Ad disclosure: My ticket was free of charge for the purpose of this review.
The Sons of Pitches are one of my favourite singing groups, and some of you may remember them as the winners of a cappella The Naked Choir contest, with Gareth Malone. They are currently on tour around the UK with their newest show, SOPTV, and it is simply marvellous.
I headed over to the Symphony Hall in Birmingham on Thursday night to watch the show, and the Sons were fantastically entertaining. I went to their 2016 UK tour and this one was even better.
Before the show started, the audience were treated to some songs in the lobby area by the Choir With No Name, a choir for people affected by homelessness, who were there to spread the word a bit about them, and raise a bit of cash for their cause. It was lovely to see them singing together, obviously enjoying themselves.
Before the Sons of Pitches took to the stage, there was a half hour performance by the Birmingham Rock Choir, who were great fun. They sang some great classic rock hits, along with a few of the more modern ones, like Beyonce’s “Halo”. There were clearly having a great time, and they got the crowd singing and clapping along.
The hall wasn’t quite full, but the Sons drew a good sized crowd along to the Symphony hall, and there were lots of cheers and applause as they came running out on stage in their colourful suits.
SOPTV isn’t just a music show – if you come to one of the Sons of Pitches shows and expect to see a group of guys just standing around singing, you’re in for a surprise. They call it a “vocal adventure” and that seems about right to me – it’s a bit of a weird & wonderful mix of a cappella music and stand up.
Their show consists of a big hodgepodge of things, with some moments of pure comedy genius mixed up amongst the TV themes, cover songs, their own original music, and a few songs from popular TV sound tracks. The Sons of Pitches are amazingly talented at musical improv and they didn’t disappoint at their Birmingham show, with a song about “Stodge” in gospel style, and a hilarious one about Gerbils in the styles of rock and irish folk – and the way they came up with the words to improv about was just brilliant.
Without spoiling too much of the show, which is all tied together brilliantly through the theme of watching TV, some of my favourite moments included Midé beat boxing a comedic cheesecake, some very funny wigs, and even a touching moment with Brothers in Arms from The West Wing. Their musical arrangements are fantastic, at times it is hard to remember that there aren’t any instruments involved, and the whole thing is incredibly entertaining.
The Sons of Pitches have a new original album, Don’t Fret, which I have been enjoying on Spotify since it was released. They sang three songs from the album; their new single Utopia, along with More than Gold and Pelu Mi. They had the audience singing along with the last one, and it was another of my favourite moments.
If the show is coming anywhere near you, I definitely recommend you go along and check them out, you’ll be laughing your head off, I guarantee!
The Sons are visiting places all over the UK with their tour so do go and check them out!
