Evelyn Evelyn
Wed 2nd March, 2011
The Spiegeltent, The Garden Of Unearthly Delights.
7pm
Evelyn Evelyn (Eva and Lyn aka Evelyn and Evelyn Neville) are conjoined twins raised on a chicken farm following the 'Tragic Events of September 11' in which their mother and father are killed by the evil doctor delivering them, who is subsequently killed by a truck, discovered by the truck's driver, who is then killed by a farmer who hits him with his car. The twins are then taken back to the farmer's farm where they are to be raised.
Evelyn Evelyn are portrayed by Jason Webley and Amanda Palmer.There is no attempt to conceal Webley's moustache but this adds to the novelty of the show. Usually supported by MC Sxip Shirey, they were, this evening, MC'd by The Danger Ensemble's Steven Mitchell Wright who engaged with his witty stage presence and innate ability to involve the audience and inspire us to encourage Evelyn Evelyn at appropriate times during the show.
Excruciatingly shy, but exceptionally talented Evelyn Evelyn play shows from their namesake album, answer questions from the Chalice of Infinite Wisdom and perform their black comedy puppetry which detail "The Tragic Events of September 11" explaining how they came to be raised by chickens and then consequently the after-effects of having grown up around chickens in "Chicken Man".
*****
Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under
Wed 2nd March, 2011
The Spiegeltent, The Garden of Unearthly Delights.
7pm
Scoring seats at the end of the front row, my friend Tahlia and I eagerly awaited Amanda Palmer's entrance which, true to form, was not from the stage door, but rather from the back of the venue. Dressed in a corset sporting an Australian flag, a black bra and a bustle made from streamers, playing "Makin' Whoopie" from the album "Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under". With absolute comic timing, a string on her ukulele breaks and she remarks 'there goes 5 songs from my repertoire'. Someone in the audience offered to fix it after the song as she took the stage behind her piano to play "Sex Changes" and "Missed Me" which she played in the dramatic, theatrical way that she is known and loved for, before getting straight back into songs from "Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under".
My friend had told me that at a previous gig, Palmer had told the audience that she was going to be playing mostly new songs and those expecting a "Best Of The Dresden Dolls" were fucked. This time around she informs us that she is not going to talk very much (as she only has an hour to play) and that she was just going to 'rock our shit', thrusting rock horns in the air. Amanda didn't play any songs off her album "Who Killed Amanda Palmer" (which wasn't even for sale at the merchandise table). She played two The Dresden Dolls songs and the rest were songs from "Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under", a parody of an Evelyn Evelyn song called "Bacteria Bacteria" which she played with Jason Webley, a few songs that I'd not heard of before with Jason Webley and a haunting acapella version of "The Drover's Boy". Her performance of "Map of Tasmania" featuring Jason Webley on Piano Accordian and herself on ukuele and their friend "Cat Boy" was entertaining.
Since I got into The Dresden Dolls several years ago, I have respected Amanda Palmer as a serious musician with serious talent. The songs she did play for this concert where amazing and flawless, but I was really hoping to hear some of her more serious pieces like "Astronaut (A Short History of Nearly Nothing)" or "On An Unknown Beach" which really showcase her talent as an immaculate and highly accomplished composer and musician.
"Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under" is an amazing album in and of itself, I just hope that she doesn't stray too far from her serious musical leanings in favour of silly songs penned on the ukulele in twenty minutes on a dare.
Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley performed a free, impromptu Frinja gig in the Garden of Unearthly Delights following the gig where they took requests, and tag-teamed playing their own songs. Though Jason played an original, Amanda did her version of "Creep" by Radiohead from her Radiohead cover album. Highlights included Amanda conducting the crowd in the same way that Ben Folds does at his gigs and Amanda and Jason mounting respective boxes that make up
Niets is echt moeilijk for the finale.
Both Webley and Palmer are extremely down to earth performers with little to no ego and have absolutely no issues with hanging with fans as though they were friends of theirs.
*****
Happy Fringing,
Ladyx Chronowire xx
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