Fans waited patiently as Barnesy played his new songs. Then something magical happened
From here, the set lifts considerably. Barnes introduces his wife Jane on backing vocals and occasionally bagpipes, and daughter Mahalia, who's raced from the Princess Theatre, where she's Mary in Jesus Christ Superstar. They duet on Good Times, with Mahalia taking Michael Hutchence's part. Ride the Night Away and Working Class Man unite the crowd.
The final encore of Khe Sanh clinches it: we're in the presence of something bigger than us, bigger than Barnesy even. It's yearning, living, a piece of history. Perhaps it didn't need wailing two guitar solos and a Hammond organ solo.
Outside, a busker dressed as a pirate axes through Working Class Man on an acoustic. It's a bold gambit, following Barnesy on his own material – but a song like that is bigger than any of us.
Reviewed by Will Cox
JAZZ
James Shortland Quartet & Lerner / Jansen / Greenhill ★★★★
The JazzLab, June 15
One of the most valuable aspects of the Melbourne Jazz Co-operative's weekly presentations at JazzLab is the platform it provides for young and emerging artists, helping them establish a profile with local audiences.
Sunday night's double bill paired two youthful ensembles that shared the same drummer (Sydney's George Greenhill). The opening set was led by bassist James Shortland, who recently moved from Sydney to Melbourne and has been developing his voice as a composer. He presented his appealing original tunes in a quartet setting, accompanied by Greenhill and two Melbourne players (saxophonist Toby Barrett and pianist James Bowers).
Bowers played a key role in shaping the dynamics of each piece, offering lyrical introductions on ballads such as Skylight, and building momentum beneath his bandmates' animated solos. Several tunes were buoyed by a subtle Latin undercurrent courtesy of Shortland and Greenhill – including the set's final number (Emergence), which was suffused with warmth and positivity.
Greenhill was back for the second set, forming one-third of a potent Sydney-based trio. The drummer has been working with saxophonist Ben Lerner and bassist Nick Jansen since 2020, and the three have developed a powerfully persuasive group sound.
Their impressive debut album – Play Trio – has just been released, featuring compositions by artists who inspired them. On Sean Wayland's John Barker, their nimble reflexes were on display as they sprinted across the melody with taut precision, before Lerner spiralled off into an agitated, angular solo.
Kurt Rosenwinkel's Synthetics was a speedy, bop-fuelled sprint, Lerner's lines tumbling forth with remarkable fluency as Jansen and Greenhill pushed at the beat like ebullient jockeys. Lykeif had a more expansive, open-time feel, incorporating a vigorous three-way dialogue of split-tone squawks, exploratory bass and textural drums.
With Greenhill now based in New York (and Lerner soon to follow), this was a rare opportunity to see some exciting young players whose stars are well and truly on the rise.
Reviewed by Jessica Nichols
MUSIC
Invenio – Bits and Pieces ★★★★
Tempo Rubato, June 12
I still have vivid memories of seeing Invenio's very first show – Gone, Without Saying – in 2010.
Fourteen singers (including the group's leader and composer, Gian Slater) presented an arresting suite that explored extended vocal techniques, wordless singing, improvisation and choreographed movements, along with intricate multi-part harmonies and songs with poetic lyrics. Some passages were startlingly strange and experimental; some so tender and moving that they left audience members in tears.
A decade and a half later, Slater's vision of an unconventional vocal ensemble continues to bear rich fruit, and Invenio serves as a beacon of creativity and commitment in Melbourne's art music community. Slater now has a collective of about 30 dedicated singers to draw from, 12 of whom performed at Tempo Rubato on Thursday night.
This concert marked Invenio's 15th anniversary, and the program ranged widely across the group's extensive back catalogue. It opened with Banterer (from Gone, Without Saying), where the singers held various kitchen implements – bowls, saucers, teacups – in front of their mouths as they twittered, stuttered and whispered, before coalescing into unison syllables and rhythmic cycles that intersected and overlapped with perfect precision.
Fight Eyes had the feel of an evocative folk song, with lush three-part harmonies that occasionally diverged into subtle trills or sustained drones. On Growing Pains, the bass and tenor voices sang the lyrics, while the altos and sopranos quivered, pulsed and slid up and down in a series of elongated, wordless sighs.
And for Warm Bodies – perhaps the most affecting piece of the night – the singers moved down the aisles and along the back of the room as they sang, enveloping the audience in a delicate harmonic field that resonated with a hushed, almost hymnal beauty.
Loading
We also heard three new pieces from a forthcoming album, suggesting that while 15 years is an impressive milestone, Invenio's journey of inspiration and discovery is far from over. Long may it continue.
Reviewed by Jessica Nicholas
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
7 days ago
- The Age
Fans waited patiently as Barnesy played his new songs. Then something magical happened
From here, the set lifts considerably. Barnes introduces his wife Jane on backing vocals and occasionally bagpipes, and daughter Mahalia, who's raced from the Princess Theatre, where she's Mary in Jesus Christ Superstar. They duet on Good Times, with Mahalia taking Michael Hutchence's part. Ride the Night Away and Working Class Man unite the crowd. The final encore of Khe Sanh clinches it: we're in the presence of something bigger than us, bigger than Barnesy even. It's yearning, living, a piece of history. Perhaps it didn't need wailing two guitar solos and a Hammond organ solo. Outside, a busker dressed as a pirate axes through Working Class Man on an acoustic. It's a bold gambit, following Barnesy on his own material – but a song like that is bigger than any of us. Reviewed by Will Cox JAZZ James Shortland Quartet & Lerner / Jansen / Greenhill ★★★★ The JazzLab, June 15 One of the most valuable aspects of the Melbourne Jazz Co-operative's weekly presentations at JazzLab is the platform it provides for young and emerging artists, helping them establish a profile with local audiences. Sunday night's double bill paired two youthful ensembles that shared the same drummer (Sydney's George Greenhill). The opening set was led by bassist James Shortland, who recently moved from Sydney to Melbourne and has been developing his voice as a composer. He presented his appealing original tunes in a quartet setting, accompanied by Greenhill and two Melbourne players (saxophonist Toby Barrett and pianist James Bowers). Bowers played a key role in shaping the dynamics of each piece, offering lyrical introductions on ballads such as Skylight, and building momentum beneath his bandmates' animated solos. Several tunes were buoyed by a subtle Latin undercurrent courtesy of Shortland and Greenhill – including the set's final number (Emergence), which was suffused with warmth and positivity. Greenhill was back for the second set, forming one-third of a potent Sydney-based trio. The drummer has been working with saxophonist Ben Lerner and bassist Nick Jansen since 2020, and the three have developed a powerfully persuasive group sound. Their impressive debut album – Play Trio – has just been released, featuring compositions by artists who inspired them. On Sean Wayland's John Barker, their nimble reflexes were on display as they sprinted across the melody with taut precision, before Lerner spiralled off into an agitated, angular solo. Kurt Rosenwinkel's Synthetics was a speedy, bop-fuelled sprint, Lerner's lines tumbling forth with remarkable fluency as Jansen and Greenhill pushed at the beat like ebullient jockeys. Lykeif had a more expansive, open-time feel, incorporating a vigorous three-way dialogue of split-tone squawks, exploratory bass and textural drums. With Greenhill now based in New York (and Lerner soon to follow), this was a rare opportunity to see some exciting young players whose stars are well and truly on the rise. Reviewed by Jessica Nichols MUSIC Invenio – Bits and Pieces ★★★★ Tempo Rubato, June 12 I still have vivid memories of seeing Invenio's very first show – Gone, Without Saying – in 2010. Fourteen singers (including the group's leader and composer, Gian Slater) presented an arresting suite that explored extended vocal techniques, wordless singing, improvisation and choreographed movements, along with intricate multi-part harmonies and songs with poetic lyrics. Some passages were startlingly strange and experimental; some so tender and moving that they left audience members in tears. A decade and a half later, Slater's vision of an unconventional vocal ensemble continues to bear rich fruit, and Invenio serves as a beacon of creativity and commitment in Melbourne's art music community. Slater now has a collective of about 30 dedicated singers to draw from, 12 of whom performed at Tempo Rubato on Thursday night. This concert marked Invenio's 15th anniversary, and the program ranged widely across the group's extensive back catalogue. It opened with Banterer (from Gone, Without Saying), where the singers held various kitchen implements – bowls, saucers, teacups – in front of their mouths as they twittered, stuttered and whispered, before coalescing into unison syllables and rhythmic cycles that intersected and overlapped with perfect precision. Fight Eyes had the feel of an evocative folk song, with lush three-part harmonies that occasionally diverged into subtle trills or sustained drones. On Growing Pains, the bass and tenor voices sang the lyrics, while the altos and sopranos quivered, pulsed and slid up and down in a series of elongated, wordless sighs. And for Warm Bodies – perhaps the most affecting piece of the night – the singers moved down the aisles and along the back of the room as they sang, enveloping the audience in a delicate harmonic field that resonated with a hushed, almost hymnal beauty. Loading We also heard three new pieces from a forthcoming album, suggesting that while 15 years is an impressive milestone, Invenio's journey of inspiration and discovery is far from over. Long may it continue. Reviewed by Jessica Nicholas
Sky News AU
14-05-2025
- Sky News AU
Lisa Wilkinson cryptically blames 'three women' at Channel Ten for Logies speech fallout and reveals surprise career move during public appearance
Lisa Wilkinson has launched a blistering public attack on her former employer, Network Ten, claiming "three women" at the network share the blame for the fallout from her infamous 2022 Logies victory speech. Speaking at a book festival in Taree, NSW on Friday night, the former Project co-host addressed an audience during a Q&A session, where she was asked why women in media sometimes fail to support each other. "I would love to know," Wilkinson replied, before taking aim at three unnamed women she said "run Channel Ten", accusing them of distancing themselves from the scandal. Lisa Wilkinson attends the Sydney opening night of "Jesus Christ Superstar" at Capitol Theatre on November 14, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. Picture: by Don Arnold/WireImage The 65-year-old veteran magazine and TV journalist revealed that all three had read and approved her Logies acceptance speech- the same one that led to the postponement of Bruce Lehrmann's rape trial after Wilkinson praised Brittany Higgins' courage. "Three women who run Channel Ten all read that speech," she said, as reported by Daily Mail Australia. "When s*** hit the fan I said: 'I'm on the front page of every newspaper in the country right now, I am being destroyed. "I will take some of the blame because I said those words, but they are the words you asked me to say. Lisa Wilkinson and former co-host Hamish MacDonald on Network Ten's The Project. Picture: Supplied "You (the women) know the legal position I am in. You approved it. I went to the legal department… three times, including up to the afternoon of the Logies before I got on that stage. "You've got to take some of the blame'." Wilkinson claimed the trio refused, telling her that sharing responsibility would "only make it worse". "As the weeks went on, I told them: 'This is getting worse, not for you- no one's mentioned the role that any of you have played.' And it was three women." It marks the first time Wilkinson has publicly turned on Network Ten outside of legal proceedings. In an affidavit to the Federal Court for Lehrmann's defamation trial against Ten, Wilkinson said she believed Ten CEO Beverley McGarvey, network senior legal counsel Tasha Smithies and head of PR Cat Donovan had "reviewed and approved" her speech. The high-profile broadcaster, who reportedly earned $1.7 million a year to co-host The Project, vanished from screens on gardening leave for the final two years of her contract. The comments come after a bruising chapter in Wilkinson's media career. In April 2024, Bruce Lehrmann lost his defamation case against Wilkinson and Network Ten, with Justice Michael Lee finding, on the balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in 2019. Lehrmann has appealed the decision, with the Federal Court scheduling the hearing for August 19. Amid the legal proceedings, the mother-of-three and wife of author, journalist, and former rugby star Peter FitzSimons filed a cross-claim against Network Ten to recover her legal costs. Initially seeking $1.8 million, she reached a settlement in February 2025, with Ten agreeing to pay $1.15 million. Since her departure from Ten, the former Dolly and Cleo magazine editor has largely remained out of the public eye, making occasional appearances, including at the Les Misérables Sydney premiere earlier this month. Now, Wilkinson has hinted at her next chapter, telling the Taree audience she's currently writing a biography on a woman whose life she sees as the "greatest Australian story that has ever been told". Wilkinson revealed that the unnamed woman's story came to her during a particularly challenging time- specifically, the weekend after Channel Seven's Spotlight aired a pre-interview tape between Wilkinson and Ms Higgins, recorded before her appearance on The Project. has contacted Wilkinson for further comment.
Sky News AU
06-05-2025
- Sky News AU
‘Extra gay and DEI': New Jesus Christ Superstar production predicted to flop
Comedian and commentator Alex Stein has raised eyebrows over the casting choices for Jesus Christ Superstar, specifically questioning the decision to cast Adam Lambert alongside Cynthia Erivo in the production. 'Nobody is going to go see this play … I don't think that anybody actually wants to go see that horrible production,' Mr Stein said. 'Jesus Christ Superstar being extra gay and extra DEI, I mean, give me a break. 'You consider over than half the country likes Donald Trump, so over half the country is not going to like it regardless, so I really don't see it being a financial success.'
