QUEER SONGBOOK ORCHESTRA at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Thursday, March 26. Rating: NNN
Shaun Brodie and his Queer Songbook Orchestra have a genius idea: present a concert of new arrangements of songs designed to mine personal stories and the queer histories of well-known pop tunes.
At the Church of the Holy Trinity, the superb pop ensemble played back-up to consistently fine singers, including Alex Samaras, Sienna Dahlen and Ghislain Aucoin. But the highlight of the night was an exquisite instrumental mashup of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth and Joe Meek’s Telstar. Adding to the impact were projected visuals made on the spot by a team headed by Sean Frey.
But the storytelling element was weak. An explanation of how the bridge in Melissa Ethridge’s Come To My Window took on new meaning when she came out was followed by a modernist version of the song in which the bridge was almost completely lost.
Lorraine Segato was an engaging narrator, but Sanjay Ratnan couldn’t string a sentence together. And Brodie’s information about the venue’s connection to queer history could have been better integrated into the evening. Actually, the band leader might think about ceding the hosting duties to someone more comfortable onstage.
But the concert itself, even though it stuck mostly to ballads, was sensational. Don’t miss the next instalment, a tribute to Duke Ellington collaborator Billy Strayhorn, on June 21.
susanc@nowtoronto.com | @susangcole
