John Shand Posts

May 7, 2024 / Album Reviews - Archive

At the Showcase Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (Jazz Detective) 8.5/10 It’s not only hats, umbrellas and litter that blow around the windy city of Chicago: the draughts mess with the music, too, obscuring sources and encouraging invention. Chicago nurtured the blues’ acoustic-to-electric 1950s upheaval, and then fostered a uniquely holistic…

May 6, 2024 / Features - Archive

Martha Wainwright is the same animal whether spilling secrets on stage or spilling stew in the kitchen. The Canadian singer-songwriter is so comfortable in her own skin that she doesn’t even mind fans pestering her in restaurants, and her 2022 memoir, Stories I Might Regret Telling You, is as raw…

Belvoir St Theatre, April 27 7/10 Not a soul is born without a backstory, but few are as gripping as Mandela Mathia’s. Not many who haven’t also grown up in a war zone and sought safety elsewhere suffer such trials as infant, child, youth and adult – and then prosper…