John Shand Posts

May 18, 2015 / Concert Reviews - Archive

505, May 6 It’s the sort of sound they might outlaw in certain countries as being against the best interests of some deity. Joseph Tawadros’s oud has been surrounded, cushioned or jostled by instrumentation ranging from organ to banjo to the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and most often by James Tawadros’s…

May 16, 2015 / Album Reviews - Archive

The Shining Sea (Audioguy) A guitar and a voice may sound as unremarkable a combination as supermarket cheese and yesterday’s bread, but not the way Ben Monder and Sunny Kim do it. The American guitarist and Korean singer have taken the format’s innate intimacy, intertwined it with the deep mutual…

May 10, 2015 / Theatre Reviews - Archive

Lennox Theatre, May 9 It is the most difficult role in Shakespeare’s most difficult play, and John Turnbull is magnificent. The Merchant of Venice is a challenge and an oddity on many levels, beginning with its title: why would he have named it for the vile Antonio, rather than for…