Des Bishop Likes To Bang

• Kirstyn Smith
• 13 August 2012

This article is from 2012.

Tragic-comedy with hip hop tones

I’m American so I love myself, but I’m Irish so I hate myself,’ declares Bishop from his stance in front of the central point of his show, an electronic drum kit. It is an instrument, he opines, upon which it is impossible to create music about any sad or serious topic. Testicular cancer survivor and recovering alcoholic, Bishop has a tendency to look towards the tragi-comedic side of life, but his affable, conversational attitude makes it easy to laugh along with him about his father’s funeral and his chequered past. He yoyos from centre stage, where he delivers profanity-riddled rants, primarily about his going grey and subsequent hair-dye buying woes, to behind the kit where surely a musical first is created, a shambolic but ultimately very funny rap battle with himself about middle class life and organic food. While confident in his hip hop credentials (though Kanye he ain’t), cock-ups abound, but are handled with a laugh and more of the disarming good humour in which the performance is suffused.

Assembly George Square, 623 3030, until 26 Aug (not 13 & 20), 8.50pm, £11--£12 (£9.50--£10.50).