The Legendary Rum Jungle Performs At The Garden Of Unearthly Delights – Adelaide Fringe Review

The Garden Of Unearthly Delights' Aurora Spiegeltent, Sun Mar 15 A steady buzz of excitement since it was made known that popular ‘70s Adelaide band Rum Jungle would reform for a one-off gig at the Fringe has meant that a capacity crowd has arrived to witness this event. Not the usual polite seated gig at the Spiegeltent – the dance floor has been cleared so everyone can stand to watch the band, although many Rum Jungle fans are now of an age when chairs might have been appreciated… So, what is on offer for the faithful? The band may not have played together for several decades but they have continued to play separately so it was never going to be too difficult to pull together an hour set of favourites. With a stellar line-up boasting the likes of Phil Colson (guitar and vocals), James (RocKwiz) Black on guitar and keyboards, Bruce Sandell on sax, Ian McDonald and Rod Cornish alternating on bass, and drummer extraordinaire Mark Meyer sitting in on drums, Rum Jungle soon has a sea of smiling faces shaking their wrinkles to a steady stream of hot 12-bar rhythm & blues riffs that conjure memories of good times spent at the Lord Melbourne Hotel all those years ago. Given the lack of rehearsal time, the sound is impressive and the band is firing. Any false starts and rough edges are accepted as part of the fun. It’s great to have them back! The only disappointment is that this performance is limited to an hour, but Phil Colson invites the entire audience to venture across the road to The Stag Hotel afterwards for party pies and beer. The air may be thick with nostalgia, but this gig seems a fitting way to bring this year’s Fringe to a celebratory close. Adrian Miller Image courtesy of Eric Algra 1977