Adam Page

To the uninitiated, loop-pedal performances can be something of an arcane art. But it doesn't take long for Adam Page's process to become clear. Building entire pieces of music by sampling himself playing an array of instruments through a series of effects pedals, Page's performance is half frivolous party-trick, half genuine musical performance.

But while much of Page's set might be silly (he turns to his old trick of using an audience member's name as a point of departure for an improvisation twice tonight), that's not to say it lacks musical merit. No sooner, for example, is he piecing together a tune by rubbing a microphone against his greying, ZZ Top beard, than he's performing a heartfelt saxophone cover of Radiohead's ‘High and Dry’. What's more, there's no shortage to Page's instrumental artillery—vocals, saxophone, keyboard, guitar, bass guitar, flute, even melodica—Page can play them all. And while he might not play the guitar as well as the Jimmy with whom he shares a surname, and while his vocals may not really be any more listenable than the droves of buskers around the city, it's the conviction and innate, infectious sense of humour with which Page performs that's ultimately this show's greatest asset.

Not only is Page's show both funny and occasionally genuinely sincere, it's one based almost entirely on improvisation. That is to say that it also boasts a spontinaeity that truly stands out among a festival of rigidly honed performances.