Review: (Sorta) Love Songs at the Fort Collins Fringe Festival
Last weekend, Fort Collins hosted its fourth ever Fringe Festival, starting September 15th and wrapping up on the 17th. For readers unfamiliar with what a “fringe festival” is, it is a festival hosted across cities to provide a platform for emerging and established artists to perform theatre (as well as dance, music, poetry, etc.) for their community and create connections between artists, audiences, businesses and organizations. As I stated in my previous post, I am on the hunt for alternative nightlife options in Fort Collins, and this festival seemed like a good fit for me to try out.
My friend, Megan, and I first stopped at Los Tarascos for some delicious margaritas and enchiladas. After we payed our bill, I thought we could check out some of the festival before it ended. I previously went to a few events at the Montreal Fringe Festival back in 2013 when I visited Montreal with my sister. When I was there, we saw a burlesque show, a poetry reading, and went to an interactive movie night with a drinking-game twist. All of these were pretty fun, but there is usually a certain amateur vibe to most fringe festivals, so I wasn’t expecting much from Fort Collins’ festival.
We decided to go the a show called (Sorta) Love Songs, which is a show that features a compilation of songs about love in the 21st century. The show was written by Scott Burkell and Paul Losel and sung by Move: Magnolia Opera and Vocal Group. The premise of the show sounded interesting enough; plus I’d been wanting to check out the Wolverine Farms Letterpress and Publick House, where the show was being hosted.
For starters, the venue was extremely impressive. It was clean, artsy, and had a romantic vibe. The outdoor patio was gorgeous in the moonlight, and inside they had fresh pastries as well as beer and wine for those 21 and over. My good first impression turned a little sour when we tried to buy tickets for the show and were told the least we were allowed to buy was a five-show pass. I asked them if I could just buy a ticket for this show individually to no avail. However, the five-show pass was only $10, so if I were to actually go to five shows, that would be a great deal.
The show was in a small, pretty room with wooden floors and foldable chairs set up for the audience. Four singers and a pianist stood at the front. The show started off with a song called “Stalker,” sung by the only male in the group. The song was not only sung fantastically; it was absolutely hilarious and had the whole crowd laughing. The lyrics were all about a man who was disillusioned that his life as a stalker was based in innocent love.
The show went on and there were some beautiful songs and less impressive songs as well. Many of the love songs were cliched with lyrics about October weather, romantic antics, and “becoming your own person.” Also, it was clear that the singers didn’t all have the same musical gifts. Despite this, the crowd was supportive, even at times when the show began to drag. The final song was titled “Ordinary Day,” and it involved all four singers singing in harmony, which I must admit was done very well.
At the beginning of the show, we were each given a plastic coin, and now we were supposed to put the coin in one of five bags marked one through five based on how we would rate the show out of five stars. In order to rate a show like this, I must first understand its purpose and goals, and then decide whether the execution of the show achieved those goals. I believe the purpose of the show was to showcase a few different takes on the modern dating world through music. In cases like the song “Stalker,” the show had a perfect balance of being sung well with great lyrics and adding a touch of humor. In other cases, the show failed to be relatable and used commonplace love tropes to fill up a five minute song. If I could, I would have put my coin in a bag marked “2.5,” but since there was no options for fractions, I dropped my coin in the bag marked “3” just because I gave extra points for the lovely venue.
So, would I recommend this show for someone who wants an alternative nightlife option? No. However, this singular show doesn’t represent the entire festival, which I would recommend to see what is happening in the art and theater scene in Fort Collins.
