John Shand | Music & Other Spheres Posts

December 1, 2018 / Theatre Reviews - Archive

Roslyn Packer Theatre, November 15 8/10 That ideological curiosity, Gerard Henderson, used the inimitable John Clarke’s Tory lampooning as further proof of the ABC’s heinous pinko bias. He apparently failed to understand that satirizing people who want a more open and generous world isn’t nearly as funny as poking fun…

November 29, 2018 / Concert Reviews - Archive

Foundry 616, November 14 7.5/10 Unlike on Kira Kira’s album, Bright Force, it was not the maelstroms of energy that were so transfixing here, but the softer passages. Twice during the hour-long suite – in which composed elements provided pathways and signposts for very open improvising – the dynamics and…

November 25, 2018 / Album Reviews - Archive

SHADY CABAL (azobell.bandcamp.com) 7.5/10 Is there a sound closer to heaven than the kora? More than any other instrument it defines the texture of Byron Bay’s Palm Wine Ambassadors, with its ability to drape melody across rhythm in such a way that the harder lines of the groove become shrouded…