The Caves on the Cowgate certainly can't be accused of over-selling itself as a venue - you get exactly what it says on the ticket as you're ushered into their dingy cellar, already pretty dank, even before the rain-sodden festival crowd percolates in and begins to gently steam.We're here to see singer Loretta Maine with her band DogVagina (did I mention it's a 14+ show?), belting out her tales of woe and reflecting on her messed up life.Loretta, who's escaped America to launch her career over here, is a screwed up, alcohol-trashed Uber-bitch (think Courtney Love) and a wonderful comic creation. The kicker is that underneath all of the entertaining patter, the girl can really sing as she uses a fine pair of lungs to belt out twisted hits about love, loss and parental abuse ('Enjoy the show or f*** off home'; 'It's not me, it's you').These are delivered in dead-pan 'life sucks' character and mixed with some well-constructed audience chat, trying (and failing surprise!) to find others with issues as bad as hers. Scarily, as the show progresses, you come to realise that performer and venue are in fact in perfect symbiosis dark, scary and dripping with visceral fears.Her fellow band members, Tim & Jim, are well-crafted background characters, given a little bit of dialogue but mainly there to keep the music tight and give her a ready-made foil to bounce off occasionally.Highlights were abundant, but standing out for me were a nonchalantly brilliant musical improv number based on facts gleaned from a hapless audience member's life, then a great almost-closing number with the scariest wedding march you'll ever hear. During this latter she combines pure musical ability with a way of inhabiting her character so thoroughly that I'd swear she was channelling an early punk-era Debbie Harry.The only slight niggle I have is the show's timeslot it would suit a later 'cabaret spot' with a better lubricated audience. However, that didn't detract from the obvious and effusive pleasure of the crowd on the evening I caught the show.There's a free badge to be had on the way out but, for once, I enjoyed the show enough to have bought a band CD if one had been available.Shouty, angry but above all, funny, this quirky little gem of a show is definitely one of the must-catch hits of this year's fringe.
