"The entrance queue snaked around the corner of Shepherd’s
Bush Empire, a sign of how far Shaun Buswell had come in his
quest to form an orchestra entirely comprised
of strangers met on the London Underground. Although, not only was he unsure of
the event taking place due to low ticket sales, but he would not know exactly
who was playing until the night itself due to the perilous nature of this
exercise. Despite Australia Day celebrations spilling out of Walkabout next
door, the ticket tout was not required.
"VIP tables with gold stars, line names and gift bags were on
the Empire floor and people at that level sat at them or stood against walls,
below the three reasonably populated gallery levels. Everyone was in good
spirits, probably more so when compere Carl Chamberlain encouraged them to talk
to a complete stranger before the night was out, as Shaun had done 330 times.
"Kicking off proceedings was a 40-minute documentary of
Shaun’s quest and the concurrent growth of his beard, from nothing in January
2012 to substantial in November. Perhaps new hair sprouted with each confirmed
musician. He took three days to find the first instrumentalist and then came
peaks (targeting stations adjacent to music colleges and the Royal Albert Hall)
and troughs (“I calculate that one in 500 people are carrying an instrument [on
the Tube]. There are 12 people on this platform…”). One negative highlight was
a man who, when asked if he was carrying a flute, replied that it was a violin,
it was none of Shaun’s business and told him to go away. That reaction would
have been even more worthy of television had the man actually realised he was
being filmed. On the plus side, Shaun managed to snare twins, separately, two
months apart, at the same station. What were the chances?
"An interval followed, then Shaun introduced the orchestra
one by one, including four paying patrons that had stepped in at the last
minute. They played pieces by Grieg, Holst and Dvorak before Shaun’s namesake band joined them on stage to
present their own songs with orchestral augmentation. It’s You began with
subtle string arrangements, building to an all-encompassing, impassioned
instrumental featuring a flashmob orchestra of about six in the gallery. The
melodica player had apparently come all the way from Barcelona for the event.
Conscious of time, some songs were dropped to make way for the medley, a hybrid
of movie themes from films which feature the Tube. Hilarity and applause ensued
as the audience was treated to Mission Impossible, James Bond and Superman
amongst others.
"Aptly deciding to leave The Road until last instead, the D
major triplets pounded through the hall, Shaun having written this during and
for his challenge, telling us not to give up on something however difficult it
might be. He had a crazy idea and felt like quitting, but he went from that
first tentative Tube talk to a renowned London venue, and that is just one
example of what can be done. This might even see a legacy; I wait to hear of a
band formed in such a fashion.
"Ropey at times, yet successful for what it was, the
Underground Orchestra triumphed. The audience stood for an ovation, their claps
and cheers carrying their warmth and respect towards the stage. Originally this
was planned to take place on 12/12/12, but for various reasons it was put back
– the first full rehearsal happened on that date instead. Perhaps that was for
the best, however, as it was more than fitting to have this show in the Tube’s 150th
anniversary year. The primary reason Shaun met his
collaborators was because of the Underground, and this showed the creativity
and fraternity that being on the system can produce. Transport for London would
have done well to list this event in their official anniversary programme. Well
done, sir."
Well done indeed and I'm also pleased this happened in the 150th anniversary year. Thanks again to Adham
@directiontravel for the review
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