Review: Manawatū Concert Band's All Aboard worth getting a ticket for

The Manawatū Concert Band's energetic trombone section was showcased in All Aboard. Photo / Unsplash

All Aboard
Manawatū Concert Band
Conducted by Peter Ellery and Stephen Wildbore
Speirs Centre
Saturday, May 15
Reviewed by Damian Thorne and Judith Lacy

HE SAYS: Over the space of our two-hour, train-journey themed concert we experienced a wonderfully diverse programme of mixed genres from an exceptional band of 45 musicians.

There were Dad jokes aplenty as our clarinet-playing MC Andrew Griffiths introduced us to the band's repertoire, which included the cinema's original Elsa, not Frozen, but Born Free, before we marvelled at the agility of the instrument as the trumpet section took centre stage and literally went wild.

The Phantom of the Opera was a low point for me, but it's not particularly exciting on the 400th listen, and I'm sure I heard the inspiration for the Dallas theme song in The Big Country by Jerome Moross.

After the interval we got to hear Chicago played properly, with oomph and musicality, so much better than recorded tracks. Our dynamic musical director Peter Ellery took centre stage during the trombone section and then a selection of westerns best demonstrated how memorable the themes of these films truly are.

I needed a singer on Hallelujah as the vocal dynamic is always what makes this piece special, but boy, did they finish big with music from The Incredibles – Michael Giacchino's score is a really exciting piece.

Manawatū's best playing to a packed-out Speirs Centre – now that is a Saturday night worth leaving the house for.

SHE SAYS: "He ran into my knife 10 times" is surely one of the best lyrics ever written. So I was more than happy to tap my feet and keep repeating that line as the band played Cell Block Tango and other music from Chicago.

And talking about the windy city, it was so much more pleasant to see the woodwind and brass musicians giving their lungs a marvellous workout rather than Mother Nature showing us she has a mighty set of blowers via the Palmy wind we'd experienced that day.

Chicago was followed by my other favourite piece of the night, All Aboard!, which featured the band's trombone section. It was another real toe tapper and I loved how the trombonists came up the front so we could see their skilful playing more easily.

If MC Andrew Griffiths hadn't whipped out his mobile to read some background about a piece, we could have been in the 1980s or even 1960s. This was entertainment at its most pared back - no lighting changes, visuals or even costume changes. But this added to the charm and we were here for an aural workout.

Normally, I lap up encores as they are like custard on the top of apple crumble, but the band finished on such a high with the crazy beats of music from The Incredibles, doing an encore of Mary Poppins tunes felt wrong.

I wouldn't have a clue if there were any wrong notes or missed entries but big smiles on the faces of band members, conductors and the audience make me doubt it.

And how's this for an idea - the cast of Chicago, the Manawatū Concert Band and Feilding and Districts Steam Rail Society, combining for a 150th anniversary celebration that would be remembered for another 150 years.

At just $14 a ticket, this is true value for money and I left the venue feeling more alive than when I went in.

The discovery of the breadth and depth of Palmy's cultural closet continues.