Rundle Park, East Terrace, Adelaide.
THURSDAY 16 FEB 2012
What people like most about Adelaide’s festival season, they say, is that it makes the city come alive. For a month or so of late summer between February and March, streets, pubs, clubs, and other venues all around town are engulfed with a spirit of fun, frivolity and creative expression. People wander out on a balmy evening and expect to see, hear, and experience something new. In other words, they escape their everyday routine to go searching for adventure.
Not to get all geeky or anything, but it was Russian literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin who coined the phrase “carnivalesque” to describe a mode of expression that subverts and liberates the social, cultural and/or personal status quo through humour and chaos. Or, as the kids would say these days, “randomness”. In my humble and perhaps over-educated opinion, the perfectly named Garden of Unearthly Delights (from the painting by fantastical Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch) has become our own little piece of Bakhtin’s philosophy: both the literal and symbolic heart of this city-wide carnival we call “Mad March”.
Arriving at the Garden’s shining entrance on this, its 10th anniversary season opening night, I was greeted by a line-up stretching almost to North Terrace. But there was no cause for concern. As the gates swung open at 9PM, the massive crowd poured quickly into the ambient magic of Rundle Park, transformed once more into a welcoming bohemian wonder land.
The unearthly delights seem to be always expanding, with new performance spaces, greater mingling areas, more amusements, rides and sideshows appearing each year. In 2012, there will be 103 different shows performed in 11 venues. Since last season The Garden has also picked up the inaugural ArtsHub Critics Choice Award for contribution to the Australian arts scene by an individual, organisation or business as “one of the most innovative and dynamic festival precincts in Australia.” Combined with reasonable bar prices, double the number of gourmet food stalls and many, many fairy lights, there’s really no reason not to make this your festival hub and meeting place until March 18. Every other person you know in Adelaide will be there at some point, so why fight it?
The opening night focus was a line-up of free performances on the centrally placed main stage. A retro sounding DJ set (complete with loud yellow shirt and 3D glasses) from local novelty act & “world of organs” founder Mr Barry Morgan seemed to get people on the dance lawns moving. Next up was the difficult to classify Melbourne five-piece Flap! With elements of gypsy jazz, carnie vaudeville and barn stomping country fiddle, the one constant was their dance-ready energy that fit perfectly with the night’s festive atmosphere. Finally, sharply dressed UK six-piece The Magnets brought a touch of tongue in cheek fun to proceedings with their a capella renditions of classic pop songs like Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer.
On top of an impressively loud and colourful fire works display, this garden party was a great kick start for the coming month of carnivalesque adventures throughout Adelaide. And of course you can keep up to date with reviews of what’s on, right here at the Buzzcuts website. So get amongst it and liberate your world, at least for a little while. Mikhail Bakhtin would be proud.
View more information at the link below.
