ED2015 4/5 Reviews ED2015 Music Reviews

Drum Tribe (Drum Tribe)

By Jon Stapley | Published on Wednesday 19 August 2015

“Welcome to Drum Tribe, here’s your bongo.” Now that’s a good way to start a day. My hands still hurt and my ears are ringing, but it was worth it for this raucous hour of percussion and dance, courtesy of four preposterously talented South Africans. The consummate polyrhythmic skill on display is a joy, and the engaging quartet do a grand job of rousing the audience to participate. The only minor problem is that it could use some variety – an hour of call-and-response is a lot to take, and I’d have loved more like the astounding tuned percussion solo we see early on. One last thing: if you can drum, know that above-average competence may have consequences. That’s all I’ll say.

Gilded Balloon, until 31 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Jon Stapley]