Monday 11 February 2019

Badass - Cabaret Review

What: Badass
When: 10 February 2019
Where: The Toff In Town
Written and performed by: Tash York
Band: David (drums), Shae (bass), Tim (Keys & backup vocals)
David, Tash York, and Shae
You know a cabaret artist is in the A-league when they no longer needs props and costumes and have a personal back up band. For Tash York that moment has arrived and her new show Badass places her squarely in the big time of the cabaret genre.

I first came across York when she was MC for The After Hours Cabaret Club and right from that first moment I knew she was a talent to be reckoned with. Since then I have seen her show Adulting and, most recently, Petty Bitches with Boo Dwyer and York has gone from strength to strength as a performer and as a story teller.

In Badass York reveals her life goal to become a...well...badass. Beginning with a Micheal Jackson/Moulin Rouge medley York stamps her place on stage immediately and shows us she is not backing down from the fight. Riffing off singers such as Pat Benatar, York combines her sassy and clever ability to rejig lyrics and a pitch perfect voice with a range and power only the best in the business come close to having.

York is a comedian as well as a first class vocalist and Badass really is a laugh a minute. Marvelling at how Disney movies (love them or hate them) always manage to pull a tear from our eyes no matter how well you know the ending, York demonstrates her own talents in crafting an unexpected, yet heartfelt journey for the audience. Coming in hot and strong with her power statement, York journeys through some things which have prevented her from becoming a badass in the past. Things such as her nemesis high school bully, a late blooming bustline, a tomboy lifestyle and a passion for stationary.

After causing us to roll on the floor laughing our arses off, York's tale takes a turn when we meet Nigel - The EX. It is this part of the journey where York learns what a real badass is and if you are lucky she may even sing you a personalised power anthem for you to embrace your own inner badass (make sure you have a favourite dinosaur). The power of the utter honesty and rawness with which York shares herself with the audience is unmatched. Disney be damned! If your eyes don't well up when you hear her tale you are not human.

The universe doesn't know it yet, but York really is one of the best cabaret artists in the business. Whenever you get the chance to see her (she is off to Adelaide soon) take it. It will be a night you won't forget. One worthy of the biggest stages in the world.

5 Stars

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