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Review: 'URBAN VOODOO MACHINE/ CHIVAREE CIRCUS'
'London, Clapham Grand, 30th December 2016'   


-  Genre: 'Blues'

Our Rating:
Rather than going to an over-priced New year's Eve event this year we went to the Last Tuesday Society's New Year's Eve's Eve masked Ball at the Clapham Grand: a venue that I haven't been to anything nearly enough over the past few years. It really is one of the finest venues in London with great sound and possesses the perfect grandeur to host a masked Ball.

Being a ball, I left my notebook and camera at home, so this review this is purely from memory. It's nice to go to one of the Last Tuesday Society's parties as I have mainly been to the lectures they run rather than the parties.

We arrived a bit early but that wasn't a problem as the music the DJ was playing was cool and soon after our MC for the night, Desmond O'Connor (no relation) took to the stage to announce the first part of the night - some dance lessons from the folks at Swing Patrol which encourages many of the masked guests on the dancefloor to learn the moves to help shake their stuff too. It was a lot of fun to watch or join in with and we also explored the upstairs Carrotwaska tea party although we didn't have a spirit vegetable reading they looked interesting.

We were back downstairs having fun long before Desmond O'Connor came back onstage to welcome The Urban Voodoo Machine to help get the party really going. As ever, they zombie walked onstage to the Theme from the Urban Voodoo Machine before Luci-Fire banged her gong and the current 9 piece line-up played the Theme for us and got the place going.

High Jeopardy Thing was a little on the slow side but still had lots of us dancing and singing along to it. Paul-Ronney Angel welcomed us all to the party and to remember those we had lost this last year. In its slipstream, they served up us a Fallen Brothers which was mournful and downbeat and seemingly perfect for 2016, a much unloved year.

While We were All Asleep was performed with loads of false endings and lots of fun and games from J Roni Moe and Jary on the drums before they were all laying on the track Waiting For A Train once more. That really got things going in time for a Help Me Jesus that went full-on gospel choir sing-along.

Crazy Maria seemed to be played faster than earlier in the year and without any of Paul-Ronney's normal introductions. However, it still sounded great with some honking sax from Luci fire. Pipe & Slippers Man went down a storm with both Slim and Joe Whitney stage front really working the crowd into a frenzy.

Naturally, they finished off with Goodbye To Another Year: the perfect song for this sort of event and for everyone to sing along to as they brought this reasonably short set to a close and wished us all a great 2017. I second that emotion as no- one wants another 2016!!

After some more dancing and carousing it was time for the Chivaree Circus to do all sorts of Contortion and gymnastic routines for us. These included some great hoop work and ballet style throws and movements. They were pretty cool and interesting and certainly very limber. They completed their routines and that then allowed them to wheel the DJ booth to centre stage and to continue the dancing and fun till the 3AM curfew.

This was a great very dressed up night out and a great way to send another year off into history. Here's to 2017 I hope you all have great ones, dear W&H readers.
  author: simonovitch

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