DREAM OF CAT

EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW

Dream of Cat

Drum Cat: all female percussion group from Korea

• C-too venue 
• 4 St Columba's by the Castle 
• 31^st July to 15^th August 
• Tickets £9.50 to £11.50

Over the years I have seen quite a few displays of drumming prowess; tremendous displays from the Different Drums of Ireland group, the Mourne Defenders Flute Band, Field Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band and a company of Japanese Tao drummers. All these are blown away by a very attractive troupe of improbably slim Korean women calling themselves Drum Cat.

The show starts with a wild virtuoso solo piece on a centrally-placed rock drum set. Did I say wild? That was nothing. The remaining players hit the stage running and dancing to bang out their high energy rhythms on six tall standing drums. Their timing and choreography was perfect. Their discipline must be enormous to keep up this pace.

Little time was made to contemplate any of the pieces. The players rushed off the stage from time to time to reappear with a variety of drums and cymbals. The crowd roared their approval. In most of the pieces, the drummers accompanied a series of fast-moving rock tracks. In one piece, however, they set up a steady rhythm to a man who played a traditional Korean wind instrument. Here, they processed around the stage with side drums and large base drum just like any drum corps of any band in Ulster. but no drummer I have ever seen could stick the pace Drum Cat set in that piece!

The finale to the show was a wild and energetic interpretation of the Ode to Joy, though it's doubtful that Beethoven would have recognised it!

My only regret is that the players did not have a DVD of their performance on sale afterwards. Judging by the universally favourable opinions of the departing audience, they could have sold loads.