THE HONKIES

Combining a brash and bouncy street- theatre style with some mean musical grooves, this Australian six-piece take no prisoners in-their determination to entertain. They are snazzily turned out in brightly trimmed tail-coats, purple fun-fur hats and. matching cummerbunds, and open the show by parading around the tent playing a funky klezmer-style number as they go, making faces at small children and enlisting punters' pint glasses as extra percussion.

Once on stage, their core line-up of alto and bass saxophones, trombone and drums is augmented by electric bass, plus occasional didgeridoo and megaphones, and they kick into a hard-hitting set that mixes funk, blues, soul, rap and ska styles, a noisy, high- octane cocktail that might be a bit abrasive' if you're looking for an end-of- afternoon chill-out, but perfect if you're after a blast of party vibes to get you going for the night. Street-style musical troupe, from Down Under, proves to be more a meeting of merrily madcap minds.

Part concert, part mini-circus, it amply lives up to its opening promise of "loads of happy tunes", with the odd interlude of juggling, comedy routines and contortionism adding further sparkle. Playing fiddles, horns, melodeon, bass, cittern and a battery of percussion. Honky Trash scorching blasts of funk, jazz and soul. The sound nonetheless retains a raw-edged, rootsy energy that has most of the crowd on its feet by the end, even though it is only teatime.