The Tragedy Of Macbeth

Tonight Sally and I went to the Palace Pentridge Cinema to see Joel Coen's new film The Tragedy Of Macbeth, which was written by Coen based on William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. It stars Denzel Washington as Macbeth and Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth and they put in incredible performances along with all the other actors in the cast. 

 

The film is shot in black and white and the cinematography and brutalist architecture of the set really add to the tension and drama of the scenes and actors emerge from shadows into the light. It took a bit to get my brain into the rhythm of iambic pentameter at the start, but then I could just sit back an enjoy this adaptation.

Tinsel: A Christmas Drag Cabaret and Dinner

Tonight Ash, Simone and I headed to Mission to Seafarers after work for a pre-holiday celebration by attending Tinsel: A Christmas Drag Cabaret and Dinner. The show featured performances by several drag artists, DJ Jack Hardmen on the decks, and a three-course dinner by award winning chef Jamie Donovan. The attendance at tonight's show was lower due to a few late cancellations because of the current coronavirus wave of the Omicron variant sweeping through Melbourne, but that didn't dampen people's spirits.

My favorites Dazza and Keif were the MCs for the evening and opened the show with their dance routine to the Beastie Boys' "Intergalactic." Each artist did two routines for the night, and their second one was to a medley of Lil Nas X songs. Uff the Queen brought the glamour with her lip syncs to "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" and Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You." Miss Friby had the most interesting and humorous numbers of the night with her renditions of Amy Winehouse's "Back To Black" and The Champs "Tequila."

 

In between acts we were treated to our three-course dinner. It began with a mix of entrees including hummus, Panko crumbed mushroom arancini, and house tea-smoked salmon. The mains were a mix of foods from around the world with a slow-cooked beef brisket, tandoori chicken, polenta triangles, Mexican corn cobs, and a Middle Eastern grain salad with roast pumpkin. For dessert we had little chocolate and pecan pies and pavlova cups. Overall it was a fun evening with a variety of acts, good food, and a chance to catch up with friends before Christmas.

Amyl And The Sniffers- Croxton Bandroom

Tonight was the first of two sold out headline shows for Amyl and The Sniffers at the Croxton Bandroom. These shows were delayed a couple times due to lockdowns and restrictions (or "cursed" in the view of lead singer Amy Taylor).

Opening the evening was three piece female rock band Bitch Diesel, who each took turn singing lead vocals. Next up was three piece punk band, CLAMM, who I thought were fantastic from the start to the finish of their set. They had great songs that covered a wide range of societal issues and are definitely worth checking out.

Amyl and The Sniffers came out to big cheers from the crowd and launched their set with "Freaks To The Front." They played many songs off their latest album Comfort To Me, including my favorites "Guided By Angels," "Security," "Knifey," "Hertz" and "Don't Fence Me In." Amy prowled the stage and interacted with the crowd throughout the night and the mosh pit went off, especially to older songs like "I'm Not A Loser" and "Gacked on Anger." The band sounded tight as they tore through their set, and it was a fantastic homecoming show after a tough couple weeks for the band as their overseas tour was impacted by members getting COVID-19.

Here's the video for "Guided By Angels"

Andy White- Brunswick Artists' Bar

Tonight was a bit of a reunion with some of old friends as we gathered at the Brunswick Artists' Bar to see Andy White play and celebrate the release of his new single "Another Sunny Day." Andy played two sets of songs solo on guitar from throughout his career at this intimate show. Highlights for me were the ALT track "Penelope Tree," "If You Want It," "The Guilty and The Innocent," "James Joyce's Grave," and "Groovy Kind Of Way." He also previewed some songs off his new album This Garden Is Only Temporary and songs he wrote during previous lockdowns such as "Stay At Home" and "Isolation."

It was great to catch up with Fran, Lara, Peter and Mark as well as chat with Andy after the show ahead of him heading overseas to tour the UK in January. Andy's new album is due to be released on 28 January 2022.