God's Pottery: The Concert For Lavert, Pleasance Courtyard <!-- none onestar twostar threestar fourstar fivestar -->
Gideon Lamb and Jeremiah Smallchild are two young Christians from New York City who set out to spread the word of the Lord in as contemporary a way as possible, primarily using the power of song. Their latest mission is to raise money for a child in Harlem called LaVert, who has cancer.
LaVert is not to be confused with LeVert, the Eighties band. To illustrate the difference, Jeremiah helpfully sings their hit "Casanova", one of many quirky moments that the duo provide. These irreverent reverends-in-waiting are so clubbable, despite their wide-eyed beliefs, that even a Satanist would have a problem despising them. Audiences will take to their sung parodies of happy-clappy Christianity, such as "A Brand New Start with Jesus", directed at Jews who might feel that "the Hebrew scripture is an incomplete picture", and Muslims who'd like to pray less.
On another note, "The Pants Come Off when the Ring Goes On" warns of the evils of premarital sex. While some of their sketches about how to be a sober and good citizen are sadly more than just deliberately naff, the banter between songs is nimble, and I was left with the impression that I had just seen a God Squad version of those Edinburgh favourites, Flight of the Conchords. Joyous, and certainly praiseworthy.
To 28 August (0131-556 6550)
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