Totally Locally article 16/02/11 – “Music Sizzles as Community Fizzles”

Dear Dalwallinu, where were you?

Last Friday night saw three extremely talented musical acts perform, for free. Due to the inclement weather, the concert ‘Northbound’ was swiftly moved from the Discovery Centre Amphitheatre to the town hall, meaning that the acts didn’t take to the stage at the scheduled time. However, the sausage sizzle and bar ensured that patrons had refreshments while they waited.

The definition of apathy according to the Oxford English Dictionary is: lack of interest or feeling. This is what I saw in the community  by the resounding absence of attendance by locals, of whom it must be said; regularly complain about the lack of things to do within the district. I do not want to hear the comments that you didn’t know it was on, as the event was heavily publicizes by the promoters.

Local artist Codie Sundstrom was first on stage, performing a mix of her own original material, as well as a couple of covers. Accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, she showed great promise for a future career in the music industry. Her final song of the evening, as yet untitled, was about the changes in her life that are occurring now. Codie was invited to perform with headline act Shameem later in the evening.

Next on stage was ‘A Beggar’s Second’, a very talented duo from Fremantle, who thoroughly engaged the audience, encouraging participation in the music ranging from clapping along to getting locals up on stage jamming with them. Playing songs from their album, the sound of roots, acoustics and blues was great. One of the highlights of their act was the triple drumming duel, between lead singer/ guitarist Ben Bowden, drummer Mark Degebrolt and the un-named “Bass Guitarist”. Shire EDMO Richard ‘Richo’ Milloy joined the band onstage, playing bongos in one of their songs. Finishing the set with ‘Mr Consumer’, the boys showed why their CD was voted in the top 10 albums of 2010 by Fremantle Radio. It and band T-shirts were on sale, with the band happy to autograph them for the audience.

The headline act, Shameem Taheri-Lee, proved to be a little lady with a big voice. Her singing style of R&B, funk and jazz was beautiful, and her cover fo Sting’s ‘SOS’ truly wonderful. Singing a variety of original material, she was ably backed by her talented band. Unfortunately, a group of obnoxious people came in and started to heckle her and their obscene comments, disgusting behaviour, soured the concert for members of the audience. I wish that I could say that they were from out of town,  however they were locals. A word of advice boys – if you don’t want to mix with us ‘worldlies’, keep away from our events. You let down your community and yourselves by your boorish behaviour. Shameem showed her true professionalism in her dealings with the hecklers.

The event closed with a bang – literally. Half-way through an emotional rendition of ‘If I Had Hammer’, the speaker for Shameem’s microphone blew, but in true entertainer style, she went on to finish the song, singing from the edge of the stage. It proved how special her voice was, hearing it without amplifiers. Unfortunately this brought the concert to an early close, and the treat of hearing Shameem and Codie perform together didn’t eventuate.

Thanks must go to the students and staff from Dalwallinu District High School for the sausage sizzle, and the Dalwallinu & Districts Lions for the bar. You made an ace security guard Noel! The musicians were wonderful, performing to a small but appreciative audience. Special thanks to ‘Richo’ and the Shire of Dalwallinu for organizing the event. Please don’t let the community apathy stop you from participating in events for the future! I for one will be attending again.

Written by Sharon Bell