John Shand | Music & Other Spheres Posts

April 15, 2015 / Concert Reviews - Archive

Factory Theatre, April 2 Sydney audiences give standing ovations so routinely you’d think it was part of the cost of admission. Often they rise for an octogenarian to pay tribute to the past rather than to the performance just witnessed. Not with John Mayall. It was his two hours of…

April 11, 2015 / Concert Reviews - Archive

Sound Lounge, March 28 Hearing established performers advancing their art holds a particular joy. We expect it from newcomers, but the rate of improvement usually slows once a certain level of sophistication has been achieved. Saxophonist/ composer Sandy Evans and tabla player Bobby Singh both exemplify this rare phenomenon. The…

April 9, 2015 / Features - Archive

Rodrigo and Gabriela love going to extremes. Even their success is an extreme of sorts, the duo being the first acoustic rock act without a singer to storm the charts and pack concert halls. Ever. Long before that, when they tired of playing heavy metal in their native Mexico they…