I was there at Brisbane Powerhouse on both nights but not both of them were for Mzaza. The first night was for Miranda Sings. No link for her. Don't bother. She is a character of American Colleen Ballinger. Not important. More important and far more fascinating than her was the Nikon Walkley 2014 Photo Exhibition. For those who don't know, the Walkleys are awards given to photojournalists for outstanding photography. The pictures were displayed throughout the Powerhouse. I will admit that the photos themselves are not always so spectacular until you hear the story behind them. It was the opening night and there was a gentleman there talking about the various photographers and their photos. It finished with him talking to the gentleman who took the ONLY photo of Gerard Baden Clay on the day he was found guilty of murdering his wife. It was not so much a photo of him, but a photo of him on a security monitor inside the vehicle that was taking him from court to jail. Not a bad effort, until you realise the vehicle was on the Centenary highway at the time doing a hundred kilometers per hour, and the photographer had about ten seconds to take that shot...
I did actually see some of Mzaza that night. I spoke for a moment to Jordan (percussion) and said hello to Greta (violin) and introduced her to my daughter (who was there for Miranda Sings along with her cousin Regina and my sister).
Had I not come to Brisbane Powerhouse to take my princess to the show I never would have had the introduction to the Walkley exhibit. The photos were still there on the Friday night.
I was back again on Friday for the performance. Before the show I was standing at the Alto Bar looking out across the river. Then a lady said to me "you should be playing". I was at a loss to what she was talking about until I realised she meant Patience. I had come straight from work so I was holding my bag and my violin, I had actually been paying in Newfarm Park before getting to the Powerhouse. I told her I was learning and she thought that was lovely. Then she wandered away with her group. Eventually I went down to the Vizy theater to escape the Miranda fans and wait for the show.
When we were finally allowed in, the lovely security lady with the cool tattoo sleeve told me I could leave my bag and violin at the front door (since this was a seated event) and she would look after it. Awesome, because there are no cloakrooms at the Powerhouse (for shame). Once I took a seat I realised it was behind a familiar face. It belonged to a gentleman I first met at the vintage shop that hosted Mzaza one time and then saw again at The Bearded Lady early this year (with The Underscore Orkestra, who, coincidentally, were playing the previous night at Vision Gallery, where I first saw Mzaza play with Chaika but I digress).
The show was to be opened by the Ewan MacKenzie Trio, but he was sick. He was replaced by the very capable, and charming, Andrew Vievers. He was at Post Office Square on the same night as Mzaza some time ago, and I was looking forward to seeing him until I had to go home earlier than I expected... He is absolutely fabulous on Spanish guitar. His right hand was mesmerising. It was obvious he has been doing this for decades. He made it look so easy. He is also a bit of a larrikin. He told a story about a piece he had written for his wife, translated to "little chicken". He had titled the piece using the masculine gender. Since he had written for his wife he decided to use the feminine gender. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, a friend of his who was a native Spanish speaker saw the piece and asked him about it. Andrew told him why he had the named the piece the way he did. His friend then said "No no no Andrew. This word is slang for 'small penis'". LOL So he changed it back to the masculine. I look forward to seeing Andrew play again in the future.
Then it was time for Mzaza. Huzzah for Mzaza. They had the usual arrangement on stage, and a little more. Firstly, there was a screen on stage. During in the evening it had clips of lyrics to introduce each song, and were visuals as well. Nice one. Part of me enjoyed the aspect of visuals on the screen, especially because some of them were quite stunning. Another part thought they distracted me from what was happening on stage, like Greta shredding on the violin (I'm not kidding) and Stephen going gangbusters on the accordion. They played the track list from Ghosts, so the songs were very familiar to me. The other thing that changed it up was the addition of friends to the stage. There was one lady who backed up Pauline's vocals. If you have heard Pauline sing you know she doesn't need backup but the presence of an additional voice provided another dimension to the songs. There was a chap who joined them with an oud. Another gentleman played cimbalom with them for a few songs. I know! How cool was that??? I love hearing that sound, and this guy was awesome. They also had another gentleman take over on double bass for what turned out to be my favourite song of the night - Esta Montanya D'enfrente - (something about a mountain). The tone of that song and the haunting vocals that went with it were outstanding. Oh, and there was one more guest. Michael, who I believe is dating Pauline, came on stage for a duet in French (Dying To Dance With The Devil). He looked so nervous but he did a great job.
Mzaza came back for an encore that finished with the audience singing a Ladino song "Adio Kerida" which contains such charming lyrics as "When your mother delivered you and brought you to the world she did not give you a heart to love with". I'd sing this song to Mrs Sage until I found the translation. Oh dear,,,
After the show there was a meet and greet. I spoke to Greta briefly and Pauline for a little too, I really wanted to chat to Stephen about the accordion but that will have to wait for another time. Then it was off to the ferry for a quiet and pleasant trip to South Bank for a train home. But wait ... who was that sitting waiting for the Gold Coast train? Yes, the lady from Alto with her three companions. We had another chat. She was lovely. It turns out she likes gypsy music and wandered about Paris looking for buskers who played. I told her about Mzaza and I think she was keen enough to look them up. Tally up another random encounter thanks, in part, to Patience.
It was a great night. The show was wonderful (though I think my favourite gig was still The Bearded Lady for the dance space). All the best to Mzaza and fingers crossed for a safe and happy return for another show.
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