Concert Review: Topp Twins and the APO at Civic Theatre

The Topp Twins. Photo / Supplied

A week ago, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra was exploring Holst's Planets in the Town Hall; on Thursday, the musicians were under the Civic's stars with Jools and Lynda Topp.

As comedians the Topp Twins drew belly-laughs galore from the audience.

Their best sketches of quirky, co-dependent twosomes sometimes came across as Harold Pinter strained through a regendered Kiwi Dad and Dave, with a dash of Nashville's Hee Haw on the side.

Camp Mother and Camp Leader introduced the evening, but Mavis and Norma of the Pakuranga Bowling Club were the stars.

Jools reeled off lists of Kiwi icons, rhyming Sunday roast with tanalised post.

Lynda ripped into some furious poi work which had the tiny balls on the end of string whirring into taonga puoro territory.

Hertie und Gertie, those staunch Swiss maidens of indeterminate vintage, analysed the true meaning of both mountain and valley yodels.

Their rather fetching song Yodelling Accordion Girl featured one of Penny Dodd's many skilful orchestral charts.

This being an encore of the women's 2010 sell-out debut with the APO, we were promised new material but, once again, Lynda scored with her high vaudeville schtick, seconding a hapless male from the front row to help her down from the stage.

The two Kens once again made a pact to be "The Three Kenors" with conductor Kenneth Young, responsible for the efficiently delivered light orchestral fare between the women's costume changes.

Morton Gould's arrangement of Camptown Races was a hoot but, as the evening progressed, Offenbach's Barcarolle and Rossini's La Gazza Ladra began to sound more toytown than Symphony Hall, thanks to extreme miking that even picked up the turning of pages.

On the song side, there were indestructible favourites such as Untouchable Girls and Honky Tonk Angel although World wilted somewhat when delivered in their familiar suppressed shout mode.

But even the hardest of hearts had to melt at the ballad Palomino Moon, with Young's gorgeous arrangement giving concertmaster Miranda Adams the chance to dish out tasty solos that Byron Berline would be proud to put his bow to.

Topp Twins and the APO
Where: Civic Theatre