Browse reviews

Adelaide Fringe 2011

Tom Tom Crew

Strut & Fret Production House

Genre: Circus

Venue:

Umbrella Revolution

The Garden of Unearthly Delights

Festival:


Low Down

If an all male crew of acrobats, percussionists, nifty musicians and beat box brilliance is your thing then these boys will surely deliver! The Tom Tom Crew show is a fast paced, high energy, action packed event exploring the intriguing world of sound fused with feats of strength and acrobatics.

 

Review

Tom Tom Crew is in total 8 men who blend physical agility and vocal genius with pumped percussion and crazy sounds on ‘the decks.’ As the group tumbles out and cause a riot on the stage, it is difficult to know where to look, as there is so much going on.

 

Highlights of the show include a very focused moment between two acrobats showcasing their balancing abilities and an excellent Michael Jackson beat box tribute. 

 

Despite squeezing the audience into a very hot tent, Tom Tom Crew did well to keep us all engaged. The lighting and sound design wasn’t there to overcompensate or steal the spotlight, yet simply complimented and emphasized the show.

 

Contributing to the genre of interdisciplinary art, Tom Tom Crew show us the street side of gymnastics and give positive reinforcement to young boys or men wanting to perform in a similar industry. Overall, Tom Tom Crew was a success thanks to its dedicated cast members.

 

Having seen them perform last year, it was disappointing that some elements of the show were repeated; many of the acrobatic tricks, sound sampling and the circle of drums were used in their previous show .

 

As an aside, there were a few noses turned by mothers around me when beat boxer ‘Tom’ mis-promoted graffiti and tagging as opposed to graffiti art, which is done in conjunction with the law. 

 

It would be good for Tom Tom Crew to expand their show and find new and more unique ways of blending hip hop, jazz, acro, beat box and more together. It would be interesting to see the group work taking the audience through a wider variety of music genres too – why not combine hip hop with cabaret, burlesque, pop or classical?

 

Published

Show Website

http://www.tomtomcrew.com/