Shaolin Punk

Set List returned on Saturday with a set from jazz legends the Dancin’ Pandas, featuring the smooth musical stylings of Brent Strahan, Matt Mulcahy and Emma Muiznieks, directed by band leader “Marching Band” McKenzie, and starring the vocal, guitar, harmonica and keyboard talents of “Guava” Muiznieks, “Smooth Dan” Walmsley and “Moldova” McClelland. They played hits from their forty year history including the unforgettable ensemble numbers “The River” - a gospel song in which the protagonists took a cheese plate, a fishing rod, a riubber duck and a pantomime horse down to the river - and “Travellin’ Strange”, a blues number describing the joys of travelling via Segway, llama, lava flow and TARDIS.

Set List returns for one final show this Saturday afternoon, 4:30 in the Old Council Chambers, when an as yet unannounced rock band will take the stage and blow your mind. Be there!

If you’re after a taste of Set List,  then you’ll get your chance this Sunday, as Karin Muiznieks, Dan Walmsley and Ben McKenzie appear as a guests for the fourth meeting of the Anarchist Guild Social Committee! Melbourne’s smash hit sketch comedy group - which counts Ben and Set List guest star Andy McClelland among its members - bring you another show full of all-new material!

The AGSC’s fourth meeting is at the Bella Union, Trades Hall, starting at 5:30 on Sunday, September 21; tickets are $15 full/$10 concession or group, and you can get them at the door or via the Bella Union web site.

Last night was the first preview season performance of Set List, and taking the stage were Emma Muiznieks, Karin Muiznieks, Dan Walmsley and Ben McKenzie. They formed urban whimsical folk quartet “Absynth”, and the set list for their one and only Melbourne performance included:

• “Clinton”, an ode to the sleepy little New Zealand town whose chief attraction was being the only part of the country not featured in Lord of the Rings.
• “The Brush Went South”, a tragic tale of two lovers forever separated by the misuse of a toothbrush.
• “Reasons to Leave Your Phone On in a Show”, a list of…well, you get the idea.
• “Snow Dome” - a terrifying glimpse of the hidden dangers within seemingly innocuous ornaments.
• “The Best Nose in the World”, a love song for a man with beautiful nose hair.
• “Fight the Faint Smell”, a rousing political anthem espousing the olfactory superiority of communism over capitalism.
• “City of Evil”, a chilling expose of the supernatural horrors which lurk in the seemingly cheery home of beer, Prague.
• “Life is Like a Rolling Pin”, an allegory for all those times when you’re feeling flat.
• “The Band Whose Name Has Been Forgotten”, a spooky story of what happens if you allow creative tension to boil over on stage.
• “Cheri”, a love song for a New Zealand roustabout who once dreamed of being a model
• “Vodka, Absinthe and Pineapple Juice”, a rousing final chorus to get everyone in the mood for visiting the bar at the Butterfly Club!

Remember the preview season continues tonight, with Dan, Emma and Karin returning, this time joined by Andy McClelland as they form an entirely new jazz band. There are also performances on Saturday and Sunday.

Remember that Ben McKenzie’s Man in the Lab Coat gives his first of three performances of A Brief History of A Brief History of Time at 1:30 PM today at the Royal Society of Victoria, and tonight appears at Melbourne Museum for Not the Nobel Prize. See labcoatman.com.au for more details!

OBE writer/producer/performer Ben McKenzie will be be appearing as one of tonight’s guest Scrabble players for Scrabble Unscripted, Impro Australia’s Scrabble-based impro show! Come and cheer him on and see if he can get a triple word score.

You can also catch Ben at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre benefit gig 23 Positions in a One Night Stand, where he’ll be performing one of the hits of Prince. It’s on March 29 as part of Comedy @ Trades.

March 29 is also the night of Earth Hour, when Ben will be conducting a candlelit tour of historic Trades Hall with the aid of local expert Jacob.