Jackson vs Jackson @ The Flamingo at Gluttony, Adelaide 1/3/2019
What do you get when you put one hundred talented singers and musicians on stage celebrating the extensive back catalogue of the formidable Jackson family? Pure bliss, that’s what! No wonder this show is back for a second season after rave reviews at the Adelaide Fringe 2018. Led by the charismatic mastermind Charmaine Jones, the whole hour was pitch perfect, precise and passionate – I didn’t want it to end!
Each of the sixteen ensemble singers all strutted their stuff at some stage during the hour with Charmaine taking the lead with her phenomenal voice on occasion and ably conducting and encouraging all the other musicians for the rest of the time. Backed by a fifty-voice strong choir and a tight band, they packed a punch with its rhythmic prowess. The show took us through Michael and Janet’s hits such as The Best Things in Life are Free, Billie Jean, Man in the Mirror and of course Thriller. When a bunch of young performers came on stage for the Jackson Five’s Blame it on the Boogie, the audience went wild and rightly so – these little cuties stole the show.
With such intelligent arrangements of gorgeous harmonies, medleys and mashups in the mix, a few tiny foibles can be forgiven. The sound mixing tended to leave me wanting to hear more bass and at times because they couldn’t be heard, you could be forgiven for thinking there wasn’t a backing choir on stage.
Given there were so many talented Adelaide musicians on stage, it’s no wonder that some faces were familiar to my family. The kids spied their school’s music teacher in the mix but this familiarity didn’t sway our review. The pure genius of this show certainly shines through from the choreographed singing to the celebration of every wondrous about uplifting music and musicians. The best home-grown, enjoyable and talented performance of this year’s Fringe. It’s a perfect family night out.
Fringe Review By Kim Burley
For tickets and show information for Jackson vs Jackson head to Fringe-Tix