disinformation

In this pre-apocalyptic musical revue "anthropological humorist" Reggie Watts explores the lighter side of global climate change, consumerism, racism, and the end of the world as we know it. Punctuated by commercials for the show's ominously-named corporate sponsor Carnaidesai, Watts delivers a word salad of absurdist monologues, corporate sound bytes, spot-on beatboxing and faux-German rap. Just as I got traction on one of his ideas he switched directions, persona, accent or genre, always at least one step ahead of my comprehension. With a soulful voice and deadpan delivery, Watts remained cool as a cucumber as I sweated to keep up. 

  

Among his secret weapons: the ES53302S "texturing advice" (looks a lot like a loop pedal to the untrained eye) fierce hip-hop dancing by  Amy O'Neal (Seattle) and larger-than-life vocals from the diminutive Orianna Hermann (PDX.) Other shows may be weighed down with the inclusion of so many forms and collaborators, but this show is so tight he easily makes a running joke of a fake faulty mic and a series of mispronunciations.  

I wonder if New Yorkers notice the influence of the Pacific Northwest in his work. As a citizen of "Ecotopia" I am all too familiar with environmental and political content in art, although I cannot recall an example as delightfully effective, successful and subversive as "Disinformation." Watts and his group embody the collaborative d.i.y spirit (where do-it-yourself means get all your friends in on it, too) and effortlessly morph between dance, theatre, comedy, music, video and everything in between. They also manage to get their message across without the use of a 2x4. Although I watched most of the performance through tears of laughter, I must admit one line from the show still echoes through my head as I dutifully sort the remains from my lunch into the compost, recycling and landfill containers recently installed in our office: "The more that you use, the less that you are."

. . . edited to add that you can still catch this show (if it is not sold out yet, i assume it will be) at Under the Radar Jan 18th at 9:30, Jan 19th at 10:30 and Jan 20th at 4:30

- Erin from PICA