So, as you know, Perth is in the middle of yet another heatwave and the antidote is to see Michelle Pearson singing up a storm with her band in Mixtape Australia. The flame haired songstress and her six piece ensemble performed on Tuesday (opening) night at a venue in The Pleasure Garden, Northbridge. The multi-award winning cabaret performer shared the stage with 2 guitarists, a drummer, a back-up singer, a harmonica/guitar player/back-up singer and a keyboard player. Together they shook The Hat Trick down!

Michelle and her band took the audience on an extremely well performed auditory journey through moments in history spanning 6 decades. In the format of a "Mixtape" (ask someone old enough to explain LOL) the performers soulfully covered songs of Australian artists that made the charts. And those who made an indelible mark on the Australian consciousness. This included hits from Midnight Oil, INXS, ACDC, Tina Arena, Divinyls and more. But what about Hunters & Collectors? Interspersed between songs was some commentary on current affairs of the time and some lesser known facts regarding the artists.

When the crowd had warmed up a bit, we were encouraged to sing along. This turned out to be a lot of fun. However, I think it was a bit too much when we were encouraged to sing along to the well known song by The Angels, Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again? The audience participation lines are .......No way get f*****, f*** off! Momentarily I thought I was at The Leopold Hotel or The Rockingham Hotel of old. FRINGE WORLD performances are known to be a little alternative but this left a bogan taste in my otherwise satiated mouth.

This is a fabulous show for lovers of Aussie Rock, of all ages. But the ones who seemed to enjoy it the most were the over 50s. That is, most of the folks dancing in the aisles at the end were of a certain generation.