Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin
Accordion Ryan is a cabaret artist and musical comedian originally from the US but based in Vienna, Austria. After a hit run at the Edinburgh Fringe festival he has come all the way down to the base of the globe to amaze the Wellington audiences at the bottom of Cuba Street in our favourite little gay dive bar, Ivy.
Taking our seats I can’t help but notice the four spray bottles that sit beside the accordion on stage. My interest is piqued. When Ryan takes the stage and begins introductions he hands these spray bottles out and informs us that we can spray each other and/or him to ‘cool off’ if we need to, but asks us to avoid the accordion as much as we can.
The stage space is fluid, he explains, and he will leave the prepared raised stage and roam around and between us during his show. He gets us standing up and playing a game of Simon Says, which breaks the ice and also gets us used to standing which he says we are welcome to do at any point in the show if we feel like dancing.
Then the bangers begin. With nothing but his voice and his accordion he floats through Apple Bottom Jeans by Flo Rida, Somebody to Love by Queen, 360 by Charli xcx and many more with his eclectic track list of pop bangers. Two of the songs in the night were Ryan originals and these were more of the musical comedian-variety, as well as a very impressive medley of New Zealand music bangers across the last few decades.
There’s no deeper meaning for the performance for me, no narrative or themes for me to draw on. My enjoyment of the performance came simply because it was fun. Accordion Ryan isn’t offering anything deep and meaningful, simply a connection between us by exploring a musical zeitgeist we’re all happily familiar with, in a way that makes us laugh. We’re never outside the joke here, because in many ways there simply isn’t a joke. It’s funny because it is, which is why I can’t put into words what made me smile and laugh so hard for the whole hour.
This guy has been performing around the world and it shows. Even when parts of the show go wrong- hilariously so. On the night I went, he continued in earnest through a miscommunication with an audience member; both savouring the comedy of the error but also not sacrificing the progression of the song he’s on. Like a moth fluttering between our shining faces, Ryan bounces from audience member to audience member, and sometimes phone-held-up-to-video to phone-held-up-to-video. Constantly encroaching on our space and reminding us that there is no boundary between him and us as he leans over so we can give that big booty a smack.
An excellent performer who has fun regardless of what else is going on, Accordion Ryan is not a performer to be missed. More info on the season that was here, make sure to find him on socials.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The stage space is fluid, he explains, and he will leave the prepared raised stage and roam around and between us during his show. He gets us standing up and playing a game of Simon Says, which breaks the ice and also gets us used to standing which he says we are welcome to do at any point in the show if we feel like dancing.
Then the bangers begin. With nothing but his voice and his accordion he floats through Apple Bottom Jeans by Flo Rida, Somebody to Love by Queen, 360 by Charli xcx and many more with his eclectic track list of pop bangers. Two of the songs in the night were Ryan originals and these were more of the musical comedian-variety, as well as a very impressive medley of New Zealand music bangers across the last few decades.
There’s no deeper meaning for the performance for me, no narrative or themes for me to draw on. My enjoyment of the performance came simply because it was fun. Accordion Ryan isn’t offering anything deep and meaningful, simply a connection between us by exploring a musical zeitgeist we’re all happily familiar with, in a way that makes us laugh. We’re never outside the joke here, because in many ways there simply isn’t a joke. It’s funny because it is, which is why I can’t put into words what made me smile and laugh so hard for the whole hour.
This guy has been performing around the world and it shows. Even when parts of the show go wrong- hilariously so. On the night I went, he continued in earnest through a miscommunication with an audience member; both savouring the comedy of the error but also not sacrificing the progression of the song he’s on. Like a moth fluttering between our shining faces, Ryan bounces from audience member to audience member, and sometimes phone-held-up-to-video to phone-held-up-to-video. Constantly encroaching on our space and reminding us that there is no boundary between him and us as he leans over so we can give that big booty a smack.
An excellent performer who has fun regardless of what else is going on, Accordion Ryan is not a performer to be missed. More info on the season that was here, make sure to find him on socials.
⭐⭐⭐⭐