A rather disappointing evening at St Georges - I really wanted to like Natacha Atlas, but the 'F' word came between me and the music far too often - I just cannot get my head around fusion any more. Her musicians were highly competent and she was in good voice, but the whole thing was strangely static both musically and visually - everyone but the bassist sat down, immobile. Middle-Eastern exoticism pervaded the evening but it all seemed skin-deep - the highlight of the gig was a very fine darbuka solo near the end when at last some spontaneity was evident, but sadly this did not last and we were back to peculiarly emotionless piano-playing by the musical director Harvey Brough and his less than dynamic band of musicians.
Band member Clara Sanabras opened the show with a solo spot which was pleasant enough. One of her songs actually mentioned town planning - a subject all too often neglected by world music artists.
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