RocKwiz’s Really Really Good Friday
RocKwiz’s Really Really Good Friday at Hamer Hall
On the holiest of days, our team ventured to Hamer Hall for the annual Easter show: RocKwiz’s Really Really Good Friday.
Presented by Arts Centre Melbourne and Australian Music Vault in association with Renegade, we packed into the sold out one-off performance to see hosts Julia Zemiro and Brian Nankervis, as well as range of extra special musical and comedy guests take part in our favourite musical quiz show live.
As the audience took their seats, the show promptly commenced and immediately launched into what can only be described as a high energy dance-off onstage to AC/DC’s track High Voltage. Followed by a sing-a-long of the ‘Hamer Hall anthem’ lead by Nankervis, it was soon time to meet the 12 contestants hoping to be picked for the official showcase. With two rounds of questions, and the best four contestants being invited to continue, it was a battle of musical knowledge and talent as contestants did everything from impersonating Mick Jagger to Start Me Up, or singing and dancing to Twist and Shout – Bueller style. Both entertaining and hilarious, once the contestants were selected, it was time to begin – but first, a seven piece mariachi band walked down the aisles of Hamer Hall performing Friday On My Mind by The Easybeats.
Brian Nankervis was joined by his co-host Julia Zemiro, who entered in style – sporting a moon boot and driving a scooter. Backed by the talented four piece RocKwiz Orchestra, we were ready to introduce our first two contestants, Hannah and Doonks. In the first half of the show we were privileged to enjoy musician and actress Grace Cummings perform her song Heaven, the legendary Brian Cadd play Don’t You Know It’s Magic, comedian David O’Doherty sing songs about protestants and a story about a mouse, as well as Bob Evans (AKA Kevin Mitchell) sing his new hit single Born Yesterday.
With Grace, David and Doonks competing against Brian, Bob and Hannah, the ‘human scoreboard’ himself Dugald McAndrew polled the teams at 80-points apiece at the end of the first showcase. As a special treat, performer Mia Dyson performed her song Gambling, and ended the first half with a duet with RocKwiz Orchestra’s very own Clio Renner to sing Don’t Give Up by Peter Gabriel before heading to intermission.
When we returned for the second half, we were now joined by new contestants Angela and Peter. New special guests emerged with comedian sisters Flo and Joan performing a song about being real sisters, and an old English folk song of their creation. Separated into opposing sides, Angela paired up with Bob and Joan, while Peter was accompanied by Mia and Flo. Highlights of the second half included reliving the glory days, with Bob Evans performing The Angels’ hit Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again with an impromptu crowd sing-a-long, and special guest Kutcha Edwards performing a phenomenal rendition of A Change Is Going To Come by Sam Cooke. Subbing in for Joan, as Grace and Brian also returned, the final questions had the teams fighting it out until the very end.
As the final scores were announce by Dugald McAndrew at 215 – 205, we were left with two final performances including Brian Cadd and Grace Cummings performing a duet of Cadd’s hit Let Go, and a performance from the whole cast and crew of David Bowie’s Suffragette City – with full mariachi band, RocKwiz Orchestra and even Flo and Joan on the recorder. The night was everything you could hope for, both for music trivia and in talented performers. For many people, the RocKwiz Really Really Good Friday has become a tradition and one that we hope to observe for many years to come.
For more events coming up at the Arts Centre, head over to their website here.