The Boxettes night started on a wrong note. Bandra beatboxers Alan deSouza and Neil Valles who call themselves Boxy Turvy opened for The Boxettes, the London-based all-female beatboxing band in a half-hour cringe-inducing set
WHO: THE BOXETTES
WHERE: BLUE FROG
WHEN: APRIL 28
VERDICT: NOT WORTH IT
The Boxettes night started on a wrong note. Bandra beatboxers Alan deSouza and Neil Valles who call themselves Boxy Turvy opened for The Boxettes, the London-based all-female beatboxing band in a half-hour cringe-inducing set. How's this for goofy? A silly rhyme to introduce themselves to the audience when some kickass beats would have done the trick and a short speech on how beatboxing wasn't a talent that only the West could stake claim to followed by a morchang performance. As the audience waited expectantly for Boxy Turvy to emulate the sound of the morchang, one of them casually pulled out the Rajasthani folk music instrument and began playing it. They might as well have played the drums next. Next, they went a step further and played some trance loops and stopped beatboxing altogether.
The audience (patient and polite) was more than eager for Boxy Turvy to wrap up and The Boxettes to take stage. Female beatboxing champion and the band's founder Bellatrix's beats were massive, altering the show dynamically but not enough to hold the two hour set together. Yvette Riby Williams opened the set with an all-out R n B number. While the rest of the band members were all competent vocalists, skilled beatboxers even, there was nothing exceptional about the entire performance. If you've watched American Idol, you'll know that any of the top contestants can give The Boxettes a run for their money. While it's unfair to compare them to Austrian beatboxers Bauchklang, we're yet to watch a beatboxing gig that surpasses the Bauchklang experience.
