Spicks and Speck-tacular - Entertainment Centre, Adelaide
17th December 2011
Words: Rob Lyon
Words: Rob Lyon
What do you get when you cross Adam Hills, Myf Warhurst and Alan Brough? Well, without a shadow of a doubt, Australia’s best TV music quiz show, Spicks and Specks. For many, Wednesday nights will never be the same, with the final episode recently going to air, bringing down the curtain on seven years, two hundred and seventy seven episodes and over one hundred and fifty guests.
The concept is genius, and to be able to say “thank you”, Adam, Myf and Alan are touring the country one last time reflecting on all the good times and memories giving the show one mighty send off. Taking in multiple dates in cities all around the country, these four shows gave Adelaide one last chance to bid their own farewells in intimate mode at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
The show in short was Speck-tacular! The Specktors (featuring Myf’s brother Kit Warhurst, Steve Hesketh and Gus Agars) warmed the crowd up with a couple of musical numbers before the show started proper. The first ‘spoof’ was a musical ensemble with Adam paying homage to Whispering Jack even completely kitting himself up, Myf taking on Rhianna’s Put A Ring On It channelling for the sexy, and Alan going for a bow tie and tap routine.
The show moved quite quickly and it wasn’t long before Adam found someone to pick on in the front few rows, which later becomes an integral part of the show, (thank you John Mahoney). There was a bit of Adam Hills comedy routine thrown in for good measure, talking about ‘wandering’ in a quest for Farmers Union Iced Coffee and a chocolate doughnut amongst all else.
The concept is genius, and to be able to say “thank you”, Adam, Myf and Alan are touring the country one last time reflecting on all the good times and memories giving the show one mighty send off. Taking in multiple dates in cities all around the country, these four shows gave Adelaide one last chance to bid their own farewells in intimate mode at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
The show in short was Speck-tacular! The Specktors (featuring Myf’s brother Kit Warhurst, Steve Hesketh and Gus Agars) warmed the crowd up with a couple of musical numbers before the show started proper. The first ‘spoof’ was a musical ensemble with Adam paying homage to Whispering Jack even completely kitting himself up, Myf taking on Rhianna’s Put A Ring On It channelling for the sexy, and Alan going for a bow tie and tap routine.
The show moved quite quickly and it wasn’t long before Adam found someone to pick on in the front few rows, which later becomes an integral part of the show, (thank you John Mahoney). There was a bit of Adam Hills comedy routine thrown in for good measure, talking about ‘wandering’ in a quest for Farmers Union Iced Coffee and a chocolate doughnut amongst all else.
The brief for this tour, according to Hills, was relatively simple. After their previous tour, the group realised that punters wanted three things: they wanted the show to go longer than half an hour, they wanted the show to come to them and they wanted to be part of it. So to accommodate, the show turned to some quick, sure-fire questions to find eligible audience members, primed to fight it out for the title of “Spicks & Specks champion of night”. People right up in the nosebleed section to those right down the front had their moment to answer the qualifying questions correctly, with fine moments of crowd interaction.
A lot of the gags were probably the same from night to night, but the show came together so well - just ask the Spicks & Specks stalker who has been to every show on tour so far. The live show followed a similar format to the TV show including well-known segments: Know Your Product, Substitute, Malvern Stars on 45s and The Final Countdown.
The real test of the night was a new segment where Adam, Myf and Alan needed to act out a song with some cryptic clues and band accompaniment. However, throw in some drama with the electricity being taken out three times in ten minutes, certainly challenging everyone from the presenters to the stage crew, all frantically working out how to keep the show going. Here the show had potential to lose momentum, however the segment, through spur of the moment randomness and top notch improvisation, really showed off the calibre of the talent involved, enabling the pace of the show to continue without missing a beat.
A lot of the gags were probably the same from night to night, but the show came together so well - just ask the Spicks & Specks stalker who has been to every show on tour so far. The live show followed a similar format to the TV show including well-known segments: Know Your Product, Substitute, Malvern Stars on 45s and The Final Countdown.
The real test of the night was a new segment where Adam, Myf and Alan needed to act out a song with some cryptic clues and band accompaniment. However, throw in some drama with the electricity being taken out three times in ten minutes, certainly challenging everyone from the presenters to the stage crew, all frantically working out how to keep the show going. Here the show had potential to lose momentum, however the segment, through spur of the moment randomness and top notch improvisation, really showed off the calibre of the talent involved, enabling the pace of the show to continue without missing a beat.
Amongst the highlights was the segment Substitute. Normally featuring one panel member from each team substituting words from a text for three well known songs, tonight it was played a little differently, with well known songs featuring highlights being sung and sourced from over the last seven years of episodes. Adelaide was also treated to comic Dave Callan, who coincidentally had a night off, but dropped by to lend a hand by riding the Malvern Star bike for Malvern Stars on 45s.
An hour or so whizzed by, and the conclusion was looming, but not before some light was shed on one burning question; why is Spicks and Specks coming to an end? Well, the answer was simple: ‘better to go out on top rather than turning shit’.
Adam, Myf and Alan had a moment to thank the crowd and reflect on the last seven years - even mentioning the issues with their iPhone application which was censored by Apple due to the word ‘Spick’ having racial vilification implication in Mexico.
The closing number would have brought a tear to a tear. Adam said they searched high and low for a suitable closing number, which as it turns out, was staring them right in the face – Spicks & Specks originally performed by The Bee Gees. Adam, Myf, Alan and the Specktors moved to the side of the stage to sing the song as a highlights reel was beamed on the white screen, featuring the many guests, the many highlights, the memories and the straight out silly. The night was brought neatly to a close and it was an awesome finale to celebrate this fine show. Alan had made the comment earlier though, that it isn’t the end because of the ABC’s high repeat policy (7pm every night on ABC2), the DVD and the board game will keep the memories alive for a lot longer yet, though it may not be quite the same.
An hour or so whizzed by, and the conclusion was looming, but not before some light was shed on one burning question; why is Spicks and Specks coming to an end? Well, the answer was simple: ‘better to go out on top rather than turning shit’.
Adam, Myf and Alan had a moment to thank the crowd and reflect on the last seven years - even mentioning the issues with their iPhone application which was censored by Apple due to the word ‘Spick’ having racial vilification implication in Mexico.
The closing number would have brought a tear to a tear. Adam said they searched high and low for a suitable closing number, which as it turns out, was staring them right in the face – Spicks & Specks originally performed by The Bee Gees. Adam, Myf, Alan and the Specktors moved to the side of the stage to sing the song as a highlights reel was beamed on the white screen, featuring the many guests, the many highlights, the memories and the straight out silly. The night was brought neatly to a close and it was an awesome finale to celebrate this fine show. Alan had made the comment earlier though, that it isn’t the end because of the ABC’s high repeat policy (7pm every night on ABC2), the DVD and the board game will keep the memories alive for a lot longer yet, though it may not be quite the same.