Ryan Simpson, a globetrotting Yank with two suitcases and an accordion, turned his one-man accordion band in a ramshackle storage space upstairs at The Brass Monkey into a downsized stadium show filled with pop fan joy.
Accordion Ryan’s Pop Bangers is exactly what FRINGE WORLD was built for: independent artists traveling the world with a few props and plenty of gumption, connecting with new audiences by bringing the unexpected to makeshift stages. Simpson has had the energy, charisma, and pluck big enough to face Simon Cowell on Britain’s Got Talent, and he’s brought all that and more to Fringe.
His venue, being an independent hub not run by Fringe, didn’t appear to provide a tech person to help with sound and lights, so Simpson was doing his own set-up as we entered the space, which was worryingly lit by fluoros pre-show. When the feedback bleated as he adjusted the levels of the amps and his body mic, I started to feel sympathetic anxious butterflies rising in my internal organs, but thankfully, everything went off without a hitch from that point on.
What a thing to have to handle your own tech and then switch gears to pull off a performance that bursts with so much joie de vivre, fun, and thumping music that the walls can barely contain it.
Simpson’s playlist of bangers is comprehensive, and I recognised all of them at least by the time he got to the chorus, even if not well enough to know the corresponding dance moves like other audience members. Part of the fun is first trying to guess what polkafied pop tune he’s about to launch into, then looking around the room at others to see who else ‘got it’, and finally witnessing the absolute delight and joy on everyone’s face when everyone gets it and starts to bop along.
The small-ish Thursday night crowd was immediately on board and playing along with everything Simpson had to offer – singing, shining our mobile torches, using the spray bottles he’d assigned us, and giving his bum a good smack as he made his way around the room during a song. I had a couple of water fights with a few other silly folks, just like we were kids cutting up in the classroom while the teacher was turned the other way.
He reveals personal stories from the road like busking WAP in public, and sings a couple of his own original tunes which are catchy, funny and sweet. He plays to his local audience by including a medley of “all the Australian pop songs” which curiously omitted INXS’s “Never Tear Us Apart” (it’s a personal fave of mine), but got people up on their feet to do the Nutbush and also shout out “no way, get f…” Well you know the rest. A smart way to win any Perth crowd over for sure.
Accordion Ryan belted with bravado, stomping and squeezing his way into the hearts of the folks who left his show happy and grinning from ear to ear.
CICELY BINFORD
Accordion Ryan’s Pop Bangers finishes tomorrow on FRINGE WORLD’s final night 16 Feb 2025 at The Brass Monkey. End Fringe with a banger by booking here.
