Has Mardi Gras finally got its shit together?

[danny corvini]

Ok, one week til Mardi Gras and the big question is:

With Seymour Butz selecting the likes of Paul Mac, Presets, Mark Murphy etc to play in the Dome, and the one and only Boy George playing in one of the giant caverns, will there be a general return to going to Mardi Gras parties?

Whose mind has been changed? And who would we REALLY like to see play at a Mardi Gras / Sleaze Ball / Red Raw (Melb) / Winterdaze (Melb) party??

I'd love to see Jacques Lu Cont..

[danny corvini]

NB. And I mean get their shit together musically, to reflect the diversity of the community. Nothing else. Great job with the parade guys! lol

[Tim D]

Yeah I reckon MG have really got it right this year - it feels like there's a buzz around on the ground level that I have haven't felt in a while.

I've always wanted to hear Boy George play, so that's up there. Maybe Roger Sanchez for 2008, or Frankie Knuckles again.

PS. I tried to get Jacques Lu Cont to play at a party last year, but unfortunately his success with Madonna means, according to his management, "he doesn't really do that anymore". (Just give it one more album until she's moved on though and he'll be back touring the world).

[genkij]

It most certainly looks (&hopefully !! - Sounds like it ! )

[Christian Taylor]

i think mardi gras have certainly got their shit together. seriously, this year has gone off without a hitch. and i am not just talking musically, i am talking everything.

last year got off to a shaky start with launch but by the time the parade and party happened it was evident that the international contingent was back, that people were behind it... it felt good.

this year launch was the first piece of evidence that mardi gras was thinking outside of the box. flash mob - what a great idea. and little britain - what a coup! people loved it. it was getting back to what mardi gras was all about when it began - visibility of the community in essentially straight spaces. it doesn't get much gayer than drag queens, bob downe and maracas, and it doesn't get much straighter than circular quay on a saturday. well done!

and the festival - what a line up. some repeat seasons of some of the best gay theatre/performances that this city/country has seen in a very long time - all coming back to give those people who missed them a first time another opportunity to see them. what a great idea. hedwig would have passed me by had it not returned - and i am not the only one! bringing out people like david hoyle, rupert everett - again, genius and really diverse. for a grassroots festival i think this year's line up has been superb. mardi gras is obviously putting in some quality control measures. i think that's a really great step forward.

and then the party line up - so diverse. live performances in the dome. wow. paul mac, seymour butz, the presets - so brilliant, i couldn't be more thrilled about that space. then there's boy george - hello! how many people have been waiting to hear him dj live? what a gay icon. it doesn't get any bigger than that. and then the young divas add something for those who love a good girl group and trashy pop. i was all set to hate the young divas when they came out and time and time again i just can't stop liking them... i heartily endorse their involvement. and as far as divas go - well, strong female icons at least - katie noonan. this woman is a goddess. her voice is something that is so rarely heard in popular music. she's one of australia's foremost performers and comes from such a great space both musically and energetically - i think it was a great brushstroke to put her in the 7am spot and i can't wait to see what they do with her.

so yes - diversity, alternatives, intensity, fluff, pop, fame - it's all there this year. i love mardi gras parties. they're big, they're sprawling and it's about time they started leading the way musically as well. our community is so fragmented in so many ways, but i love that mardi gras still pulls us together for one night a year. that's so unique and we really need to do whatever we can to make sure that keeps going.

there.
that's my two cents.

x

[Zakalwe]

You said it perfectly Chris, couldnt agree more!

[meezon04]

It's unreal. Growing up in the country, I'd sometimes flick over to the ABC to see them showing some of the Mardi Gras parade (my dad would see it and say 'they should all be thrown in a room and blown up - how nice! lol), and that was as a kid! I can't believe something so out-there has been going for quite a long time now, and I'm a part of the country in which it is held.
I was in Sydney last month for a few days, just checking out what the biggest city in Australia is like, and I walked along the street where the parade will be held, amazed at how quiet it was, and to be back home now thinking that the entire city has been turned on it's head (festivals, parties, tourists, dancing, colour, FASHION and PRIDE) because of mardi-gras, is just phenominal.
I do hope to make it there one day when I am able and have the confidence to whack on a pair of ass-less chaps (j/k). I'd be too scared to go down by myself though :)

[danny corvini]

Keep adding friends on SameSame, Meezono4 - it's the best way to get a coffee date for when you're in town!

[danny corvini]

Yeah I reckon MG have really got it right this year - it feels like there's a buzz around on the ground level that I have haven't felt in a while.

I've always wanted to hear Boy George play, so that's up there. Maybe Roger Sanchez for 2008, or Frankie Knuckles again.

PS. I tried to get Jacques Lu Cont to play at a party last year, but unfortunately his success with Madonna means, according to his management, "he doesn't really do that anymore". (Just give it one more album until she's moved on though and he'll be back touring the world).
Oh that sucks. The man is an electro god - even if he's put out a few too many "commercial" remixes in the last 2 years. Where Tiga "tries" to be electro's pin up boy, I think Jacques Lu Cont just "is"...