Innovative jazz saxophonist and friend Phil Bancroft created a multi-media project called 'Home, Small As The World'. The first gig was in Edinburgh on August 3. Review below.
The band were in pjs, the set was an empty sofa and armchairs which the audience who were seated on very uncomfortable benches looked at rather wistfully. The beginning and end of the evening were enlivened by amusing and personal video footage featuring Bancroft's wife Jude and his pets. An attempt to get an audience member to mix in domestic sounds such as a flushing loo over another track was funny too - but only for the first couple of minutes.
Not all of the musical numbers, some of which were quite challenging to listen to, had visual footage and one which attempted to use film to make political points about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was a touch heavy-handed. This audience member would have preferred to watch say, the Sound of Music without the soundtrack. Although an accomplished musician and composer, the set showed that working with film is a new area for Bancroft. But the last number, the ironically titled "It's too late now, we've trashed the earth, let's party" had them dancing in the aisles.
All in all, an engaging and fun evening. When's the next one?
http://www.smallastheworld.com/Concerts