A friend of mine who lives in London just introduced me to the Really Terrible Orchestra (RTO), a group of amateur musicians from Edinburgh, Scotland, who somehow attract a paying audience. It seems that their founder is Alexander McCall Smith, the author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series and an amateur musician himself. I'm not quite sure what to make of this ragtag group, but since I've never heard them perform, perhaps I'll defer to my friend's own description:
"None of [the musicians] have any real talent and they play songs like "Yellow Submarine" between jokes and readings by the author Alexander McCall Smith.... And if any of them progress to "good" status, they have to leave the group. Admittedly, it is bizarre fare but also delightful."
The RTO will be performing in New York on April 1st. (Is it a coincidence this is April Fools Day?) I would love to see what the appeal is: Is it a feel-good experience where the audience cheers on dedicated but inept souls for pursuing their dream, or is there an element of mockery that delivers an evening of perversely satisfying schadenfreude?
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