It’d be easy to dismiss Sydney band Waiting for Guinness as a novelty, especially when they on occasion sound like outtakes from the soundtrack of the Muppet movie - albeit under Tarantino’s direction (I think it might be the presence of the banjo). However, the immediate appeal of their gypsy meets klezmer in the dunnys of a country pub while being serenaded by a mariachi band made up of Irish folk singers (with a dwarf named Ted calling bingo in the corner) just doesn’t wear off.
Somewhat of a concept album based around a fictional cabaret performance (each of the players has various noms de plume and sings/plays in character) the narrative thread that ties The Show makes a coherent whole, despite the fact that it’s as much Eastern Europe as it is Ellington. Despite the consumate musicianship it retains a sense of humour - and more importantly, under the thick blanket of intricate arrangements there are some poignant songs. ‘Harry’s Theme’, a tale of busking, bludging and beer drinking is delivered by Bonkin’ Dave Stephenson with a tender-throated delerium; elsewhere “The Lost Mariachi’s haunting melancholy competes for your tears with the lost love song‘Diamonds’, delivered by the frayed silk tonsils of Marko Simec.
The instrumentals, in particular the overwrought arabesque of ‘Radio Novgorod’, are just as fine. And the recording is wonderfully natural - roomy and airy, the performances crackle with live energy. The Show is an album that sounds like everything else and nothing else, and that’s its main strength.
