Presented by Cabaret Fringe at Nexus
Reviewed 27 June 2014
Basically four into three doesn’t go, so how can a group with three members represent a famous group which has four members? They find an extra!
Stuart Day, Renee Donaghey and Quinton Dunne have been playing together since 2006 and have made their mark not only in Australia, but also on the European country music scene. They are joined for this tribute to The Seekers by an Australian iconic group by Denis Surmon, an Adelaide musician who has played with other folk groups.
The group are all fine musicians and are obviously very comfortable with each other. They covered many instantly recognisable Seekers songs and a few from their own catalogue and all were well received. Morning Town Ride, The Carnival is Over and the popular Georgy Girl are just few that brought back lovely memories of the sixties and, for some, childhood.
The only thing that didn’t go well as far as I was concerned was their patter; it was artificial and did not flow naturally. However this was not enough to spoil the evening, I went for the music and that was certainly delivered well. Stuart Day played his twelve-string well and made the banjo sing. Quinton Dunne plays a mean bass and they both harmonise well. Denis Surmon fitted in so well you would never have known he wasn’t a permanent member! Their lead singer Renee Donaghey has a lot in common with Judith Durham (The Seekers), a beautiful clear voice that is easy to listen to.
So yes, The Beggars can be Seekers, but why would they want to, when they are a great group in their own right? Still it did provide us with a very pleasant musical evening.
Reviewed by Fran Edwards
Twitter: @Franeds
Venue: The Soul Box, 252 Hindley Street Adelaide
Season: season ended
Duration: 1hr 45 mins
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