The Other Guys’ afternoon offering will not bore you, but it will not blow you away either.
The group are at their best when performing parodies of popular songs – something that not many student a capella groups at the Fringe offer. My personal favourite was a hilarious adaptation of Coolio’s Gansta’s Paradise. There are also original compositions – another rarity for a student group. Certainly, if you have seen a lot of student a capella this festival and are starting to feel jaded by it, The Other Guys offer something fresh.
Having said this, the professionalism apparent in other shows is somewhat lacking. The song changes are rather bumbling and the dance routines could definitely be more exciting. Nonetheless, when things do work, they work very well and it is hard not to be engaged by the group’s energetic performance. Musically, there is an excellent range on offer from Scottish traditional ballads to recent chart toppers. The harmonies are assured, if at no point particularly ground-breaking.
The Other Guys’ afternoon offering will not bore you, but it will not blow you away either. You won’t go away raving to your friends about it, but you certainly won’t begrudge them the price of a ticket.
