There’s this guy in The Netherlands who is currently putting on these wildly elaborate live shows that are very Kaufman-esque and performance art that I find absolutely fascinating.
They’re called Bumble B. Boy and it’s a kind of high-concept thing where he’s a “Bad children’s entertainer” who plays shows where his “crowdwork” is through a pre-recorded backing track that explains that he’s too anxious to engage with the crowd. At a minimum it includes backing dancers and pretty animated performances, but each show has so much more to it than that…
I’ve talked to the guy, and he sites Andy Kaufman as a big influence in what a live performance can be, and to date they’ve staged an incredible number of these high-stakes, high concept performances which blur the line between what’s really happening and what’s planned.
e.g.
- They had a marching band storm the stage and claim there was a double booking for the stage that night, they then joined in with the performance.
- They had a guy in a bumble bee costume interrupt the show to tell everyone that he was owed money by Bumble B. Boy.
- A documentary crew who get too close to everyone and everything knocking equipment over and blocking the view of the band.
- A storming of the stage by 50 “randoms” who are told to follow along the dance moves of the dancers. At the end of each song, the band shout at those who made mistakes, the audience think that these are just randoms, but they’re all in on it.
- Advertising Insane Clown Posse as being special guests on the advertising, explaining at the start of the show that there was a mistake, and they weren’t the children’s entertainers they’d thought. Then two guys dressed as ICP storm the stage at the end of the show and disrupt the whole thing until the band run away.
and the really wild thing about these stunts is that they’re not repeated. They’re also not filmed, I mean some people film little bits on their mobile there, but it’s not like they’re part of some bigger theatrical project or anything, they just happen and then it’s all over. There’s a constant stream of new things planned for each date. I have no idea how the guy has the time / money / energy to do this while also writing, recording and releasing music, but he does. Apparently, the album launch will coincide with a TV show that also features Torre Florim from De Staat, which I know nothing more about.
I like the music itself too, kinda sounds like a cross between the B-52s, Devo & Talking Heads. I like it personally, think it fits in with the whole vibe.
The guy comes from Brisbane in Australia and moved to Nijmegen in The Netherlands a few years ago which is a weird enough change of lifestyle. Since then he’s had quite a buzz (haha) in The Netherlands and is playing most of the big festivals here this summer.
I know this will sound like the most annoying thing ever made to many, but I personally can’t get enough of it all and basically would happily go see the guy live again and again.
