always love Jack as The Joker; a Joker for the time. Just as Karen Berger was clearly the woman to step up on the helm of new imprint Vertigo in 1993. Over the years from the start until now there have been some fine items left in the DC Vault, something to continue to treasure for every comic lover who will want this very much.

David Jobling

The DC Vault, published by Running Press, distributed by Bookwise International RRP$65.00 Available now in good bookstores.