An electrifying evening of cabaret
PinkNews.co.uk’s Marc Shoffman plugs himself in for some apple flavoured electric cabaret courtesy of Smirnoff.
Camden Town is known for its wackiness, nowhere else can vagrants, drug dealers, market traders and trendy bars and clubs exist in such harmony, so how could the people at Smirnoff fulfil their promise to create an “exclusive live event” in a place already known for its flamboyance?
How about flame throwers, a man climbing inside a balloon and a champion beat boxer?
The Smirnoff Electric Cabaret put the extra into extravagance, using the legendary Koko venue as its base, the night hit its audience with everything from apple vodka cocktails to downright zany performances.
This was no ordinary night out, even the VIPs had to queue to get in, but magicians and fire jugglers were a great touch and an inspired way of stopping us complaining about the cold.
Compered by Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac, the evening brought cabaret to a new level, Burlesque girls (I think they were girls) wandered around the former theatre with feathers in their hair, while a man mimed to Natalie Imbruglia’s Torn on stage.
Foz, a well known beat boxer, (I guess you will know him if you like beat boxing) aimed to get the whole audience involved by giving each area a note to beat or is it box? This little exercise really helped separate the new arrivals to the people who had already got onto the many vodka cocktails.
But the room united in awe as Bruce Airhead attempted to climb inside a balloon.
Now I will be honest at this one, I was expecting a standard size ball of air, anyone can climb into a six foot ball? But can everyone come out fully dressed as Elvis Presley?
The first half of the show neatly warmed up the crowd with a burlesque rendition of the can-can, break dancers and of course that balloon performance. But most of the crowd were there for one reason only, New York art-pop act Fischerspooner.
It was quite late by the time they came on, and the audience were likely to have had a few too many cocktails to be able to assess the boundary between legendary and lame, leaving the artists with a lot of scope.
However they wowed the crowd with a wonderful mix of stage effects, costumes and laser shows.
The evening took Covent Garden style street performances, mixed them with the edginess of Camden Town and came out kicking, shining, and shrieking with a unique feast for the eyes.
Performances are continuing throughout November, check out the
website for more details.
