Rockwiz Salutes Adelaide

Rockwiz was a highly popular music trivia quiz show, featuring performers established and new, and bolstered by the talents of audience members selected to sit up with their musical heroes. Featuring a live band, it was a great mix of trivia and tunes, and was nominated for many awards (including a Helpmann), winning the AACTA Award for Best Light Entertainment Television Series in 2007.

It’s unthinkable that the last new Rockwiz show on our televisions was back in 2016 – but that hasn’t stopped it finding new success in its live shows. In 2021, they showcased Eurovision; at this year’s Cabaret Festival, in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of the Festival Centre, they salute Adelaide.

Our usual adjudicator, Brian Nankervis, is out amongst the audience way before the show begins, and despite the nearly two-thousand strong audience in this huge theatre, elevates our energy as if we were in the crowded Espy in St. Kilda. As is normal for Rockwiz, there is a pre-show selection of our panel, chosen from twelve hand-picked audience members. They’re asked quickfire questions and from their answers (and their stage personas), we’re down to three: Nathan, Cathy, and Victor. The fourth runner-up, Cletus, gets to be ‘Dugald for a day’ – dancing onto stage just to show us the scores throughout the show (the TV role originally taken by their roadie, Dugald McAndrew).

Our effervescent host Julia Zemiro takes the stage and we’re into the quiz proper: we’re introduced to the excellent band: Clio Renner on keyboards, Peter Luscombe on drums, Bill McDonald on bass, and Olympia on lead guitar.

The audience panels are completed by local legend, Willsy, who brings us stories from her long and vibrant past as an entertainer – including from the opening of this theatre! Then comes the revelation of our team captains: our first is Jess Hitchcock, who brings the house down with her opening performance of Sia’s ‘Chandelier’. The other team’s is a local hero and great friend (and ex-director) of the Cabaret Festival, David Campbell (‘and who was your first concert…?’ asks Zemiro).

The questions come fast, the answers just as quickly: the young Victor showing an encyclopaedic knowledge way beyond his years, knowing facts about famous sixties band The Masters Apprentices that shocked the hosts – until he revealed he’s actually their current manager.

Next up is John Schumann, singing that band’s famous ‘Because I Love You’ and the audience can’t help but sing along. He takes over from Hitchcock as team captain before she returns to deliver a brilliant version of No Fixed Address’ ‘We Have Survived’. Schumann reminds us (or if you’re not old enough, educates us) of his protest song roots, with an audience-cheering performance of ‘I Was Only Nineteen’, his post-Vietnam war anthem.

The band are excellent and tight all night – standouts from Olympia’s gorgeous guitar and Renner’s thumping piano; Zemiro tells off the audience for giving the answers before the panel have a chance to push their buzzer; and Nankervis keeps score. Oh, that’s right, this is a quiz. Nathan and Cathy sneak in a few great answers in the ‘Furious Five’ round and take the ribbon. Yet as the show closes with an outstanding and upstanding rendition of The Angels’ ‘No Secrets’, we’re all winners: a fabulous show full of local music, old and not so old, perfectly packaged up by Zemiro and Nankervis.

Mark Wickett

Photographer: Claudio Raschella