Fringe Party '07

I got a lift into town with the Hicks family. Apparently their son's got himself into some sort of trouble.




The party was just getting started.




There were buskers and musicians everywhere.




Some idiot muso must have thought it was hard rubbish day.





I'm starving!




But the line up at the Yiros place is huge, and I have to meet Alice. She will be pissed off at me if I show up late, smelling of garlic sauce.




The agreed meeting place. Suddenly, night falls! Where is Alice?




Disaster averted. Alice and George arrive. Obligatory photo time.




Ah, Hungry Jacks. I am starving, but tonight is about culture, and Hungry Jacks is not culture. Your bacon deluxe cannot tempt me!




No time for food now - bring on the salsa girls!




They twirl, and I am strangely intrigued...




They pose for photos, and I am strangely intrigued...




Meet Porkchopper, the Fringe mascot for 2007.




A man who twirls fire. The crowd is not amused. Where did those salsa girls go?




People gather to watch the electronic musicians. Somehow I've managed to lose my friends.




Argh! It's Julian! I can sense he intends to hit me over the head with that rolled up Fringe program.




Alice, George, and Julian.




The crowds have not gone away. Y'all know you can click on these photos to get a bigger version, right?




Fireworks over the Nova Cinema




In Adelaide, we force small children to play in bands. We maintain that it's character building.




I think my camera has taken party drugs.




Time to go home. Sprint to catch the last bus!




All that running has made me thirsty. I'll stop and have a drink at these stagnant pools of water that I'm sure no drunken yobbo has befouled.




If I lived here, I'd be home by now. Alas, I do not live here.

George is still soft

You all know it's true. But while we wait eagerly for his second post, we should steel ourselves for the months ahead.

I wouldn't disagree that Adelaide's a pretty sleepy town for the majority of the year. But every now and then, massive heavenly bodies align, planets composed entirely of culture. Their pull cannot be resisted; the only way to survive is to submit and hope you wake up in April with a slight headache and a considerable hole in your savings account.

These orbs of which I speak - The Adelaide Fringe, Womadelaide, The Adelaide Film Festival, ringed with moons - the Whitlams, Dan Kelly and the ASO - are gathering even as you read this. I've compiled the beginnings of a list -

Dan Kelly with Holly Throsby - 23 Feb

The Whitlams - 3 March

Rod Quantock - The John and Janette Howard Story - 8-18 March

Late Night comedy @ The Rhino Room - 8-31 March

Womadelaide - 11 March

Jazz at Fringe - 16 March

Tripod - 16-18 March

Ardal O'Hanlon (aka Father Dougal) - 27-31 March

Dylan Moran (aka Bernard Black) - 29 March

- and I haven't even had a chance to decipher the theatre section of the Fringe Guide yet.

For Julian:

I present my review of Heroes. It's a show that I really should like - all the elements are exactly where they should be - a winning formula by any assessment. And I think that's the problem.

After watching the first five episodes, I get the distinct impression that I'm being manipulated. Heroes comes across not so much as a hip, semi-cultish labour of love, but a precision strike at the heart of the 18-35 audience demographic. I have visions of a boardroom in California: old men sit around a table while a recent university graduate with a stylish but non-threatening haircut pitches the next sure-fire hit. "It'll be huge. We've done extensive testing. People want a show with a cheerleader, a stripper, and a couple of caricatured Japanese office workers. We'll chuck in a bit of quasi-philosophical tripe and some bad science, and get an Indian guy to narrate it. But don't worry: he won't be too Indian."

I'm going to stick with it for a few more eps, despite its tedious pacing and shameless product placement. It's lucky that advertising has no effect on me.

P.S: Did anyone else wake up today with a burning desire to buy a stylish new Nissan Versa?

Andrew's final thoughts: George, blog!!