Saturday, January 17, 2009

Grace Jones plays Sydney (Enmore Theartre)

I'm not one to dwell on old disco/pop icons but Grace Jones Sydney-only performance at The Enmore was something very special indeed. To see a 60year old women in a corset was very disturbing but to see her belt-out 14 songs and crash symbols above her head made me feel like she was on some secret 'youth-pill' becuase the energy she gave out was quite surreal and confronting but then again thats whats she is known for.

A little excerpt from fellow Sydney Disco blogger Disco Dissertation;

The thing about Grace was that she was here to sell hedonism, yet at the same time make you feel uncomfortable about it. There was an unrestrained joy in her disco and calypso influenced tracks that had a defiantly transgressive side. Yes, you should be having this much fun, and yes, it really is as bad as your parents told you.

That naughtiness is what she gave us, in spades, at the Enmore Theatre last night. Not only was her 60 (or 56, depending on which DOB you believe) year old booty on full show thanks to slinky corset and thong, but the intense vocal delivery, saucy patter and tight musical backing oozed sex. In just under 90 minutes she cracked through 14 songs, a little wobbly for the first half hour but then feeding off the vibe of her captive audience to rise to brilliance for the rest. If the music was great, the visual show was even better. Not just Grace's personal theatrics, but 13 changes of headwear--masks and hats applied offstage between tracks by her travelling milliner, while she drawled heavily into the mic with her musings--and a theatricality that should probably be called cinematic. A movie set wind machine, another fan blowing from below, and a zillion pieces of confetti sprayed over us all. Then there were the laser lights scattering off the disco ball hat and the hula hoop spun relentlessly, flawlessly, mesmerisingly about her waist through the entirety of "Slave To The Rhythm".
Full post here

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