27 Club | Adelaide Fringe 2021 review

Rock ’n’ roll rules at The 27 Club, a rollicking ride through some of music’s most tragic tales.

27 Club

27 Club

Music / AUS

Rating: ****

The Moa, Gluttony

Until February 28

Twenty seven is an unlucky number - for rock stars at least.

Bluesman Robert Johnson, guitar god Jimi Hendrix and grunge icon Kurt Cobain all shuffled off this mortal coil before their 28th birthday. Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Amy Winehouse too.

These tragic deaths make a rather morbid theme for a Fringe show, but The 27 Club is far from morose. Instead it’s a thoroughly enjoyable celebration of some of rock’s most enduring legends.

House band – Adelaide favourites Wanderers – were an inspired choice to lay down the grooves for Sarah McLeod (The Superjesus), Kevin Mitchell (Jebediah) and Carla Lippis to work some magic over.

McLeod uses her powerful pipes and commanding stage presence to knock Joplin classics Cry Baby and Piece of My Heart out of the park, Mitchell perfectly embodies Cobain’s unique mix of fragility and power on Come As You Are and Lippis shines on her take on Hendrix’s Foxy Lady. Wanderer’s frontman Dusty Lee Stephensen comes into his own during the Doors tracks, perfectly capturing Morrison’s bluesy growls.

The outdoor Moa is a great venue on a warm night, the occasional spill over of dance music from the neighbouring show notwithstanding (the summer of our disco tents?).

The 27 Club reminds us why we love rock ’n’ roll – it’s powerful, it’s moving and, most importantly, it’s fun.