Some bands really know how to throw you a curve ball and Great Imitation are without doubt experts in this field. Opening the Musician Stage at Leicester’s Summer Sundae Weekender, they started out with some funky mash-ups of well known tracks such as MC Hammer’s Hammertime and Kanye West’s Goldigga with a style that falls somewhere between camp vaudevillian comedy and rap/rock crossover with a good sprinkling of R&B to confuse anyone foolish enough to think they know what’s coming.

It was all good light-hearted entertainment, perfect for a sunny start to one of the most relaxed easy-going boutique festivals around. Then lead singer James Scott announced there were just two songs left and that the next song would be a little different.

“Real Men Hit Things” was indeed different, a bleak story of domestic violence performed with an intensity that left people gobsmacked and more than a little choked as the story reached it’s tragic climax. A band that can play with an audience’s emotions to this level are surely bound for greater things than simple imitation.

BANDS: Great Imitation – Images by mike gatiss

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