What’s happening?
The Spooky Men’s Chorale will bring its anniversary tour to Toowoomba on Sunday, 31 May.
The group will perform at the Empire Theatre at 2 pm.
The show is part of the Queensland leg of 25 Years of Pointless Grandeur.
That run starts on Wednesday, 27 May.
It follows a warm-up concert in Melbourne on Sunday, 3 May.
Queensland dates also include Brisbane, Macleay Island, Ipswich, the Gold Coast, Maleny and Noosa.
The choir then heads to Sydney for an Enmore Theatre show on Thursday, 11 June.
After that, it leaves for a 28-gig UK tour.
Why it matters?
This brings a milestone live show to one of Toowoomba’s best-known venues.
It also gives local audiences a regional stop on a wider anniversary run.
The group was founded by Stephen Taberner.
It first stepped onto a stage on 4 August 2001 at Eastside Paddington Church.
Since then, the act has built a loyal following through harmony, theatre and humour.
The great Georgian choirs of the Caucasian mountains inspired its style.
The show also plays with ideas of masculinity in a way that is both comic and thoughtful.
The Guardian captured that balance well: “It takes a rare skill to be very silly, thoughtful, and sing in perfect harmony, but the Spooky Men’s Chorale manage to achieve just that.”
Local Impact
For Toowoomba, the Empire Theatre date adds a distinctive touring act to the local calendar.
It gives Darling Downs audiences a chance to see the anniversary production close to home.
It also places Toowoomba in the middle of a Queensland run by a long-running Australian act.
By the numbers
- Nearly 1000 gigs have been played since the group first formed, showing the scale of its live following.
- Eight albums have been released, while 14 tours of the UK and Europe have helped build its international audience.
- A 28-gig UK tour comes after the Australian dates, showing the group’s reach beyond this Queensland run.
Zoom In
The Toowoomba show is part celebration and part look back.
The anniversary performance is described as: “a birthday party, a retrospective, and a showcase of everything they have become.”
Audiences can expect older material and newer work in the same set.
The tour material promises “a number of chunky gems from the past, but also the very best pickings from their current spooky tool bag.”
Taberner said the show would also draw the crowd into the performance.
“This show will also offer the chance to join a massed audience choir, The Axis of Spook for a ridiculous musical sensurround experience.”
“There will be special spooky guests, a musical favourites lottery and a massed spooky man finale!”
The tour pitch leaves little doubt about the tone.
“Gird your loins: this is the one spooky show in the history of spooky shows that you should not miss….”
Zoom Out
The Spooky Men are not easy to sum up.
The act has been described as both a celebration and a mockery of masculinity.
Its style blends humour with what the tour notes call: “a unique cocktail of mighty boofiness, charming stupidity, and exquisite tenderness that may well bring a tear to your eye.”
That mix has helped shape strong audience loyalty over time.
It also explains why a group that began as “a genial scrum of bearded fellows”
is still touring widely after more than two decades.
The tour notes say they have spent those years singlehandedly redefining men’s singing.
What To Look For Next?
The Empire Theatre show will give Toowoomba audiences the full anniversary format on Sunday 31 May.
That includes the Axis of Spook, special guests, the favourites lottery and the massed finale.
It will also bring together older songs and current material in one milestone performance.
Bookings are available at www.spookymen.com.
