Freak
Show
Shadowbox
Cabaret
* * *
2Co’s Cabaret
The Short North
* * * * 1/2
by Rick Brown
And
as if this wasn’t enough ... the people sitting around me were the most obnoxious
bunch I’ve sat near since say ... the last Rolling Stones concert I attended.
They talked, yelled, got up and left continually for most of the first section
of the show. And even after they were spoken to by Shadowbox staff members they
managed only to percolate their smugness under the surface. Yet this circumstance
begs the question: How much responsibility does Shadowbox
bear for this rowdiness?
I’ve
been going to their shows for almost three years now and they are to rock and
roll what 2Co’s is to say ... folk rock. I can understand that. But since when
has it become acceptable for people to yell across their table while the band
is performing? I’m a guy who once told fellow concertgoers ... at the aforementioned
Stones show ... to “shut the fuck up” during a Keith Richards’ song. And for
the rest of the evening the two of them made it clear ...
constantly clear ... that after the show they were going to “kick my
ass”. Fat chance on that. There were nine of us and
two of them. But I was taken back to that night, here at what I mostly think
of as a theater. Sure the house band BillWho? is loud. But that shouldn’t be an invitation to scream above
the music. These musicians work hard at their craft ... not unlike a symphonic
musician would. Show them some respect ... because the songs are the highlight
of this year’s Freak Show. U2’s “Until the End of the World sung by
Steve Guyer, Christina Connor’s “Happy When it Rains:, and JT Walker’s
interpretation of Jethro Tull’s
“Cross Eyed Mary” ... no small feat in itself ... saved the day ... er
night. Especially good are Jennifer Hahn’s bluesy, haunting vocals on “Strange
Face of Love”. And when husband Matt came down from his riser to be with her
... matching her sultry singing with equally emotional guitar riffs I got chills.
Poignancy is something I didn’t expect in the midst of all that was going on
around me.
Amy
Lay’s Shannon’s Movie Reviews are the palate
cleansers here in the middle of some mundane ... albeit humorous ... comedy
sketches. Skewering The Exorcist and
Psycho with childlike innocence and honesty,
Ms. Lay charms, disarms, and seduces us into laughter ... all the while playing
a little girl. On this night ... in this particular show ... she was the comedic
coup des grace.
The
circus sideshow during Freak Show’s
closing number, Julie Klein’s wonderful “Karn Evil”
(Emerson,
There
are some slow moments. Pamela Callahan and Lydia Tew
do what they can with Julia Jordan’s Nightswim making it at the very least an entertaining opening
to Twisted Tales. Downtown DFN’s drummer Carlton Smith
does a wonderful job with Charles Bukowski’s “Trouble
in the Night.” But the trouble in the night here is the piece is way too brief
to effectively display Mr. Smith’s talents. And I think it would be great if
Chris Lynch got some better material to work with than Dave Barry’s “Halloween
Safety’s Fine ... ” Lynch is far too gifted for Barry’s Sunday newspaper column
humor.
Musically,
Twisted Tales is great. Tom Cardinal shines on Elton John’s “Rocket Man” as
does Noelle Grandison with “Trouble Child” by Joni
Mitchell. Pamela Callahan makes Randy Newman’s “Political Science” a campy delight.
Mary Randle belts out STP’s “Pretty Penny” and soars
on Dave Matthew’s “Drive In, Drive Out”. Ms. Randle’s ability to make you think she’s
holding you by the lapels of your shirt and spitting a song vehemently into
you face while you stand there in awe with a shit eating grin on your face ...
coupled with Downtown DFN’s perfect syncopation ...
could have been the musical highlight of the entire evening. Accept for the
fact that ... once again ... Joe Lorenzo stalks the stage tearing all our hearts
out en mass with Johnny Cash’s styling of NIN’s “Hurt”.
Hurts so good. As good as Mary Randall is ... always ... this show belongs
to Joseph Lorenzo ... with an excellent supporting cast.