Massaoke Review: Sing It Like Nobody’s Listening

★★★★★

Massaoke has reached legendary status at the Edinburgh Fringe, returning year after year with a brilliantly simple concept: a live band, some of the biggest songs ever written and an audience singing their hearts out. Attending Greatest Hits Live for the first time this year, I finally understood exactly why people keep coming back.

A five-piece band takes over Assembly Hall, smashing through hit after hit while the lyrics appear on screens behind them. If you do not know the words, they are right there for you, although chances are you already know virtually every song. The setlist spans decades and genres, with one enormous chorus barely finishing before the opening bars of another send a completely different section of the audience into meltdown.

The band themselves are superb. This could easily feel like glorified karaoke, but the quality of the musicians makes it feel much closer to a full live concert, just one where hundreds of audience members provide the vocals.

And what an audience it is. Massaoke is undoubtedly a boozy affair, with much of the crowd considerably refreshed by the time things get going, but that only seems to add to the atmosphere. Almost everyone is on their feet throughout, singing at full volume, throwing their arms around friends and occasionally complete strangers.

There is also absolutely no self-consciousness to it. Nobody particularly cares whether they can sing, whether they know every lyric or whether they look ridiculous doing it. The whole room simply gives itself over to the music.

There is no need to overcomplicate what makes Massaoke work. It is entertainment done exceptionally well: brilliant musicians, enormous songs and a room full of people having an absolute blast.

By the end, voices are shredded, drinks have been spilled and any remaining dignity has long since disappeared. If you leave with any voice remaining, you probably were not doing it properly.