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I have just seen Pink in her Australian “Funhouse” Show and I was totally impressed. The DVD is packed with songs and behind the scenes footage but the best part, for me, was the middle portion were she and some of her crew sat at the front of the stage to perform.

First up Pink began with a rendition of Ac/Dc’s “Highway to Hell”. Well performed, if somewhat shortened. The remainder of her group of support dancers and backup singers then gradually entered one or two at a time as the intro began for track 2 and Pink rose from the set being hoisted into the air on a rope, to begin singing while swinging about 10 meters in the air hanging by one arm.

The costumes and decor are something akin to Moulin’ Rouge yet the stage performance was much more dynamic. The choreography was so clearly defined and well rehearsed it was hard to know where to look. Right from the beginning of this energetic show Pink displayed a personality all her own and was clearly enjoying every minute almost as much as the excited audience.

“Just like a pill” was the next song to be belted out, including some audience interaction and a great deal of movement around the massive stage. It is now growing more apparent that this lady is in fantastic shape. She ran, skipped, danced and rolled about on the stage and did not miss a beat, and looked fantastic doing it, totally un-phased by all the strenuous exercise. I was running short of puff watching her.

She quickly transitioned into the next track with hardly a sweat and proceeded to punch out hit after hit while interacting with the crowd the whole time. The backup singers were excellent and Justin Derrico on lead guitar is awesome. Many old favorites, including “Don’t let me get me” and “Don’t leave me” were performed to a high standard while giving various members of her supporting performers some playful attention as she went. A guitar solo and some interaction with the awesome drummer were just a couple of highlights from this early portion of the show.

Pink then moved on to do a rendition of the Divynals hit “I touch myself”, which was performed in a manner that can only be described as sensual. I won’t spoil it for you but you must see this to truly appreciate her sensuality. Pink revealed during the backstage part of the DVD that she actually forgot the words to this song and spent the 20 seconds or so walking across stage to the set trying to remember how the song started.

More of her well known hits followed, all performed in the the same vibrant, energetic way. Costume changes, brilliant choreography, audience interaction, it all maintained the same level of perfection throughout track after track.

Although some of her tracks include a little colorful language, I believe it is generally contextual and not simply thrown in for “shock” value as some people suggest.

The stage performances by her supporting dancers included a pillow fight that Pink vows will not happen again. She later said she felt like she was singing the next few tracks with feathers on her face. One of those tracks was “Family portrait”, a personal favorite of mine, and while it still sounded excellent you could see she was indeed having trouble with airborne feathers.

After Family portrait came my favorite part of the show. Pink was seated at the front edge of the stage with 4 outstanding musicians and simply sang, without all the costumes and dancers etc. Support Artists for the first song included Eva on Bass, Jessy on Violin, Justin Derrico on acoustic guitar and Mark Schulman playing the cello. Even Paul Mirkovich, who is the musical director for the entire show, gave some support from the dark recesses of the stage on Piano. Eva, Jessy and Mark departed then to be replaced by Stacy and Jenny (backup singers) for the rest of the set.

Several songs later, which included a fantastic rendition of "Trouble", Pink slipped away to the costume department while Mark Schulman returned to drums, Justin replaced the acoustic guitar with lead guitar and Eva changed back to bass guitar for a Led Zeppelin classic and the stage and light show took to life again. Dancers, costumes, colors, lights, trapeze, silks, ropes, bungees, truly amazing stuff.

Another highlight was the outstanding rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody”. I, for one, thought Freddie Mercury nailed that song but this performance sounds every bit as good. “Funhouse”, “Crazy” and “Get this party started” brought this 1 hour 50 minute spectacular to a close.

The extras on the DVD were also well worth viewing, with some insight into just what an interesting and personable lady Pink is.

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Colin F Brennan.

The Dullards, from the Washington, DC area, are a roots rock bank that falls in line with the likes of Little Feat and the Stray Cats. You may hear some Tom Petty in their work.

Guitarist-songwriters Alistair Millar and Guy Benson have woven together a string of easy-to-hear songs such as “Sour Mash and Gasoline”, “The Shrink”, and “29 Times” that are catchy, unpretentious and accessible. No over-production here, just the four-piece bar-band sound.

“Willard’s”, is a story about some guys on the road, doing what they have to do. It is not an epic tale, just a look at everyday life. “The treatment is working/I must have the disease.” Willard’s is a place; what kind of place we don’t learn. It is just a place they are leaving. The pace of this song, like the others, is meant for the car. The song is not long, but it’s not in a hurry either. Anybody should want enough Dullards songs to get you to wherever you are driving. It seems to me that it would be particularly apropos to be listening to “Sour Mash and Gasoline” while driving Route 66, or perhaps enroute to the Jersey Shore. With the AM radio on, of course.

From the Black Cat to Public TV, the Dullards are visible on the Washington, DC circuit. They have been in the studio recording; this is good because I have a long road trip ahead of me and I don’t think the Dullards’ catalogue will get me that far.

“Willard’s” is a free download on Comm-Cuts #2, teamed with the late great Eric Caroll’s “At Da Doc” and Some Nashville Guy singing “One More Tonight.” The Dullards are also found on RootsRock.com Volume 1.