John Shand | Music & Other Spheres Posts

December 24, 2015 / Album Reviews - Archive

Silly Winds (Rouseabout) Some albums should be consigned to history at the earliest convenience, while others deserve resurrection and eternal life. Silly Winds is a compilation drawing on two of Cathie O’Sullivan’s albums from the 1980s. A long-time member of the Larrikins and subsequently an academic, O’Sullivan has an important…

December 19, 2015 / Concert Reviews - Archive

People’s Republic of Australasia, December 6 Rather than sit on fences – especially barbed-wire ones – Jon Rose plays them. This invitation-only performance twisted together Rose’s twin obsessions as an improviser: fences and violins. He actually played violin throughout, but in the second half it was against recordings derived from…

December 17, 2015 / Concert Reviews - Archive

Camelot Lounge, December 3 Before singing Non, je ne regrette rien Miriam Waks told us she was in Paris at the time of the recent mass murders, and offered the song as her response. This simple, understated and heartfelt declaration of intent was a prelude to a truly stunning rendition.…