Review: ADELAIDE FRINGE 2017: WINTER WITCHES at The Black Forest At The Royal Croquet Club

Reviewed by Christine Pyman, Friday 17th February 2017

Winter Witches are two obviously nice guys, with original music and songs, techno, almost trance inspired with a strong Eco-sense. Their natural milieu is a music festival or an underground club, and it's a shame that their fringe event provided fixed audience seating instead of recreating a rave-like standing dance experience. With seating, the audience was separated from the music, and this separation was its downfall. In the right place, Winter Witches would have a cult-like following, and their messages about the evils of animal exploitation, hopefully spreading further. Unfortunately, the event was presented as a viewing spectacle, which didn't help the audience or the Witches.

The projections on screen formed an equal part of the performance, with sophisticated imagery managing to distance some of the horror of factory farming, though the lyrics " a lady can't produce unless she's breathing", and the "swollen liver on the table" song give a good idea of the message. The idea of spreading ideology through music is not new, but I couldn't bring myself to give in to the energy of the beats when the underlying message was that of animal abuse, but my distaste ( no pun intended) might be because I'm one of the converted that they are preaching to.

The support act, Church Of The Warm Meat, appeared first and I can only share two notes that I made during the performance; crap drawings meets Kraftwerk. The eighties train left thirty years ago, so did I somehow miss a revival? I'll say no more. To post a comment, you must register and login.

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