Abandoman: Pic 'n' Mixtape Review

Abandoman: Pic 'n' Mixtape

Imagine if Michael McIntyre somehow managed to reproduce with Andrew Lloyd Webber; then you would truly have something to behold: the perfect human being for Saturday night entertainment. This goes some way to explaining the musical talent and humour of the hip-hop duo Abandoman. 

Don’t expect any ghetto style, grimy streets of L.A. hip-hop though, Abandoman comprise a jovial, rotund Irish rapper, Rob Broderick , and his lanky guitarist with pencil moustache, James Hancox. The performance is completely inoffensive – Abandoman have done shows in schools – and James and Rob are impeccably polite. Without actually seeing it, this image of Abandoman should already be raising a smile.

Abandoman’s talent lies in their impressive ability to improvise and engage with the audience. Obviously this has none of the carefully-crafted, word-perfect sheen of a traditional stand-up. Yet a great deal of the fun lies in the enthusiasm and spirit with which the Irishman rapidly concocts his rhymes. 

One party game involved the audience offering up odd things from their pockets, which are then instantly thrown into the mix by the duo. An on-stage musical was also created from two members of the audience – a business analyst and an architect. The highlight, though, has to be an improvisation about the gaffer on a raspberry farm – in the style of Kanye West. Brilliant, inventive stuff.