Adelaide Festival review: The Tiger Lillies – Serenade From the Sewer
The cult legends spin dark Soho tales with virtuoso musicianship and eerie theatrical flair. ★★★★★
What a delightfully weird and wonderful evening, in the presence of a band that’s been dubbed the fathers of ‘Brechtian punk cabaret’. Niche, you may think, but a packed-out Her Majesty’s Theatre full of (very polite) fans who collectively relish this rare visit to Adelaide would beg to differ. Formed in the late 1980s, the current line-up is Martyn Jacques on vocals, accordion and piano; Budi Butenop on drums (although that feels like an understatement given what he can do with them); and Adrian Stout on upright bass, theremin and yes, that’s a musical saw.
White-painted Pierrots, the trio don’t engage in audience chat: a casual wave here and there is the only direct communication as we’re occasionally asked to sing or clap along. They’re totally focused on the tales they’ve come to spin, a genre called ‘Soho songs’ that tell stories of a world that now feels just as far away as a Hogarth painting. But while the people on the edges of society may change, they’re always there and we need the lens of art to help us see them clearly. That means these songs still feel relevant, truthful, full of life and wit.
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Of course, none of this would matter if they couldn’t actually play, and the sheer invention and musicality on display is eye-opening. Stout can coax a note out of anything, Butenop’s extended drum solo is an absolute masterclass (seldom have I wanted to break a no-video rule more) and above it all weaves Stout’s wild falsetto, full of longing and love yet distant, the eternal outsider. Until a final “fuck Putin” snarled over the lid of the grand piano breaks the spell and reminds us these song-witches are human, after all, and we’re sent back out into the night feeling just a little better, just a little more connected and just a little more Brechtian punk.
The Tiger Lillies: Serenade From the Sewer is playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre on 5 & 6 March
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