Edie Sedgwick

The crazed bassist of the now-defunct El Guapo, now in Supersystem, throws himself into his solo project Edie Sedgwick. The solo album ("Her Love Is Real But…She Is Not") is a riot of synth-pop hooks, glam flourishes and every kind of histrionics.

Walking into the venue, I find our man Justin slumped on a chair, lost in thought, brooding. At a certain point he snaps back to life, gets up, and hides behind his little makeshift curtain. After half an hour's wait he reappears before our eyes decked out in hilarious fashion: short skirt, ripped stockings, heavy make-up and a blonde wig. One burst of laughter after another as we watch him move around the stage…

His performance doesn't involve any instruments actually being played — the backing tracks are entirely pre-recorded, identical to the album, essentially. During the show, images relating to each song are projected onto the screen (and since every track is titled after an actor's name, you can imagine the scenes...).

During each song he tries to strike up a dialogue with the crowd, chatting about lost hair, American politics and a "Berlusconi merda!" that has everyone in stitches from laughing so hard.

The impressions left by the "musical" side of the show are identical to those given by the album. His vocal performance is excellent, and watching him writhe around on stage while the images flicker behind him is a treat for the eyes. A purely musical judgement isn't really possible, though, since, as mentioned, there's no actual music being played.

What remains is the artist's ability to put together a show that's entertaining, intelligent and never mean-spirited.

"Martin Sheen" is relentlessly pounding to the point of absurdity, "Micheal J. Fox" is one continuous, nagging synth trill, "Lucy Liu" draws a smile for its brevity and visual punch; most improbably, "Arnold Schwarzenegger" is announced as "The Song Of California!".

In the end Justin sheds Edie's guise and goes back to chatting with us as if nothing happened. Double personality, double positive result.

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