Amr Hussein keeps up with the local rock scene Circus Guy is an American rock band that has performed in Cairo, Alexandria and Fayoum. It consists of lead singers and guitar-playing brothers Michael and Taha Rasam Culhane, vocalist and guitarist Anais Mitchell, guitarists James Dean Conklin and Andrew Culhane, violinist and steel slide guitarist Ted Stern, bassist Greg Ross and drummer Frank Marino. Conklin also joins in the singing, occasionally shooting performance videos. Last month they gave a one-day workshop followed by a concert at El- Sawi Cultural Centre in Zamalek -- an opportunity not only to establish their presence in the local scene but to provide young aficionados with a new, otherwise unavailable sound. The workshop as it turned out was a jamming session; and Circus Guy had the generosity to ask those who had participated to appear on stage and improvise along with them during the concert. Not that the musicians in question are inexperienced: West Al-Balad's percussionists Mizo and Ayman El-Kady, kawala virtuoso Raafat (who plays regularly on the band of Mohamed Mounir) and bassist Ezzeddin Hany performing, rather peculiarly, as I thought, alongside Greg. A full, frenzied house was not the evening's only highlight. After the classic opening number, "Roll over Beethoven", which had the audience crooning nostalgically over the genesis of rock music 49 years ago -- the band's dress code and style of movement consistently make references to various stages of the genre's development, with Taha impersonating Elvis Presley to perform "Heartbreak Hotel" -- there was, for example, the moment Taha jumped off the stage, encouraging the audience to sing along to "Treat her right". He sprinted back and forth many times; amazingly, his breathing remained even, and he could resume his singing as if he had been standing stock-still. As if this wasn't impressive enough, Taha jumped a second time -- only to land on his hands, which he used just as adeptly as if they had been his feet for several minutes. During another track Taha managed to ride a monocycle during his performance: he fell down, but he got up almost as soon without letting go of the guitar, which never touched the ground. Such feats should hardly come as a surprise considering that the Culhane brothers started out as circus performers, hence the name of the band. Rock classics notwithstanding, the band performed some its own -- original -- material, much of which figures on their 10- track album, "Lovely Luna". The first of these, and perhaps the band's finest song, is named after the Culhanes' cousin Yasmine, for whom Michael wrote it. The concert became even more exciting as the guest musicians joined in, revealing their individual virtuosity while they improvised, often solo, over the course of many songs; only the volume was too low for the audience to enjoy it. The Palestinian singer Amira made the most surprising guest appearance of the evening, performing the famous Fairouz song Habaitak Bessayf. She was, alas, out of tune; and the musicians sitting around audibly made sarcastic comments. It was the worst moment of the concert, but with her song already over, Amira remained on stage, dancing too energetically for the audience to see the rest of the performers. The inclusion of Arabic material (the Sayed Darwish song Al- Helwa di and a couple of numbers by Mohamed Mounir) was altogether ill advised, in fact, since the band didn't have the experience to perform it properly. Taha's frequent pronouncements on "clean energy" -- he is involved in environmental initiatives -- made an interesting and positive addition to the show. There were many memorable moments -- Anais's soulful rendition of "Rhiannon", Ted's performance of "Living things" and Frank's remarkable crescendos. Yet the secret of Circus Guy's success lies in their ability to involve the audience in an interactive and lively experience -- a process to which the Culhane brothers contributed more than any other member of the band. And it is via these kinds of concerts -- especially considering the fact that they involve local musicians -- that the effective incorporation of rock music into the fabric of Egyptian live music will ultimately be due.
