TOMÀS FORD

Simo Soo / Boys Boys Boys! / Injured Ninja / Felicity Groom & Diger Rockwell / Rachael Dease / The Gizzards / Byron Bard / Zack Adams
Amplifier
Friday, January 27, 2012

One thing about Tomàs Ford: he does nothing by half measures. For any other local artist, the use of the word “spectacular” in the show title would be a throwaway boast; Ford sees it as a personal challenge from himself to himself.
The line-up was excitingly eclectic - although, let’s face it, heavier on the old electro-pop than anything else - with a mix of music, spoken word and comedy. The outdoor stage, operating under the moniker The Beer Garden Cabaret, was home to the quieter acts of the night. Comedian Zack Adams kept his mike time short and snappy, as did comedy-poet Byron Bard, whose stentorian delivery drew appreciative laughs from the crowd.

On the musical side of things, a mix of mostly solo and/or acoustic acts kept the mood nice and mellow, except when the odd chaos merchant like The Gizzards took to the stage. The standout here was easily Rachael Dease, proving that, even without a full band behind her, her amazing voice can captivate a room.
Inside, the music was louder and the atmosphere had a more serious party vibe to it. An early, set by Felicity Groom and Diger Rokwell went down well, as did a typically primal turn by Injured Ninja, which was nicely counterpointed by the candy-coloured pop stylings of Boys Boys Boys.
The only sour note came in the form of Sydney-based performer Simo Soo. Soo is what happens when you take a pair of girl’s jeans and stuff them so full of ego that there’s no room for any talent. Soo is Warhol’s fifteen minutes prediction come to life, an avatar of narcissism wrapped in human skin and let loose on an unsuspecting audience. Worse, his garbled noise - it ain’t music - almost drowned out Dease’s set, which should be a stoning offence.
Ford’s ascendancy to the stage proved one thing - the man is beloved. It’s interesting to look back on his career thus far, and remember a time when his music was just a tinny, haphazard excuse for his stage antics. Now the two are fully integrated, the tunes supporting and enhancing his prodigious stage presence; this is a man who can make changing his shoes an awe-inspiring sight.
All the usual carry-on you get with a Ford gig was in place: the crowd was cajoled, coddled, cuddled, grasped, groped, and grappled while the man strutted his stuff, with not even the wary-looking security guards escaping untouched. An ill-considered duet with Simo Soo was all but scuppered by technical issues, which meant that not even his presence could mar what was a triumphant night.
_TRAVIS JOHNSON