Headed to the Forum Theatre last night to see Tom Tom Crew perform as part of the Melbourne Festival. The Forum is a gorgeous venue, my favourite in Melbourne
The foyer was full of ominous signs saying “This show is very loud!!!!!” (Why use one exclamation mark when many can really hammer your point home?) and there was a big box of ear plugs at the door of the theatre. I grabbed a set of ear plugs, suspecting my nana ways would have me squishing them in within minutes of the show starting.
After starting about 15 minutes late, the show opened with some amazing acrobatics. Well, they felt amazing, but as the show progressed, those opening moves were put to shame by even more amazing acrobatics. And when they got their see-saw thing going (see what I mean in this YouTube clip) well, their tricks were so risky (in a very cool way) as to have my stomach tied up in an anxious knot, concerned for their safety! For what it’s worth, I think at least part of that anxiety was born out of the fact that the see saw thing looked like it had been made in someone’s back yard out of odds and ends picked up at Bunnings. But no one fell to their death or cracked their head open. Score! There was a few dud landings but given the complexities of what they were doing, the crowd weren’t put off by that at all, they just cheered even more out of sympathy and appreciation.
As well as the acrobatics, there was a beat-boxer, a contortionist and a percussionist who all really thrilled the crowd. I’m about as far from a beat-boxing aficionado as you can be, but their guy Tom Thum, he had the crowd lapping up his every beat. The noises he could make were astounding, to the point where we had to be assured that there were no tricks, it was all legit, live beat-boxing. I loved the fact that he explained the equipment and what he was doing; it was a great touch for people like me, to whom this was all a bit new-age. He’s got a unique talent, but the nana in me couldn’t help but wonder (of he and the acrobats) ‘but what will they do when they get older and their bodies can’t do that anymore?... I hope they’ve got a trade to fall back on’.
The guy hosting the show, Ben, was also the group’s incredibly talented percussionist, at one stage with 8 drums on the go at once. He also brings out an omnichord, for which he obviously has a strong affection, and creates some very cool sounds which the crowd again went a bit nuts for. The cheers turned to gasps of delighted horror when a contortionist came on stage and did the kind of things with his body that a yogi could only dream of. I had to look away when his shoulder seemed to be dislocating before our eyes on account of my weak stomach but then I couldn’t bear to miss anything so quickly looked back.
The one part of the show that my mate AC and I agreed was a bit of a let-down was a graffiti sequence. Despite the fact that thematically it tied in with the rest of the show, it’s an art form that really can’t be done justice on stage in a theatre. As AC frankly said, “it felt a bit self-indulgent” and it went without the enthusiastic support of the crowd that the rest of the show enjoyed.
The show went for about an hour and a half so I’m still a bit mystified as to why so many people got up and left (presumably to go to the loo – they did return) during the show. Seriously, you can't hold on for 90 minutes?! It was an unwelcome distraction from the constant action on the stage.
The group is made up of blokes from across Australia
It was a fantastic show, loud and action-packed, but happily not so loud as to entice me to squish in those ear plugs! Go and see it if you get the chance.
Tom Tom Crew are performing until 23 October for the Melbourne Festival. Details & tickets here.