23/01/2021
Right off the bat - our first EVER review is in! Backstage Christchurch e mihi ana! Calling last round TONIGHT! You've got one last chance ! If the last two packed houses are anything to go by then you better book your tickets...NOW!
| NEW REVIEW |
We’re entering the second weekend of this year’s Bread & Circus - Backyard Buskers Festival 2021 and a brand new (game)show has come to Ōtautahi. Last night inside Sixty6 on Peterborough, in a room full of punters ready for some fun, Backstage Christchurch reviewer Sophie Ricketts took her seat at a table and she thought: “We got sore cheeks for laughing so hard at Rutene’s crackup jokes and smiling with joy every time he sang. His voice is one of the most impressive you’ll ever hear... His show is dripping with nostalgia, full of warmth, and packed to the brim with love.”
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FULL REVIEW:
Hardcase Hori Housie
By Rutene Spooner - Entertainer
Bread & Circus - Backyard Buskers Festival 2021
Sixty6 On Peterborough, Friday 22 January
Reviewed by Sophie Elizabeth Ricketts for Backstage Christchurch
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This show is easy to describe: it was exactly what it said “on the tin”. From the moment we arrived and we were handed our housie cards by “Aunty B” we could tell we were in for a treat. When I looked around the room from our seats at a skinny wooden table I saw arguably one of the most diverse audiences I think I’ve ever seen at a Buskers Festival show: some people came for the music, others for the jokes, and some were hardcore housie players too!
We got sore cheeks for laughing so hard at Rutene’s crackup jokes and smiling with joy every time he sang. Spooner’s voice is one of the most impressive you’ll ever hear, and would go as far as to say it is a deeply cultural experience to hear him sing in soaring Maori - I wager even the coldest heart in the room turned into a melted pavlova. His show is dripping with nostalgia, full of warmth, and packed to the brim with love. He deftly wove original songs with clever lyrics throughout the performance, ably assisted by his terrific “home brew house band”: The Doughboys. Sneak peaks of his family were sprinkled throughout the night as he told us stories about his nanny and her presence was clearly felt with each anecdote.
But pushing the jokes to one side, and hitting pause on the great music, we got down to the nitty-gritty: we were all here to play and some were here to win. We played two energetic and silly rounds of housie: our winners took away a homemade carrot cake and a pretty choice meat pack, arguably the most classic of prizes. There was even a quick round of “sweeties or the bag” for good measure before the show ended, and an absolutely rousing Kiwiana singalong which had people on their feet and clapping their hands with delight.
This is the second show I have seen from Rutene which he has written himself, and it packed just as much punch as the first one. His work continues to carry the theme of family on its shoulders while he keeps us laughing in the aisles and serenading us with his silky voice. This show is wholesome, heartfelt, and accessible. It has been given a PG rating so feel free to bring your kids, your neighbours, and even your nanny for a great night out! There are very few tickets left for tonight so consider booking for tomorrow’s earlier show (Sunday at 5:30pm), and I encourage you to arrive early enough to grab a drink and get a seat close to the stage.
The advertised running time of this show is 80 minutes and in truth it ran closer to 120 (with interval, and it’s worth noting that interval included a complimentary shortbread from Aunty B) - but we had so much fun no one was looking at their watch. Do make sure you bring actual cash with you for the bar, in a real throwback to the housie halls of yesteryear the drink selection is a little limited and you can’t pay with plastic. This show is a perfect addition to what is already proving to be a real cracker of a festival this year; quintessentially Kiwi, full of fun, and with enough off the cuff moments to keep you wrapped around Rutene’s little finger.
