26 | July 4, 2013 | cambridge-news.co.uk | Cambridge News

The critical list: more hot tickets

Comedy

Music

Beck

TheScript

DANNY O’Donoghue, or‘Danny I Dunno Who’according to James Cordon, hassinglehandedly made The Scriptmainstream.

While The Voice organisersprobably should have let thepretty darn wonderful WillYoung on the judging panelinstead of the practicallyunknown Irish frontman (whotreats his red swivel chair like athrone, but at least he’s not asirritating as Jessie J), it seems tohave worked out okay.

With his fellow bandmembers Mark Sheehan(backing vocals and guitar) andGlen Power (drums), The Scriptare Dublin boys, born and bred,churning out alt-rock with achart twist.

Last year’s Hall of Fame,

featuring the effortlessly cool,geometrically-printed Will.I.Am,is arguably their greatest hit todate – it’s got a key change thatwill make your skin tingle withpop-goodness after all – but youmight be surprised to know thatall three of their albums haveactually been a success. I know,right, we hadn’t even heardof them until spiky-hairedDonoghue started leapingabout on the Beeb.

Their self-titled debut albumThe Script, Science and Faithand #3 all hit the No 1 spot inIreland – of course – and eitherNo 1 or No 2 in the UK charts.Crazy, huh? And they’ve brokenAmerica, and now they’ve goneand sold out at Thetford Forest.Let’s see if they can live up tothe BBC frothed hype.

� ‘Home’ – the cathedral gig, ElyCathedral, Saturday, July 6 at 7.30pm.Tickets £15 - £20 from (01353) 660349/ https://tickets.elycathedral.org

VOICES galore, an eclecticband and all in a cathedral –you can’t get much more epic

than that, can you? That’s what TheDowsing Sound Collective thought.

The singing group launchedin 2010 after founder AndreaCockerton started a Facebookgroup to see if anyone would beinterested in joining an edgier kindof choral group. “The responsewas much, much more than Iexpected,” she admits. Three yearsdown the line, the 110-strongtroupe of singers and musicians ispreparing for its biggest gig to date,at Ely Cathedral.

“What I’ve tried to do is bringtogether both experienced and firsttime singers, and sing music thatranges from the simple to the reallydifficult, and ranges from currenthits back to more conventionalchoral stuff,” says Andrea, whichmeans you can expect to hearversions of everything from theRolling Stones and Muse, to Mobyand Stevie Wonder.

Andrea, who now sees Dowsingas a full-time job, was a choralscholar at Cambridge University.“I never quite fitted in because Ialways liked loads of other stuff:folk music, a bit of indie, clubbythings, or world music – I just likedit all. It took me a long time to finda place where I could bring all ofthat together, and Dowsing seemsto be it.”

Headphones at the ready, sheresearches the music, comes upwith the arrangements, “and thenwe just rehearse like crazy!”

For the Ely Cathedral gig theyhave been practicing for sixmonths, adding to their usual bandensemble with the cathedral’sorgan, a trumpet, violin, iPad,

� The Script, Forest Live, High Lodge, Thetford Forest,Thursday, July 11, arena opens 6pm, SOLD OUT.

“BECK has always been oneof music’s great pioneers,from his early days ofslacker-anthem Loser andusing leaf-blowers on stage,to the stark numbnessof Sea Change and thelascivious brass of MidniteVultures,” said The Guardianlast November – and, you’llbe glad to hear, the pioneeris back.So far this year the42-year-old Scientologist(try not to hold it againsthim), might have onlyreleased standalone singleDefriended (a sweepingelectro jumble with hintsJames Blake probablywishes he could call hisown), but now the Americanis promising two newalbums, one acoustic – his12th no less – and a follow-up to 2008’s Modern Guilt.It’s a been a long timecoming, what with only SongReader, a sheaf of sheetmusic which came with alot of pretty artwork butno recording to back it up,being offered up in 2012.He is, however, performinga full bodied version of itfor the first time, todayactually, at the Barbicanin London. And he’sdoing it with a ratherepic “house band”featuring Jarvis Cocker,Charlotte Gainsbourg,

Michael Kiwanuka, plusmembersof Franz Ferdinand,Villagers andGuillemot.Best known for hisbreakthrough singleLoser in 1994, andgame-changingalbums Odelay andSea Change – bothof which made it onto Rolling Stone’s500 Greatest Albumsof all Time list – thefloppy haired alt-indiestar is playing twospecial acoustic gigs thissummer, and CambridgeCorn Exchange gets toclaim one of them.There are still ticketsavailable (somehow! Whathave you been doing withyourselves?), and, withvisits to the UK being a bitof a rarity for the singer-songwriter, who tends tosqueeze a mash of hip hop,Latin, folk and funk into hiswork, you might want to gograb one.

� Beck, Cambridge CornExchange, Saturday, July 6 at7.30pm. Tickets £32.50 from

(01223) 357 851 /www.cornex.co.uk

IF you’d rather have a good old laugh instead of adrunken rave in a field, the Cambridge ComedyFestival should appeal.

A ‘festival of previews’, it’s an opportunity forjobbing comedians to practice material and gaugepublic reaction (ie how many bellies wobble/howmany items get thrown in their direction), beforehauling themselves, and the remaining tatters oftheir stand-up shows, to the Edinburgh Fringe.

Basically, it’s a pre-Edinburgh warm up, whichmeans you get to see potentially award-winningshows before anyone else.

Taking place across three venues – includingCambridge Junction and Bar Nusha – this year therather wonderful, shambolic, scruffy-haired, BlackBooks legend Dylan Moran, left, is headliningthe Comedy Gala Show at the Cambridge CornExchange. Oh yes. The Irish comic, armed withhis rambling style and cigarette ravaged voice,will be tackling the nightmares of growing old andfussing over religion, kids and relationships.

Canadian comic Glenn Wool and Jo Caulfield,

the sharp and pleasantly bitchy Have I Got NewsFor You regular, are set to warm up the crowd, butwe’re rather keen to see a few other big names . . .

The ever-eccentric Tony Law promisesillogical, loud and chock-a-block comedy riddledwith ridiculous off the wall stories about himinhabiting the lives, and telling the stories of, arange of madcap characters. Cambridge localDavid Trent is bound to turn up with a computer,a projector and a booming voice (he might be ateacher but his material is anything but PC), andAndrew Maxwell, the 8 Out of 10 Cats funny guytipped for comedy greatness.

Plus Funny Punts (Cambridge based comedyby boat), The Amazing Bubbleman (an amazingman who does tricks with bubbles, as you do),and Rory McGrath and Philip Pope: Bridge OverTroubled Lager (they’ll drink, sing and be filthy).

For the full line-up visit www.cambridgecomedyfestival.com and catch ourinterviews with David Trent and Dylan Moran innext week’s What’s On.

Cambridge� Cambridge Comedy Festival,Cambridge Junction, Bar Nushaand Cambridge Corn Exchange,Tuesday, July 16 – Sunday, July

21. Tickets £8.50 - £20 from(01223) 511 511 / www.junction.

co.uk and (01223) 357 851 /www.cornex.co.uk

Cambridge News | cambridge-news.co.uk | July 4, 2013 | 27

CHECK OUT OUR ONLINE EVENTS CALENDAR – AND ADD YOUR OWN EVENTS – AT CAMBRIDGE-NEWS.CO.UK/WHATSON

flugelhorn and Middle Easternand African drums. Plus, a veryspecial guest – opera singer KateWoolf who will sing a solo fromCarmina Burana. “She’s alsobelting out some top Cs at theend of our final track, which isYou Can’t Always Get What YouWant by the Rolling Stones,”Andrea adds excitedly.

“It’s not a stiff, formal concert;it’s more of a gig,” she explains.“The whole thing is quiteunexpected. Our first gig wascalled Unpredictable and I thinkthat about sums it up. It’s a sort of

real ‘oh, I wasn’t expecting this!’and I think that’s part of the joy ofit, and why people just love beingpart of it.”

With more than 25 people onthe waiting list, Dowsing nurturesall types of amateur singers,whether they’ve performed inpublic before and can read music,or not. Andrea says: “I pushpeople, they’re singing to a reallyhigh standard when they’ve neverdone it before many of them. Andthe result is really quite inspiring.”

The Ely gig, which is beingbacked by Bobby Aitkin (who

did all the sound design for theOlympic opening and closingceremonies) and Autograph (whoprovide kit for West End shows),is also a chance for the Collectiveto launch The Dosoco Foundation– a social enterprise-cum-charitythey will use to support musictherapy, access and educationin the local area, with the aim ofusing sound and music for socialgood.

They have big dreams offeeding back into the community,supporting other singing groupsand maybe even rolling the model

out across East Anglia.“We’re having heaps of fun

making music,” buzzes Andrea.“We want that fun to createmoney that creates support forthese things.” So why shouldpeople come along? “For anunexpected night of brilliantmusic, in a brilliant venue andbecause they’ll never have heardanything like it before.” We’resold.

To find out more about TheDousing Sound Collective visithttp://thedowsingsoundcollective.com/.

DowsingSound Collective

Comedy Festival

Round-up

� AS part of the Cambridge DisabilitySports and Arts Festival, a groupof talented disabled young peopleare showcasing what they can do atCambridge Junction. The Total Artsgroup, made up of 11 to 18-year-olds, are hosting WINK, a mix of filmand theatre pieces, using dance andproduction techniques. Tazlie TheatreCompany, a group of Year 12 BTECPerforming Arts students studying atParkside Federation and CambridgeJunction, has also collaborated withTotal Art with help from Trestle Theatre.Catch it all at Cambridge Junction onSaturday at 2pm – it’s free but book inadvance on (01223) 511511.

� WYSING Arts Centre is holding an OpenWeekend packed with outdoorsy and artyactivities. See felt sculptures brought tolife through animation, be nosy and take alook into artists’ studios, stop by for a talkon some secretive local history, exploreWysing’s grounds (there’s woodland,meadows, sculptures and a BeehiveSkyscraper to spot) and get crafty duringa workshop. It’s on from noon until 6pmon Saturday and Sunday. Call (01954)718881 for more details.

� IT’S the 25th anniversary ofStagecoach Theatre Arts Cambridgeand to celebrate they are having a bitof a gala at Cambridge Corn Exchange.More than 300 talented youngsters,aged 6-18 years, from Cambridgeschools will pile into the venue fora night of music, dance and drama.Expect a whole lot of talent and acrowd filled with proud mums anddads. Tickets cost £12.50-£15 from(01223) 357851 and the evening kicksoff at 5.30pm.

� TWO nights, 10 plays, one winner –it’s the final of the Cambridge TheatreChallenge at the Cambridge Junction thisweekend. You can catch a selection ofbrand new plays that were submitted toSky Blue Theatre Company’s InternationalPlaywriting Competition, and vote foryour favourite (oh the power). On theSunday there will also be talks from NickWarburton on writing for stage, televisionand radio, and Paul Smith on gettingpublished. Tickets cost £10 from (01223)511511 and it starts at 7.30pm.

� BRAVE acoustic musicians are beingasked to get stuck into The AcousticNight – a monthly open mic night at TheKings Arms in Ely. Held on the secondTuesday of every month, the night isopen to bands, soloists and those whojust want to listen in, rather than get upand play. The next event is on Tuesdayfrom 8-11pm. Call (01353) 656828 formore details.