It’s also a one-of-a-kind showcase in which local artists appear alongside Australia’s best-loved musicians and international guests, in front of a live audience and in living rooms across the country. Sandwiched between interesting facts and fables, host Julia Zemiro and co-creator and writer Brian Nankervis, pay homage to the music of yesterday and the extraordinary moments in music’s history. Recently, the team behind RocKwiz have been working on recreating one such moment in time and planning an event every music fan has been clamouring to see – The Last Waltz Revisited.
Today a cult classic, The Last Waltz was the name given to The Band’s farewell concert, originally held on November 25, 1976 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Filmed as a documentary by Martin Scorsese and released two years later, The Last Waltz has developed legendary status as a concert, an event and a movie.
With Nankervis at the helm, the re-introduction of Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece is in very capable hands. “When we started RocKwiz we learnt pretty early on that The Last Waltz was a touchstone for all of us,” Nankervis says. “In fact the chandelier that hangs on the RocKwiz set (that has been there since day one) was inspired by the chandeliers in The Last Waltz. We thought it would be a wonderful thing to do, to pay tribute to something that means so much to us. Unfortunately Julia was not able to do it with us, but we said ‘Alright let’s do it ourselves.’ It’s me, the RocKwiz OrKestra and the show’s producers – and it’s been such a joy.”
The Band was founded in Canada by Rick Danko (bass, vocals), Garth Hudson (keyboards), Richard Manuel (piano, vocals), and Robbie Robinson (guitar) – and one American, Levon Helm (drums, vocals). Despite break-ups, lineup changes, controversy, illness and death, the legacy of their music lives on. “I remember the last time I saw it in a cinema was at the Astor, probably around the year 2000, and I organised a big group of pals to go and see it. One of them was Paul Hestor,” Nankervis says. “I remember he entertained us at dinner with stories of touring with Danko [the bass guitarist]. Danko had toured with Crowded House and I think he and Paul got on pretty well.
“I remember we walked to the Astor and the first person I saw when I walked in was Peter Luscombe [RocKwiz OrKestra], and 16 years later we’ve spent the last 12 years working together on RocKwiz, and now we’re doing this little tribute to The Last Waltz.”
For decades people all over the world have relived the magic of that night in November 1976 when The Band were joined on stage by rock‘n’roll royalty and friends including Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Neil Young and Eric Clapton. And although these icons may not be in attendance, Nankervis and the RocKwiz crew have put together an ensemble of modern-day icons. “The show has grown – we’ve done it three times now. We did it with a variety of performers, but at Port Fairy we’re using a couple of people who we’ve worked with before such as Tim Rogers, Vika and Linda Bull and Marlon Williams.
“Marlon is a great talent and Tim’s become a dear friend, and he always brings something exciting,” he says. “He’s also a huge fan of The Band. I remember the first time we rehearsed Tim’s version of It Makes No Difference, it made me cry – it was incredible.”
In true RocKwiz style there will be surprises in store on the night. “We’re introducing a couple of new performers that I want to keep under wraps, in the great RocKwiz tradition of delighting our audience when someone new walks on stage,” Nankervis says. “There’s an international artist, who I’ve only worked with once, and then an Australian artist that I can safely call a legend, who I’ve never worked with, and both are going to be revealed on the night.”
By Natalie Rogers
