Categories: concerts
Date: 07 September 2006 15:27:41
[Update: The Sydney Morning Herald has a review and a short video from last night .]
Eurovision comes to Australia via Eurobeat, which I saw tonight at its preview at the very beautiful, opulent, State Theatre.
If you are in Sydney, or can get to Sydney: go! Do all you can to go. It was the best night out I can recall for a very, very long time: it was wonderful; it was crazy; it was over-the-top: all the things you'd expect from Eurovision. If you're not down here, you can see the contestants, see some photos of the performances and watch a few videos on the website.
Eurobeat 2006 takes place in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. There are 12 countries competing and the talent ranges from an ABBA-esque Swedish group to Estonian gay cowboys to a rocker from Ireland to a "post-industrial post-post-modernist" trio from Liechtenstein to an Hungarian folk group to a Nana Mouskouri look-a-like from Greece who transforms to something very different during the course of the song: and everything in-between. And, of course, you have your whacky hosts with the slightest grasp on the English language.
When you take your seat you find that your section (about 5 or 6 people) of the row has been given a country, which is your home country for the night. You have a flag to wave around, and a voting slip. Just before the interval you and the 5 or 6 around you vote for your top 5 countries: and you can't vote for your own country. Votes are tallied during a brief intermission and the mandatory 'cultural' performance from the host country ["I'm Sarajevo (Taste Me)"] which was a sight to behold indeed. So each night you can very well have a different winner. You'll also be pleased to know they do have the live cross to countries for their votes: and the style and manner of those reading the votes for the country is frighteningly similar to what actually happens in Eurovision.
Tonight Ronan Corr won for Ireland with his La La La, and if I recall correctly places 2 to 5 were:
I bought the programme, and the CD (!), and got the former signed by some of the performers afterwards. It was great to meet them and have a small chat: and it is a nice thing that they do that and the ones I got to meet were all more than happy to talk to you.
I did like my home country's (Iceland) entry, and I'll leave you with verse 2 and the chorus from Gert Grollmersdetter's Love Ballad #3A:
I'm riding a horse made of paper pieces.
I'm lighting a fire to keep you away.
I'm fighting a dragon to stop it from burning down trees in my front yard.
Get out! Get out!
And if you come back again I'll beat you up and take your shoes.
Go away.