There's a predictable brilliance about Out Of The Blue which explains why this troupe from Oxford are selling out only two days into their month-long run at C Venues this year. So if you want to see what all the fuss is about, grab yourself a ticket fast.
The most interesting thing about Out Of The Blue is that their appeal lays in the fact they're not a professional a cappella group. Most of them don't even have aspirations to chase a career in music. They're studying to be architects, biologists, lawyers and the like. They come across as an unlikely boy band. It's like Simon Cowell walked into a chemistry lab, and rounded a bunch of them up.
From the off they're infectiously charming, floppy hair and all. Their choreography is deliberately cheesy, all done tongue in cheek, and very humorous it is too.
Today we're treated to a cocktail of songs, some which will be familiar to regular fans, plus some new material including audience participation during Mustang Sally. These guys play games with melodies with stunning results. Multi-layered and rich, the sound they create would lift the spirits of even the most jaded of Fringe-goers. If they could bottle it, psychiatry would be a dead art.
Amongst the upbeat, there are also moments of tenderness such as Shape Of My Heart, which reached levels of emotion Sting could only dream about. The final song, Fat Bottomed Girls allowed the boys to really demonstrate their talent. And quite prestigious talent it is. Go see them.
