Jerry Dammers' Spatial AKA // NNF2012, Theatre Royal - 26.05.12
"We were treated to a sprawling spoken word intro featuring elements of poetry and lyrics by artists from Captain Beefheart to Gil Scott-Heron, accompanied by Sun Ra’s music." - James Smith enters the strange Spatial world.
For me one of the great things about the Norfolk & Norwich Festival is that it encourages people to go and see acts they wouldn’t normally consider. Sure there’s a wide range of entertainment on around the county every weekend, but at no other time of the year do you get such a high concentration of top quality artists, including people that might not have come at all if it weren’t for the effort the organisers put in to create what can truly be classed as an international showcase.
It was in this spirit of adventure that I approached tonight’s show and, having been treated to the excellent Afrocubism the previous weekend and the breathtaking Robert Glasper Experiment on the festival’s opening weekend, my expectations were high. Former Specials front man and keyboard player Jerry Dammers started this project as a tribute to afrofuturism pioneer Sun Ra and since its inception in 2006 the band have expanded their repertoire to include Dammers’ compositions with the Specials and covers of other loosely related acts.
Before a single note was played I was struck by the eccentric set, which featured a spaceship and astronauts hanging from the ceiling. The show began as a masked Dammers wandered over to his keyboard pod before the rest of the band processed down the side of the auditorium dressed in a variety of Ancient Egyptian and space themed costumes, playing as they walked. We were treated to a sprawling spoken word intro featuring elements of poetry and lyrics by artists from Captain Beefheart to Gil Scott-Heron, accompanied by Sun Ra’s music.
With 23 musicians and 4 vocalists, all of whom have several other projects on the go, it’s not hard to see why the orchestra only gets together sporadically and when they do they make sure it’s worth while. Playing for almost 3 hours straight in front of a projected background of photos and short films (which at one point featured UEA’s famous ziggurats), they treated us to a tour de force of their interpretations of well known classics and more obscure leftfield treasures. With Dammers acting as a band leader each musician had their moment in the spotlight, but Zoe Rahman’s exquisite piano playing really stood out for me, and legendary Jamaican Ska trombonist Rico Rodriguez was greeted with woops and cheers by the enthusiastic crowd. All in all it was an inspiring show and a great end to this year’s festival. I can’t wait to find out what great new music they’re going to help me discover next year.
James Smith
