The Museum of Contemporary Art's monthly ARTBAR event has now been running for around a year and half, so it's a great pleasure to see it remaining so fresh – and popular – as it solidifies itself as a regular addition to Sydney's nightlife. Drum Roll Please, curated by Lauren Brincat, took a decidedly musical approach to the evening, with roaming piano accordionists, drummers and clarinettists providing the melodic framing for the museum's interior. The main event of the evening was Johanna Billing's You Don't Love Me Yet project, wherein some ten different groups and artists covered 13th Floor Elevators' Roky Erikson's tune of the same name. From beatbox-driven trip hop to a cappella to cinematic Italian rock – there was certainly no lack of variation in the renditions. And while all the artists did 'good' to 'damn excellent' versions of the song, the project was repetitive by its very nature and did feel overly long because of this.
Elsewhere, various experimental rock groups and oddly pop-driven DJ sets held the forts on the ground and roof levels, leaving punters with enough choice to easily while away the evening. As long as you don't mind the art-to-bar ratio being more focused on the latter, the MCA's monthly night still holds much to be enjoyed and admired and remains a great way to spend a night every few weeks.
