Written by Skye Slatcher
SOFAR FRINGE:
A juggling-dance duo, a pair of improv comedians, and an all-female brass band. Those were just some of the performances on offer as Shoreditch was taken over by Sofar on Saturday 11th of October, for a ‘new multi-venue, indoor urban festival’. SOFAR FRINGE aims to ‘reimagine what a festival can be’ so, of course, I had to go and see what that really meant.
Sofar ensures spaces for creativity and performance at a grassroots level. Major artists like Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Yebba, Hozier, and Lola Young all did Sofar shows early in their careers. In the last four years, Sofar alumni have had 21 wins at the Grammys. I’m excited to see where any of the performers I saw end up – perhaps with a Grammy in hand.
A London street artist, who also attended, rated his day a 9/10 – high praise.
Instead of some waffley reflection on my day, I thought I might just share my thoughts as they came to me:
2-2:30 – DrLeoSoul at 83 Rivington Street
Fun. Trumpeter had great moves. Good vibes to start the day. Having watched a lot of improvised jazz recently, I feel like I noticed the difference in the fact that these were prepared and rehearsed songs – not necessarily a bad thing, but an observation.
3-3:15 – Chani Bell (dance) at Shoreditch Town Hall
Not my fave. Dance medley. Not necessarily bad, just not my thing. Very smiley group though, so that was cute.
3:30-4 – Blanid at Shoreditch Town hall
Loved it. Immediately added ‘Dead Man Dancing’ to my playlist. Had not planned on seeing her – so glad I did. Sun shining through the window directly onto her – heavenly spotlight while singing ‘Deliver Me’.
4-4:15 – Myles MacDonald and Alex Morton at Shoreditch Town Hall
Easily most memorable performance of the day. Never seen two men dancing/juggling. Very homoerotic.
4:40-4:55 – Vinny Shiu at Gigi’s Hoxton
Note on all comedy performances: the venue was less than ideal for comedy, bad set up and too small – queued for like 30 mins to get in. Didn’t catch the whole set, but what I did catch was not my type of comedy. Penis jokes galore.
5:15-5:35 – Max Mckenzie at Gigi’s Hoxton
Those who read my interview with James Frost will recognise the name (star of Buzz’s and Wingstop’s recent ads). Some jokes didn’t land but overall pretty good.
5:45-6:10 – Patrick and Wragg at Gigi’s Hoxton
Improv comedy duo. Not for me. Again, the setting for this sucked – maybe I would have enjoyed it more elsewhere. All their scenes seemed to descend into sex and strangeness.
7:30-8 – Alina HipHarp at Bread and Butter Lounge
I liked this. Performed some pieces on an electronic harp. Nice setting too. This place had a signed photo of David Beckham in the bathroom – no bearing on the performance, but worth mentioning.
9:30-10 – Connie Eliza at D’Stassi Art
Connie was so great. I really enjoyed this. No drummer, and having one might have been nice. But I really like her sound, and D’Stassi was a fab venue for this.
10:30-11 – She’s Got Brass at 83 Rivington Street
Such a fun way to end the night. Great performance. Would love to see a longer set of She’s Got Brass. And any woman brass musicians should join them. They seem so fun.
Also:
- De Nadas does yummy empanadas
- Blessing to have clean toilets available everywhere
Life with a press pass is so fun.
