I cannot praise this show highly enough. The Les Clöchards – despite the grammatically incorrect name – are a fabulously inventive musical act. Hailing from Germany, this is the band’s first time at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and judging from this show, it will definitely not be their last.
The Les Clöchards are a five piece ‘hobo rock band’. Comprised of a lead singer, guitarist, double bass player, drummer and keys/woodwind player, the five young men are all dressed as tramps at varying stages of disrepair. They have smudged faces and dirty clothes, and those lucky enough to wear shoes have the extremely threadbare variety. Furthermore, the show’s premise includes a backstory in which they have travelled from a small island near Corsica. Their heavily accented English speeches between songs are incredibly funny.
Each member is fantastic; there is not a weak link among them. They are all real characters with outrageously wacky stage personae and are always moving, whether this entails jumping, juddering, or spinning around on the floor playing a frenetic guitar solo. The saxophone-playing is incredible, the double bassist is superb, the drummer impeccable, the guitarist charming and the lead singer could be the love-child of Captain Jack Sparrow and Sergei the meerkat, with a little bit of Willy Wonka thrown in for good measure.
The show is full of familiar songs that have been tampered with. Nearly all musical styles are included and well-known pop classics including ‘Like a Virgin’ are hidden within surprising arrangements. A particular highlight was a French rendition of Disney’s ‘I Wanna Be Like You’, which features the most amazing soprano saxophone solo I have ever heard. The energy on display here is infectious and unparalleled.
This is a new brand of entertainment: a breath of fresh air in a market saturated by the overly polished, glossy productions of the MTV generation. It is mad. It is effortlessly cool. It is utterly spellbinding. It is a superior kind of chaos.
