The Spooky Men entertain, excite, confuse and delight! Who are these weird blokes in mismatched hats? Some are skinny, some fat, some bearded, some tiny, some old and a few young. Whoever they are, they are not a men’s group. One of their songs says so. We Are Not a Men’s Group is one of their funniest pieces, sung delightfully deadpan.
They are a group of 15 men (not a men’s group) that formed in the Blue Mountains in 2001 by NZ-born Stephen Taberner. They’ve been writing and performing for over 20 years with sell-out national and international tours.
Are they buffoons? Sometimes. Their song taking the mickey out of team building sessions is so funny, and so accurate. Their The Man in the 17th Row, Thingification and Give It a Go are other delights.
Are they themed? With some unexplained connection to the Caucasian Mountains, they performed a Georgian song which was a joke on ‘man’ as a vast, oblivious useless object. The piece ended in pleasurable grunting tribalism.
Are they serious? Yes. In solidarity with Ukraine, there are two cold sober Ukrainian songs, one of which has gone viral in Ukraine.
But can they sing? Their chorale work was harmonic, bold and good. There were only a few short solo incursions. Their strength is that they don’t take themselves too earnestly as singers yet sing well as a group.
Sometimes beautifully silly, sometimes blustery bravado and sometimes eye-moistening tenderness – no wonder these 15 weird-looking men have had nine tours of the UK, six CDs and festival appearances too numerous to mention.
Saturday February 17th, 7.30pm
North Sydney, The Independent Theatre
269 Miller St, North Sydney NSW 2060
Sunday February 18th, 3pm
Avoca Beach Theatre
69 Avoca Dr, Avoca Beach NSW 2251