| 21 August 2009
Pleasance Beyond
17-30 August 21.40
The Tiger Lillies are back again at the Fringe, away from the famous Spiegeltent and into the Pleasance Beyond which takes some of the burlesque features away from the act (most noticeably Ophelia Bitz) and makes us concentrate solely on the twisted repertoire of front man Martyn Jacques.
For those of you unaware of the enigma that is The Tiger Lillies, they are a three-piece musical act that tends to cover subject areas of the dark, the surreal and the manic.
Jacques has adorned black, red and white make-up tonight; he comes across as a ghoulish clown figure. His face sits underneath a bowler hat, it seems to contort and distort in line with his disturbed lyrics. There’s no introduction when they come on stage, and no interaction when they’re on it, the distance between performance and audience is always apparent, this isn’t an act that comes to be with you or to paint a clear idea. They’ll give you ambiguity, perhaps distress; they’re out to shock you.
It’s in this vein that the Brechtian influence can be seen so easily. And it is, exhilarating. There’s not a dull moment; the combination of three peculiar musicians and the visual eccentricity creates a disassociation with the audience. This is what gets the real belly laughs, or more aptly shrieks of preposterous glee. It’s difficult to get on board with a chorus that repeatedly screeches ‘and I kicked the baby down the stairs’. For the feint hearted, it’s difficult to laugh. For the rest of us, it’s comic brilliance.
Irreverence is a constant characteristic. Songs like ‘Masterbating Jimmy’, ‘Piss on your Grave’ and ‘Banging in the Nails’ (a slightly different take on the death of Christ) are just some of the songs that demand your attention.
Backing up the main vocalist is Adrian Huge on drums and percussion and Adrian Stout on upright bass, musical saw and Theremin. The instrumentation in itself is gifted; Huge takes root on what resembles a child’s drum-kit, his demeanour exudes the same sentiment. He adds to the show in a variety of ways, whether it’s smashing the drum-kit in rock star fashion with a pair of inflatable hammers or playing along to ‘Kick a Baby Down the Stairs’ with a baby doll’s head used against the cymbals his comic timing is undoubted.
Martyn Jacques singing voice alternates between two distinct alter egos. The first is high-pitched, in a falsetto manner, and the other growls filth with menace. The former, although sung with an impressive range of vocal ability, sounds like an overbearing school matron - which intertwines disdainful observations with repentant remarks and an ability to mix all sorts of putrid contrition’s, often all in the same song.
The Tiger Lillies are a hugely impressive act that will never fail to enthral on some level, their professionalism both as stage performers and musicians leaves a lasting stain on the conscious. Whether you are impressed or offended is up to you.
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