Last Friday Sunday Driver headed up to Manchester to perform our live show, The Clockwork Tiger, in front of a crowd of promoters and bookers from around the world at the Royal Northern College of Music as part of the Decibel Performing Arts Showcase.
As well as the usual band lineup (plus sound tech Joe and lighting tech Scuzz), we were honoured to be joined by dancer Nikita Thakrar, from the Dancing Nikita Company, and poet Beyonder.
Here’s a taster of what we put together, filmed at the High Barn when we were developing the show earlier in the summer:
And here’s a nice little review we got in The Stage (we’re right at the end – just don’t mention Mel’s outfit…):
“Led by the impressive Chandy Nath on lead vocals, the group specialises in merging Asian music with indie and rock… the music is strangely compelling. Indeed the diverse instruments work happily in unison, with the show gradually becoming more anchored in rock. The synergy between the band members is also contagious.”
We developed the show with the help of funding from Arts Council England to bring our music together with dance and spoken word. Here’s a bit of blether from the Arts Council press release earlier this year:
“The Clockwork Tiger, by Cambridge-based band Sunday Driver, takes its audience on a journey from the majestic palaces of Tipu Sultan through to the backstreet labyrinth of Delhi in 1857, using music, dance, poetry and theatrics. This thought-provoking and varied show celebrates the history and mystery that binds India’s colonial past to present-day Britain.
Joel Clayton, guitarist and sitarist for Sunday Driver, said: ‘Being part of decibel is a landmark. We’ve created a show that brings music, poetry and dance together to tell the story of the Raj from an angle seldom seen by our generation. We’re thrilled to be performing to an audience of people who can help us take our vision and songs to the wider world.'”
If you want to see a little bit more of what we got up to while we were developing the show at the High Barn back in August, then check out my Flickr set.
Here are some pics I took during the day of the performance. I haven’t managed to track down any photos of the show, but we should get pics and video eventually:
The Royal Northern College of Music - the venue for our performance
Chandy and Nikita - bag ladies
Setting up. The stage was MASSIVE
The harp nervously surveys the auditorium
Ready and waiting
All dressed up and ready for the show!
