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All aboard the WestXpress
Event: 14th of April, 2007
Touted as “ A night of vibrant entertainment and soothing sounds” WestXpress certainly delivered. It was
a night where young emerging bands showcased their fresh sounds and interesting documentaries/commercials were screened for
the first time. The event, organised purely by young people for young people, showed the amount of enthusiasm and energy that
abounds in our South-Western Sydney area. With talent to burn it marks another interesting chapter for the ambitious Rumble
Pictures crew- the brainchild behind WestXpress ‘07.
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| WestXpress Team |
A successful night whichever way you want to look at it, it certainly was an experience for all. There was a lot to
be learnt, like anticipating audiences to come at least half and hour( if not an hour) late. At seven o’clock and with
about 20 people filling up the 100 + capacity theatre at PYT Fairfield School of Arts most of the crew were getting pretty
nervous and deflated as it seemed like there were more crew then audience members. Things looked up however during mid-way
through the opening act-the “Therapist Monkey”s performance as a steady stream of latecomers filled up the theatre.
The Therapist Monkey, consisting of two bright young things from Canley Vale High, were a great introduction to this sublime
night of entertainment. The duo, Bernadette Lovero on vocals and Paul Goddard on acoustic guitar pulled out old classics such
as Blondie’s “Call Me” as well as contemporary hits such as Pinks “Who knew”.It seemed like
the night was going to be an interesting one and it certainly was, seeing Rumble’s own comedian/joker Ryan Peters’ ,who was MC for the night, stutter and lost for words was definitely not to be missed, whilst
the Clean Up Australia Day commericial/documentary was insightful and intriguing in its own right. The MC2 documentary, which
most of the Rumble crew had already seen, was a good introduction to those unfamiliar with the movie and for those who had
seen it it was still quite funny spotting themselves up on screen.
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| Gary and Suz strumming to the smoothe melodies |
An intermission ensued and it was back to business with MC Ryan introducing the soulful acoustic duo “The Closet
Romantics” with Suzanne Lam on vocals and guitar ( who occasionally uses egg shakers and bongo drums) and Gary MacNamara
on guitar ( they alternate between bass and acoustic). If you haven’t heard of them before you will most definitely
hear of them in the near future as their original compositions and passionate flair for music was evident on this night. This
emerging band, who featured on the Splash! Documentary, shown before intermission, played a few of their own songs before
the video clip of their single “Homebound Carriage” directed by Tim was “premiered”. They played one
last song, before audiences, hungry for more, cheered on for an encore. Ryan suggested “High and Dry” by Radiohead
and the shakers were duly whipped out for this one last poignant song. Audiences were really getting into the music towards
the end with some people even pulling out lighters and waving their arms around, as you do at such events.
All in all it was a good night out, it was a celebration of youthful talent and Director of PYT Claudia Chidiac suggested
we even make WestXpress a bi-annual event, such was the overwhelming response from both crew and audiences alike. Good work
to all involved; crew, performers, PYT, audiences and Tim and Maria for their sheer hard work. And for everyone that came
to WestXpress, you certainly made this night a memorable one.
Article
Written by Roxy Vuong
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| Ryan "Welcome to WestXpress!" |
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| Retrospective imagery |
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| "That's right!" |
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| Julian speaks out |
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| Ryan and his quirky moments on stage |
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| Maria - on about Rumble Picture |
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| Illustrated by May Weng Leng (Overseas Rumble Member) |
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| Refreshments selling |
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