John Shand Posts

April 3, 2016 / Theatre Reviews - Archive

Wentworth Falls School of Arts, April 2 6.5/10 For all the ambition of Rowen Fox’s first full-length opera, the labour could not obscure the love. In the myth of the Chinese moon goddess Chang’E he has hit upon subject matter ideal for operatic interpretation. It provides a context for him…

April 3, 2016 / Album Reviews - Archive

AMBON (Bugle) 9/10 Lloyd Swanton’s uncle, Stuart Swanton, a prisoner-of-war held by the Japanese on the Indonesian island of Ambon during World War II, suffered appalling hardships and died the day before Japan surrendered. This double-album magnum opus is part oral history told through music, part heartfelt tribute and part…

March 31, 2016 / Concert Reviews - Archive

The Factory Floor, March 24 7.5/10 You could spend an entire weekend at a festival and hear less diverse music than was packed into this night. The combination of the Inuit-influenced Jerry Cans downstairs, then a dash upstairs to catch the last few songs and rampant surrealism of the Residents,…