Review: ABANDOMAN - E4 Udderbelly Festival Southbank London
E4 Udderbelly FestivalFri 27th May
9pm
Abandoman are quite possibly undisputed kings of improv hip-hop comedy.
At tonight's Pick 'n' Mix Tape show, they showed signs of their brains working quickly to make up songs on the spot about people in the audience.
Starting the show with the now infamous "What's In Your Pocket", Rob Broderick asks you to hold up in the air the most unusual thing from your pockets/handbags etc, and without further a do, a new song is born with James Hancox on the guitar and vocals.
Items ranging from toilet roll to bras, nothing is difficult for these two songsters.
In the Udderbelly tent, it was a full house, and for the bigger space, Abandoman had a few tricks up their sleeve, with the addition of a band. This was good to hear, adding more depth to the songs which told the life story of two audience members (who would have thought there was a job to organise social mingles in the city - next one being at St Pauls tonight)
Add a few scantily clad dancers to help proceedings, and extra vocals at the end from the stunning Jenny Bede, then a good night is had by all.
An hour long set is just the right amount of time for this kind of act, of which Rob and James have got down to a fine art.
If you fancy a good laugh and want to hear very clever songs made up on the spot, then this is for you.
If you don't want to hear this, then shame on you... go check them out!
www.facebook.com/abandoman
