iNtrmzzo - Testosteron
23. Februar 2008 - Theater de Storm, Winterswijk
Finally we will see iNtrmzzo! I've been searching for a suitable date for months and months. Their previous show stopped before we had had the chance to see it. But when I discovered they would play their new show, "Testosteron", pretty close by, I ordered tickets right away. Two weeks ago, during the farewell party of Montezuma's Revenge, iNtrmzzo sang two songs, I was amazed and ever since I'm looking forward to tonight even more. Only one little thing irritates me. On their website, you are welcomed with the text: "You don't like a cappella? Good. Neither do we!" But I do like a cappella! I'm addicted to a cappella! Stupid slogan... ;)
From left to right: Clemens Schmuck, Tjidde Luhrs, Merijn Dijkstra and Wouter KronenbergI'm curious, and apart from what I've read on the internet, I haven't got a clue what to expect. "An absurd a cappella comedy show with enticing film music, well-known film songs, famous one-liners and notorious film scenes." I'm wondering how film music can be absurd and I can't wait to find out.
What we get is more than I expected and it's hard to describe in words. iNtrmzzo
uses a lot of attributes on the stage, which are sometimes weird, which increases
the absurdity-level quite easily. We often laugh out loud, because many jokes
are unexpected and very funny. The few serious songs that are sung tonight are
always ended or followed up by a funny remark, a funny gesture or something else
which makes the audience laugh.
Apart from being professional singers, they claim to be professional dancers, which is demonstrated with the song I'm singing in the rain. They also claim to be professional mime players, which is demonstrated during a series of James Bond films, which are portrayed in tiny scenes. It's hilarious! Mission Impossible is performed with a flute, during Suicide is painless they use tools as instruments and Three times a lady is sung with the help of a toilet brush and a tube.
Sign o' the times is sung by Clemens alone, which makes the song incomparable to the version of Montezuma's Revenge I have in mind. Really great, how he manages to do vocal percussion, body percussion and singing all together on his own. I'm impressed by his voice - the wide range and his vocal percussion are pretty stunning! I love Shape of my heart, where they use large wooden sticks to make a rhythm on the floor. The Godfather medley is really funny as well. You should see it, actually ;) Absolutely brilliant is the song Silence of the lambs, where they shortly bleat as sheep and then stop singing for a couple of minutes.
One of the songs I love most tonight, is Tubular Bells. The song is being drummed on helmets and it sounds really cool. The person who invented this has a very creative mind. I also love Gangsta's Paradise because of the great vocal percussion and My heart will go on because I didn't expect it to be this funny. And of course, I have to mention Manamana (Muppets Theme), which is fantastic.
Conclusion: I don't know the previous shows of iNtrmzzo, but I really like this one and I'd see it again soon if I could. After a period of absence in the a cappella world, iNtrmzzo is back with brutality, vulgarity and lots of humor, although I've been told that some people think it's not rude enough yet. Nevertheless, this kind of a cappella music is not comparable to anything we know in the Netherlands. For those a cappella addicts who like putting things in a certain order: I'd say iNtrmzzo fits in between LaLeLu and the U-Bahn Kontrollöre in tiefgefrorene Frauenkleidern. Great quality with great humor!