Robin Ince @ Solas Festival, Sat 21 Jun

Robin Ince headlines Saturday's proceedings at Solas Festival, Perth

Review by Vonny Moyes | 01 Aug 2014

It’s well into the Witching hour by the time Robin Ince appears before us, in a huge converted barn playing mainstage for the weekend’s frivolities at Solas Festival, Perth. The Saturday night headliner appears with little fanfare, after an eclectic patchwork of musical offerings from Beerjacket, Rachel Sermani and Stanley Odd. The room is peppered with young children and families, and those more intent on savouring a pre-bed chatter than a high-energy comic, which definitely influences the performance. 

As ever, Ince appears to be in a state of constant flux, caught halfway between a grumbling grandad and a toddler on the brink of a blue-Smartie comedown. He delivers an hour of feverish shouty rants which for the most part errs on the side of just brilliant, rather than just funny, with a smattering of on-the-fly censorship. He’s clearly a man of extraordinary acumen, but that comes at the expense of belly laughs, when the little pearls of scientific wizardry upstage the well-crafted punchlines.

He touches upon the usual suspects, addressing straight from the off how exactly he (an atheist) came to be standing in front of a crowd at a christian festival. He meanders wildly through Scottish Independence, Brian Blessed and political dada-ist pranks before making us confess to some of our darkest, most unspeakable whims. There are plenty of laughs along the way, but everything feels so rushed. It's tangibly stressful, which stifles any genuine moments of hilarity.

It’s an hour with plenty of honed and interesting material, but it feels rushed and unorganised. Big on enthusiasm, lighter on the laughs; though unusual atmospheres breed unusual shows.