Spitz Fest #3 - Women Sing East

From the delicate heights of professional, classical musicians at Space Between Words and The Masque of Moments I found myself wandering through down-to-earth London and into Brady Arts & Community Centre for the third show in this series of blog posts, Women Sing East.

Inside Brady's it was hot. Really humid and really hot. How hot the twenty-seven performers felt under the colourful selection of stage lights I can't imagine. Loosely huddled, their vocals were simple and uninhibited. Mostly comprising of two-part arrangements for the singers they were confidently conducted by the leader of the group, who had composed her own song for the show about a pair of twins discovering their love-hate relationship.

The feel of the entire show was lightly swingy with Stevie Wonder covers, plenty of finger snapping and a pianist with a slack, wobbly style that reminded me of Vince Guaraldi's soundtrack to Peanuts. All in all a great feel throughout the night. I hadn't really thought ahead or expected any particular type of music. What I discovered was a jazzy twinge of Oliver Twist and a show perfectly titled to suit the songs so heartily sung.