Dave Graney ... Point Blank
The Garage International @ North Adelaide Community Centre
Season closed


Dave Graney walks onto a colourfully lit stage wearing a black jacket and a pair of truly awful pants (which turn out to be just the bottom of a truly awful jumpsuit). He's got a piece of bling on his right hand that spells out, "DAVE". Pretty soon he's holding a sabre and telling us, in crooning, lounge-singer voice, that he's a commander and we are his foot soldiers. Clearly, this is a special kind of cabaret show.

And it is. Graney uses his medium to tell us about what he's been doing for the last twenty or so years. He's been walking across that square foot of stage singing his heart out to us. He describes the journey he goes on, the resources he's had to use in what he sees as a battle played out in front of an audience. With each new song, the legend grows more and more outlandish. And it's pure gold.

You have to go with Dave on this rather bizarre journey; there was a couple next to us who clearly had trouble seeing what he was on about. But the posturing, the faux arrogance, the mythic crooner image - as hilarious as it all is - is only one part of the show. For the rest of it, you've got Graney's fantastic voice and the talents of his pianist Mark Fitzgibbons and singer, drummer and glockenspieler Claire Moore creating a wonderful sound on stage. The songs are great, and it's always a treat to hear a song that doesn't have to rhyme to sound good.

So come for the banter, stay for the music. Or the other way around. I don't think Dave minds which.

Henry Nicholls