Gavin Friday, and Irish compatriot Camille O'Sullivan, provide some of the highlights at an otherwise disappointing Rogue's Gallery show.

Arrgggh, thar she blew.

What promised to be one of the most innovative showpieces at this year’s Sydney Festival turned out to be its most disappointing.

The shambles that ensued at the Rogue’s Gallery’s one-night stand at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt left many fans angry and the event’s creator, Hal Willner, embarrassed and apologetic.

The show began to take on water right from the very start, and so bad were parts that Willner himself actually came on stage to apologise at one point.

American singer David Thomas, one of the most dislikeable characters this reviewer has ever witnessed on any stage, had just spent six or so minutes growling and spitting into the microphone as someone mercilessly strangled a cat in the background.

The crowd looked at each other in sheer bemusement as the noise finally wound down. Accompanying singer Liam Finn scrambled for the exit, while a now agitated Thomas began to shout the words “understand, understand” while pointing furiously at the front row.

At least the poor aul cat was in a better place.

The next words came from Willner. “Wow, sorry about that,” he said. And that just about summed up the whole thing.

It had promised so much. A top-notch line-up and a highly inventive premise. The idea of a night of pirate songs and sea shanties had proven irresistibly alluring for many, and the crowd had come in huge numbers despite the pouring rain and the hugely inhibitive $145 price tag.

Sydney loved the idea and you could sense that everyone in the crowd just wanted it to work. Sadly, it didn’t. By the half way point, less than half of what was once an enthusiastic crowd remained. And by this stage the rain had even stopped.

Let’s just focus on the high points for now, most of which came in female form. Our own Camille O’Sullivan was her usual brilliantly seductive self, while the haunting and soulful voices of Sarah Blasko, Katy Steele and Mary Waterson lifted the show’s head above the water.

Sharon Shannon even showed up for a song or two as the girls did their best to rescue the sinking ship.

But the sisterhood was let down by the utterly cringe-worthy efforts of Marianne Faithfull, who should have been made to walk the plank for her attempt at Botany Bay.

Even the usually likeable Finn came up disappointingly short with an awful rendition of the Leaving Of Liverpool – a song made famous by The Dubliners in the 1980s.

With two Irish singers on stage who actually probably knew the song, it seemed strange to give it to someone clearly seeing it for the first time. Then again, this whole thing was strange.

For such an excellent concept, Rogues Gallery was really let down by its performers, many of whom made no effort to engage with the material and most of whom clearly hadn’t even bothered to rehearse.

The few dragged up the many from the depths of shockingly awful to the shallows of mildly entertaining.
Dubliner Gavin Friday, for example, who had performed with the Gallery in London last year, was flawless in his delivery.

And if this concept is to have any sort of future it will come through the tremendously likeable Todd Rundgren.

The American brought energy and clarity to every song, clearly understanding and embracing the material with an exuberance matched only by Peter Garrett, who did his level best despite sensing the audience had long since been lost at sea.

by Aaron Dunne

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