Gareth Farr's Drumdrag Final night 12 March Downstage, for the Out Games cultural festival Lilith is back with a bang. After a nine year break Gareth Farr's alter ego Lilith LaCroix hit the Downstage stage running and drumming at full speed ahead for an all too brief two night season. She may be a little broader in the bosom and he may have become an Officer of the New Zealand Order Of Merrit but the energy, vivacity, percussion skills and audience rapport are still evident. From tender and poignant appeals ("Can anyone hear me calling?") to fantasies of revenge ands escape set in some steaming tropical hell hole, on further to brassy samba and wicked jazz, LaCroix delighted and dazzled. Literally, I lost count of the number of sequinned and sparkling costume changes. A major highlight was her reverse homage to Kurt Weill ("It Doesn't Matter if you Sing out lf Tune if you're German") in which the sassy chanteuse went head to head withWeill and beat the crap out of the poor sod. But underlying all the fun was that powerful, hypnotic drumming. LaCroix was accompanied by her old team of Murray and Jeremy, and the differing rhythmic styles and stage personae of these two added much to an impressive evening. Nine years is too long, it's time that Lilith, with her unique combination of melody, wit and magnificent drumming suffused with Latin American and Rarotongan beats, visited more often. Nine years on she is still in her prime and seriously good. Jay Bennie - 13th March 2011