Three's still a crowd
It's messy, it's unscripted, and more often than not, it's brilliant: Tripod's 101 Hits has fans grinning.
101 Hits
Performers: Tripod
Venue: The Famous Spiegeltent at Arts Centre Melbourne
Until: April 17
Rating: ★★★★
REVIEW by MATHEW ANDREAZZA
The show 101 Hits was set up to promote the aptly named 101 Tripod Hits, a book containing sheet music to 101 songs that the three members, Steven Gates (AKA Gatesy), Scott Edgar (AKA Scod) and Simon Hall (AKA Yon), had picked out as their best.
Since 101 songs in an hour is impossible, Tripod decided to select songs at random and play them, resulting in a completely random set list every night.
Tripod member Gatesy called the show “unreviewable”, meaning reviewers can reveal the details of any individual night without ruining the show for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. Fantastic!
Twenty years of Tripod unfolded on-stage on Good Friday with Gatesy playing the guitar, Scod working the guitar, piano and keyboard and Yon on the trumpet and tambourine (they all sang of course).
The show started with a weak opening gag and the first few songs were rocky. Luckily, Tripod eventually found a foothold and climbed the mountain it had set out to climb to a wonderful crescendo.
It was like seeing Tripod evolve from a small-time, novelty band into the trio of geniuses who put together the Tripod Versus the Dragon and This Gaming Life in fast-forward. Besides a few fumbles (mostly involving Yon struggling with his trumpet), Tripod hasn’t lost its touch.
The harmonies in A Shandy Too Far sounded just as good as they did when Tripod first recorded the song around two decades ago. Gatesy’s still a tremendous vocal powerhouse, and Yon and Scod have improved vocally as well.
When Tripod’s members weren’t singing, they were bantering. It was mostly casual and sometimes stilted, but when it worked, it worked.
The boys understood how to work their on-stage relationships so well that the banter was (mostly) effortless, even when they were stifling giggles. Not to mention the sneaky, impromptu reference to Tripod tells the tale of The Adventures of Tosswinkle the Pirate mid-show? Yes, please!
With 101 Hits, Tripod celebrates the old and the new. It’s a show that will have fans grinning at familiar songs and laughing at the improvised banter, and is the perfect opportunity for newcomers to see Tripod at its best, and Yonny at his worst. Get it together, Yonny.
