Words and photos by Crispin Anderlini
After two hours of droning soundscapes, created by overly serious young men with synthesizers and quietly sobbing guitars, I was not sure what to expect of Rain, Sweat and Sea. Thankfully, they were anything but serious and their line-up included no aridly painful soundscaping, just clever rhyming, an accordion and a catchy sound.
A bizarre variety show with a chuckling attitude, members ‘Nina Nine Tails’, ‘Killah Rez’, and Yair ‘Cousin Moses’ served up an assortment of treats that included costume changes, muttered jokes, joyful, flailing dances, a brief book reading, a slackly drunken argument, some intriguing and catchy rhyming, a shirt right off the back of Robert Mugabe and some rhythmic wizardry. This mixed bag approach to entertainment had the crowd oddly enflamed as they worked themselves into spasmodic gyrations and impromptu arm waving, while the band kept their tongues gracefully in their cheeks.
In just their second-ever outing, they seemed to have already gained a small following amongst an equally mixed bag of fans and have quickly developed a casual and confident style of performance that perhaps comes more from a lack of seriousness than experience. In any case, songs like ‘Lobosexual’ and ‘Shakespeare Was a Black Man’ found familiar ears in the warm, beery bar and an encore was asked for and delivered.
If you want to come in from the cold and laugh along with a pair of rhyming, clowning musicians with better dance skills than the fellas from Flight of the Conchords than look out for their next gig at an intimate venue near you.