Ali McGregor shows once again that she is the Queen of the cabaret stage
Presented by: Adelaide Cabaret Festival
Reviewed: 10 June, 2023
Ali McGregor, one of this year’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival Artistic Directors, shows that, once again, she is a formidable Australian talent and the Queen of the cabaret stage, with entertaining witty banter, a glamorous wardrobe, clever musical collaboration, and jaw-dropping vocals we’re lucky to witness live.
As the lights dim and the band starts playing, Ali strides out onto the stage in a flowing gold-sequinned dress and coiffed up-do, to the reception of cheers – this is her first time back at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in five years, and you can tell that this Adelaide audience has missed her.
Fool’s Gold is a slightly less structured and more casual performance at this year’s festival, and feels more like a relaxed night with friends. Ali recounts stories from her life and career, like her first adolescent crush on INXS’s Michael Hutchence, her time spent in Manchester studying music, and how the pandemic affected her life and career. As this is her golden 50th year, it’s apt that she spends the time looking back at her career, including referencing previous shows she’s presented both in chatter and with her tunes, such as Alchemy and Yma Sumac: The Peruvian Songbird, alongside some of her newer song mashups. With Ali, there is also always an element of humour, such as playful banter with the audience, the vocalised mimicking of a seagull squawk and demonstrating live how pop rocks work.
Mashups of much-beloved tunes are cleverly put together, including Nina Simone’s sultry Feeling Good combined with the Gorillaz alternative rock-hit Feel Good Inc, and a classy, lounge-singer version of Aqua’s 1997 light-hearted pop hit Barbie Girl to the tune of the sultry tune Making Whoopie, made famous by Michelle Pfeiffer (as Ali nostalgically recounts).
Alongside the mashups are Ali’s covers of classic songs (to the cheers of the audience) including Blur’s Woo Hoo (which is given a tropicana-like edge), American new wave band The Motels’ Total Control, and the Foo Fighters Best of You. She ends the show with a jaw-dropping version of Radiohead’s CREEP which she throws herself into both physically and emotionally, resulting in a standing ovation from some audience members.
McGregor’s discovery of Yma Sumac inspired her subsequent deep-delve into the life of the Peruvian superstar singer, who had been signed to Capitol Records alongside major celebrities, such as Bill Cosby. McGregor had previously presented the unique biographically-focussed show, Yma Sumac: The Peruvian Songbird at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival back in 2018, and her choice to revisit some of these songs is well-received, providing a strong vocal contrast and song construction with Yma’s unique bird-like sounds and exotic voice that seemed to span across more than four octaves, with a highlight being the up-beat song Taki Rari.
Fool’s Gold is a fun show that revolves around Ali’s artistic career, highlighting moments, songs and shows that have been important, and those that have been difficult, such as living in Melbourne during the pandemic and the resulting temporary shutdown of the arts. It’s great to have McGregor back in town, and hopefully we won’t have to wait for five years for our next experience with the cabaret star.
Reviewed by Georgina Smerd
Photo credit: Claudio Raschella
Venue: Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre
Season: Ended
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