1998 Scarborough Renaissance Festival

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THE 1998 SCARBOROUGH RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL
by Frank Hui

And going from the sublime to the ridiculous, we have the Corsairs (Photo, above). This season, these singing pirates have expanded into a full-fledged comedy act. They incongruously meld their already-excellent vocal arrangements with an ever-changing series of comedy bits that are so nutty and freewheeling that at times you can't tell what's planned and what's spontaneous. This picture is not even the most extreme example of their antics (Photo, above left). Their humor can get quite bizarre and over the top, but they are very talented and probably my favorite act this season!

Another wild act is Spoonfed Tribe (Photo, above). Technically they are a band with Middle Eastern undertones made up of a group of vigorous musicians who perform with an infectious spirit. It is a little difficult to describe them as the main body of their act has a very free-associative feel to it. Everything, however, is done with gusto and passion. It ends with one of their members breathing fire (Photo, below left). On this occasion he burned a hole in the top of the netting--a little too much gusto mixed with kerosene! What made a greater impression was what they did when not on stage. They play the site--literally! Usually twice a day with sticks in hand, they would "play" the walls, sides, floors, pillars, even the cabs all over Scarborough. Wherever there is a solid surface they do a traveling percussion jam not unlike the performance group Stomp.

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This page created 30 June 1998

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