by Cam Lucadou-Wells
City of Greater Dandenong Band will be celebrating ‘bogan culture’ in a bold and brassy cabaret in Springvale this month.
‘Blokes’ and ‘sheilas’ are urged to dress up in flannies and denim, and bring along eskys of food and drink for the Bogan Brass performance.
The program starts with traditional brass-band arrangements, cranking up to a full V8 rumble of pub rock classics from the likes of ACDC and Daryl Braithwaite.
There will also be best-dressed and air-guitar competitions.
Band musical director Jamie Lawson says the three-act epic will be a celebration of “everything bogan”.
It starts with yesteryear classics such as Waltzing Matilda and a tribute to Henry Lawson’s witty short-story The Loaded Dog.
A rarely-performed Dreamtime soundscape, which was written for a touring Cory brass band from Wales in 1913, will also be unearthed.
The second act is a tribute to “bogans of the stage and screen”.
It includes themes from home-grown TV shows Neighbours and Prisoner, as well as songs from musicals The Boy from Oz and Matilda.
And finally, the Aussie rock section – though its repetitive soundlines aren’t easily translated into brass, Lawson says.
“It grates on me a little bit.
“As long as lots of people are singing, it’ll be fine!”
The band’s BYO cabaret with a musical theme has become an annual tradition. Previous themes have included space , villains and superheroes, sport and Halloween.
Bogan Brass BYO cabaret is on Saturday 23 November, 6.30pm for 7pm start at Springvale Town Hall; $30/$22/children 5 and under free. Bookings: 0423 925 192 or trybooking.com/cvnvi
Visit dandenongband.org.au for details.
