A spectacular entrance through the smoke.

On Saturday, March 23, the Malachi Gilmore Hall turned on yet another exceptional night out, with a return to the days of cabaret and the music of performers like Marlene Dietrich, delivered via the talent of Jude Bowler and her show "Stage Fright - ein Kabarett".

The dictionary definition of "cabaret" is "a performance of popular music, singing, or dancing, especially in a restaurant or bar". Well, there was little dancing and the Malachi wasn't a restaurant for the evening, but the bar was open and the popular music and singing were certainly there.

The audience was a little a smaller than some previous events at the Malachi. This could reflect the popularity of cabaret music versus country or classical, but nobody who was there could have failed to enjoy the show.

Waiting for the show to start

The opening act was Cameron Love, who is well known in the area and a regular performer at local musical events. Cameron's CD "Late" was on sale in the foyer, and it is an example of just how much music there is in the local community. Cameron composed all the songs, the CD was recorded at the Boatshed Studio in O'Connell, Kris Schubert from the Boatshed produced the record and together with other local musicians provided the backing instrumentation.

Cameron Love never fails to give a good performance

Next up was keyboard player Frankie Bouchier (he can play all sorts of instruments but stuck to the keys for this night).

Frankie Bouchier showed that he isn't just a backing musician

Frankie stayed on stage to provide accompaniment for the main act, and she appeared through a cloud of smoke.

Jude Bowler gave a fascinating performance.

Whatever the audience expected, what they got was a return to the days of smoky bars, gravelly voices and a great night out. The songs weren't all from the traditional cabaret period of the 1930s, but this didn't matter. It was the style of performance that mattered. (The set included an excellent version of Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side". The song might have been written in 1972 but it perfectly captured the louche atmosphere of the 30s cabaret era.)

As is usual at the Malachi, there were cakes and nibbles at interval.

Interval refreshments.

Nobody could have gone away disappointed, and it was another night in the history of the Malachi bringing great entertainment to Oberon.