This Is Not Art Boy reviews Cabaret Sauvignon at Brudenell Social Club…
Despite doing the voice-over of a promotional video for the popular Yorkshire Life Aquatic, I’d never actually seen them perform live at an event before. This cabaret, promoted by Cloth Cat, at the Brudenell Social Club last Friday gave me my first opportunity.
What I saw was a slick, well-executed pantomime of a very simple idea – dry land synchronised swimming. Four ladies dressed only in matching swimming costumes acted out various water activities to the backing of suitable, vintage music. By the time I saw them they’d honed down their routine to a tightly choreographed, amusing romp of pure joy. The crowd rightly went wild for them and they completely stole the show.
The proceedings were ‘handled’ by Cabaret Chris who looked and behaved like an out-take from Britain’s Got Talent. His first song worked well enough as a joke but then he did another and it became apparent his lack of singing talent was not a joke but a delusion on his behalf. It was going to be a mixed bag of a night.
And so it proved.
Helena and her belly dancers kicked off the show in some risqué style. At one point there were ten of them on the stage trying to find room to express themselves in interpretive dance. The end of their set involved a penetration of the audience and an invitation to partake in ‘modern dance’. As I was This Is Not Art Boy, I was studiously avoided by the dancers but my THIS IS NOT ART placard was appropriated by Helena who paraded it around the room like some trophy.
Pocketful O’Nowt were a three-piece band that sounded like AC/DC covering Bowie and Jerry Lee Lewis songs in a scatological style. I found them entertaining enough.
Harrison Richards (aka, Perceptionist) did a mind reading act that was both amusing and intriguing. As the crowd wasn’t drunk by this stage he got away with his leisurely pace.
The Incredible NIBLO was wacky.
Noel Curry is an aspiring comedian and he had the unenviable task of trying to tell amusing stories about ‘Roger’ to a crowd who were now wildly drunk and chatting animatedly with their mates on a Friday night. Credit to Noel though, he didn’t panic and stuck to his guns.
The headline act was Biscuithead and the Biscuit Badgers who are The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band in all but name. They play ukuleles and have brass instruments as well as a drummer and keyboard player (who didn’t dress up, I noticed). The songs are clever and technically, well performed. They had their loyal fans in the audience who, quite frankly, were so drunk, they would dance to a poet but, taking nothing away from the band, they knew how to control a crowd.
Overall, the event ran from 8.30 pm (advertised from 7 pm!) until well after midnight. The changeovers were chaotic and took far too long but for £4 (and the event was for charity) it would be churlish to complain about the lack of professionalism in the running of the show.