With the range of Frankie Valli and the smoothness of Sinatra, Angus Munro has a voice I could listen to for hours. Gorgeous intonation and nuance choices, he leads The Great Hipster Songbook in golden vocals and on sax with ease. The Jazz Bar had a lovely hour of hipster classics arranged to sound like knockout jazz standards, a kitschy delight.
The gameshow aspect that takes places throughout, while conceptually could be a great addition to this show, falls a bit flat as one audience member ranks songs performed on a large “Hipster” scale, from Coldplay at “least hipster” to Bon Iver at “most hipster.” Certainly a schtick like this would go well with The Great Hipster Songbook, but possibly some more arranging is needed here.
Indie hits like “Marry Me Archie” (a highlight of the night) and numbers by the likes of Sufjan Stevens and Beach House become the stuff of American, early 20th century swing, bossa nova, and soulful ballads. The entire “Hipstar Band” gets into the theme as well by donning hipster glasses, 70s lounge singer attire, and dark shades on the (oof, excellent) pianist.
If you’ve missed them this time round, you can catch The Great Hipster Songbook performing a Christmas show this holiday season. What a merry night that will be.
All shows finished this Fringe. Catch them during the holidays for a Christmas show!
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