Search - Firesign Theatre :: Radio Now Live

Enjoyable, but not up to the level of their studio work

12/04/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A very enjoyable performance, but somewhat slower-paced and more expository and linear than their studio stuff. In the studio, they can layer the jokes, fire off quick multi-level puns and move on to the next thing lightning-quick, knowing that you'll have to back up and listen several times to get it all. In live performance, they have to wait for the audience to get the joke or the plot point before they can move forward. In the main "Radio Now" segment (nearly all of the first CD) taken from their "Give Me Immortality..." CD, this takes the form of frequent addresses to the audience by "BeBop Loco" (Phil Austin) to move the story along. However well this worked live, it doesn't come off on audio - it's like having someone explain the story to you as it unfolds. If you've not heard "Give Me Immortality..." you should go there first.On the other hand, the inclusion of the "rehearsal" version of their Shakespeare piece is quite wonderful, with the shifting of levels between the actor-characters (including our own George Tirebiter) and the Shakespeare-characters used to good effect. Very different from the version on the "Anythynge" CD. Audience interaction is also a big part of the fun here, though there is always the danger of the whole thing turning into a nostalgia act with the audience shouting out the lines along with the players and slowing things down with gratuitous applause.All in all, a fun performance but neither the place for the neophyte to start, nor a major addition to the canon."