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Abandoman
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Review by Fou Scarf
It’s hopping. Hip Hopping. Giant speakers facing every which way, we are bouncing with the beats, in our seats and thrilled, before it even begins. The air is dancing. Music is the vehicle and we are about to step aboard. Abandoman is Rob Broderick, found at music festivals, comedy festivals and now - a theatre festival. He sets the scene - we are in 2050, in post- apocalyptic Croydon. The Spotify Building has burnt to the ground. Artificial Intelligence cannot recreate our memories. The venue is fitting. The Front Room is a recently recycled unit in St. George’s Mall and resembles a mini night club. Abandoman has us cheering from the word go. We have nothing left but our hearts and minds. An egalitarian pact between audience and artist. Willing Croydonites offer up their tiny tales of Pain/ Love / Loss and Miscellaneous and Rob takes off.
Most captivating performer I have ever witnessed. Held every single audience member by an invisible thread while he lashed his way through instantaneous improvisation, singing with gusto, upbeats, downbeats, backbeats, chorus, tempo, rhyme. We held our breath while he reached dizzying heights of wordplay, jokes, emotion, all in verse, with joyous liberty and full commitment. Nothing held back. When This band of MAN lets rip, his tidal wave of charged particles carries us along. No gravity holds him down. He wove our tiniest disagreements into walls of sound. High octane, peak energy from the word go - we were all swinging from the rafters like a wildly free crowd in a stadium, gelling as one. Rob is all heart. I am not going to use superlatives in case they go to his head. Go see fo yoself, he’s some thin else,
I love you man. Heart ThROB.
Discography
Review by Enaea Katherine Durda
This evening was the first time I’ve heard anything positive about technology! Think pantomime (as he briefly joked) with 16+ humour and endless participation from the audience and technology coming alive.
Technology is the opening act; you’re immersed in a story about the future of robots and the significance of music, something we may take for granted and might not think robots actually care about, but according to Rob Broderick, they do.
Rob’s selected song themes included (but were not limited to) love, loss, broken rules and lies, all based on stories members of the audience have chosen to share. Aside from sharing stories, we could sing along to the improvised pieces, the instrumentals provided are catchy and varied each time.
Also, no matter how heavy the story may be, Rob will quickly make you see the funny side and you then have a comical song about you.
The highlight was his incredible ability to improvise lyrics and incorporate jokes.
It’s difficult to find flaws as the show was enjoyable throughout, but if there had to be it would only be Rob’s occasional and humorous forgetfulness of some names.
In conclusion, love or hate technology, you must take the opportunity to see Rob live.
Review by Fou Scarf
It’s hopping. Hip Hopping. Giant speakers facing every which way, we are bouncing with the beats, in our seats and thrilled, before it even begins. The air is dancing. Music is the vehicle and we are about to step aboard. Abandoman is Rob Broderick, found at music festivals, comedy festivals and now - a theatre festival. He sets the scene - we are in 2050, in post- apocalyptic Croydon. The Spotify Building has burnt to the ground. Artificial Intelligence cannot recreate our memories. The venue is fitting. The Front Room is a recently recycled unit in St. George’s Mall and resembles a mini night club. Abandoman has us cheering from the word go. We have nothing left but our hearts and minds. An egalitarian pact between audience and artist. Willing Croydonites offer up their tiny tales of Pain/ Love / Loss and Miscellaneous and Rob takes off.
Most captivating performer I have ever witnessed. Held every single audience member by an invisible thread while he lashed his way through instantaneous improvisation, singing with gusto, upbeats, downbeats, backbeats, chorus, tempo, rhyme. We held our breath while he reached dizzying heights of wordplay, jokes, emotion, all in verse, with joyous liberty and full commitment. Nothing held back. When This band of MAN lets rip, his tidal wave of charged particles carries us along. No gravity holds him down. He wove our tiniest disagreements into walls of sound. High octane, peak energy from the word go - we were all swinging from the rafters like a wildly free crowd in a stadium, gelling as one. Rob is all heart. I am not going to use superlatives in case they go to his head. Go see fo yoself, he’s some thin else,
I love you man. Heart ThROB.
Discography
Review by Enaea Katherine Durda
This evening was the first time I’ve heard anything positive about technology! Think pantomime (as he briefly joked) with 16+ humour and endless participation from the audience and technology coming alive.
Technology is the opening act; you’re immersed in a story about the future of robots and the significance of music, something we may take for granted and might not think robots actually care about, but according to Rob Broderick, they do.
Rob’s selected song themes included (but were not limited to) love, loss, broken rules and lies, all based on stories members of the audience have chosen to share. Aside from sharing stories, we could sing along to the improvised pieces, the instrumentals provided are catchy and varied each time.
Also, no matter how heavy the story may be, Rob will quickly make you see the funny side and you then have a comical song about you.
The highlight was his incredible ability to improvise lyrics and incorporate jokes.
It’s difficult to find flaws as the show was enjoyable throughout, but if there had to be it would only be Rob’s occasional and humorous forgetfulness of some names.
In conclusion, love or hate technology, you must take the opportunity to see Rob live.
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