Review: ROBOT DADDY - A Must See Rocking Multi-Media Experience

Celebrating their 20th anniversary production with ROBOT DADDY, Electronic Planet Ensemble (EPE) gives an exciting performance at The Vortex theatre.

Known for their mixture of spoken word poetry and funky music, EPE does not disappoint with their latest endeavour. ROBOT DADDY poses the questions that modern society has about artificial life in general and robotics specifically. With music written by bass player Sergio R. Sanayoa and lyrics/spoken word written by David Jewell and Melissa Vogt, ROBOT DADDY Is smart, quirky and fun. The remainder of EPE, Chad Salvata on synthesizer/keyboard, Rachel Fuhrer on drums round out the band. The show includes songs like Robot Cadillac, Nanobots and a nod to Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. Their musical style is reminiscent of 80's greats The Talking Heads, Thomas Dolby and The B-52's with their funky, toe tapping beat. The mixture of song and spoken word poetry is a heady combination, Jewell's silken voice is mesmerizing and Vogt's vocals are beautiful and filled with an incandescent spirit. David Jewell is a cool, smooth guy, with an intellect that sends his thoughts to an imaginative futuristic playground. His rich voice and playful dance moves give him a retro chic aura and draws the audience into his wildest dreams. Melissa Vogt is quite simply dazzling, painting pictures with her voice, she is flirtatious and engaging. Her flashy holographic outfit picks up every lighting change and moves in a way that enthralls the onlookers. Patrick Anthony's lighting design is outstanding, his use of robotics is both beautiful and apt, given the robot theme. The effect is stunning and really brings the show together as a performance piece and concert. The use of black light paint on the walls added surprises when the lighting changed and is a seriously cool effect. I've seen dozens of shows with lighting designed by Mr. Anthony, his use of color is always brilliant, but freed from the confines of a traditional stage setting and given creative liberty to create an entire world for ROBOT DADDY, he shows us that his talent is truly boundless. EPE is world class entertainment as evidenced by their 20 year run. The audience is encouraged to get up and dance and at the performance I attended, several women did indeed show their great dance moves on the stage, but most of us were content to groove in our seats, smiles glued to our faces. The one and only drawback to the performance is that it is one hour in length and zips by at light speed.
I give my highest recommendation to ROBOT DADDY, for a rocking great evening and pure unadulterated fun.

ROBOT DADDY
Music by Sergio R Samayoa
Lyrics and poetry by David Jewell and Melissa Vogt
The Vortex, Manor Road, Austin

Running Time: 1 hour with no intermission

Tickets: $35 - $15, vortexrep.org