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My husband Graeme and I went along to see The Horne Section on Friday night, part of the line-up for Perth Festival of The Arts which is running until 29th May. I’m a big fan of the festival already and this year’s line -up doesn’t disappoint- everything from award winning comedians and impressionists like Nina Conti to bands, lunchtime concerts and household names like Jools Holland and KT Tunstall. See here for the full line up>>>
We jumped at the chance to see The Horne Section having previously seen them do skits on panel shows like the genius ‘8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown’ and ‘Never Mind The Buzcocks’. The hardest part of this review is going to be trying to describe what they do in a nutshell!
Led by Alex Horne himself their live show brings together stand-up comedy and live music with hilarious results. Their ability to roll with the punches was immediately put to the test when Alex’s trousers broke during the opening number, resulting in him borrowing a belt from a gentleman in the front row and eventually completing most of the first half in his pants and suit jacket! To get a flavour of what they do you can take a peek at one of their video clips here>>
Much of their show hinges on audience participation and I must say, Perth didn’t disappoint. When 10 minutes in the audience were all taking part in a giant game of twister which saw my husband hoist his neighbour onto his shoulders we knew we were in for a bit of fun! Colin the electrician from Arbroath and the somewhat in-a-world-of-her-own Alexa provided much entertainment, as did the ‘Battleships’ style quiz between audience members Colin and Lynne.
The 5 piece band are all talented musicians, able to spontaneously burst into life on instruments such as the saxophone, banjo, drums, trumpet, keyboard and bass. Many of the musical mash ups were recognisable songs and/or lyrics which you could join in with but The Horne Section also have a repertoire of somewhat unconventional original songs such as ‘Chinese 5 Spice’ (yes, really) and ‘Seasons’.
The show moved effortlessly through the different segments and it’s clear the group who bounce off each other perfectly are well rehearsed (although I can only imagine how much fun rehearsing a slow motion blindfolded Macarena must be!).
The 2 hour long show of jokes, stories, music and anecdotes passed all too quickly. The finale saw the whole audience on their feet for an impromptu Zumba class which meant we quite literally left with a spring in our step. A great show and we’ll be looking out for them again in future.
SCBP22nd May 2016
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