Two Australians with a Versace leopard leotard and a black Hawaiian shirt walk into a bar.
At 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Bishop, Alex Cameron and Holiday Sidewinder, two singers hailing from Sydney, Australia, performed.
The first opening act was Jewish comic Emily Panic, who managed to tell jokes about sensitive subjects such as 9/11 and the Holocaust while winning over her audience. Her often sarcastic stand-up spanned topics from paranormal activity to her conspiracy theorist husband.
Sidewinder took the stage in sparkly tights, clear and heeled thigh-high boots, big gold hoops and fresh ‘80s pop beats. Sidewinder covered the Beach Boys’ classic hit “Kokomo” with a funky, techno remix.
“I’m on vacay now,” Sidewinder said as she got off the stage and led an energized conga line around the room.
Sidewinder sung anthems about moving on and not being phased by anything.
“I apologize for not having a band; it’s cost-effective,” Sidewinder said as she performed alone.
Carie Kelsheimer, 30, said she couldn’t believe how much talent Sidewinder had performing live.
“I was kind of really blown away that her live voice sounds just like her CD,” Kelsheimer said.
Cameron and his band took the stage with a mixture of rock ‘n’ roll influenced by jazz and pop. The 29-year-old musician sang a surprisingly upbeat song about divorce, as well as sweet, light, honest depictions of him and his lover.
“One of our first ever headliner shows in the United States was right here in this very room in 2015,” Cameron said.
There was a point when Roy Molloy, Cameron’s friend since the age of 5 and business partner, did a live stool review where he gave the Bishop’s furniture a 3.5 out of 5.
Cameron expressed himself through his vivid storytelling and fun banter.
“With an encore, you have to make the artist feel unsafe," Cameron said. "It’s pretty scary when you all chant together."
Ashley Chandler, 33, revealed she had a special connection to one of Cameron’s songs “Stranger’s Kiss” because she played it at the Ukelele World Congress Festival. She also enjoyed the energy of Cameron’s concert.
“It was really overwhelming for me because he’s so involved with the audience,” Chandler said.
