Mr.Percival Album Launch
the basement July 4th 2006
with Tommy Dean

The smiley-face entry stamp should have been a cryptic clue as to what to expect from tonight's performance. Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised then that the support act was none other than a comedian, Tommy Dean. Having a comedian as your opening act could be a stroke of genius or a lightning bolt of idiocy, and it would have been that latter if it was any other comedian than Tommy. His US-expat observations on Australia were so devestatingly funny that I was reaching for my asthma medication to catch my breath. His jokes about the Sydney buses - gold, pure 1 gazillion carat gold!

It's always tough to pull a crowd on a Wednesday night. It's even harder when it's Origin night! But a healthy-sized crowd was on hand to witness Mr.Percival launch his amazing new album Out Of The Loop and , somewhere along the line, my head exploded. After it was over, and I was picking up the pieces of my brain from the floor, my friend turned to me and said two things. One, "I want to be him when I grow up" and two 'He's the best singer I've ever seen'. Mr.Percival is an a capella genius, able tp construct a song using just his voice and a series of loop pedals. He mimics double bass and drums and loops them to create backings, and also records vocal harmonies to create a melodically-rich song. Seeing it done before your eyes is a fantastic experience.

There's a strong Bobby McFerrin influnce in his music, but the apprentice almost supersedes the master: not only does Darren posses an out-of-this-universe voice with an incredible range, but he's charismatic, egoless and wickedly funny. He was constantly interacting with the audience, and you couldn't help but get swept away, singing and clapping along because you wanted to, not beacuse you felt like you had to. His original material was just as show-stopping as his covers of Ben E. King ('Stand By Me'), D'Angelo ('Brown Sugar', with a hilarious "Aussie" version) and James Taylor ('Traffic Jam').

So next time Mr.Percival is in town, drop everything: run away from a wedding, miss a funeral, skip work or school - put your life on hold and get there. You'll be richer for the experience and perhaps, just perhaps, a better person for it.

Dom Alessio
The Brag, Sydney - Monday 9th July, 2006