“…amazingly funny songs, wild costumes, and wonderfully cheesy props.” – Plays with John and Wendy

This show was created under “stay at home orders” for the 2020 Elgin Fringe Festival to be an essentially live solo performance experience with some very special effects.

Review

“Do you like to laugh? Or I suppose (considering what’s been happening over the last few months), the better question would be, “Do you even remember what it’s like to laugh?” Well, Captain Ambivalent would like to remind you! In fact, before watching this show, be sure to warm up your cheek muscles because they’ll be getting a workout. A returning EFF favorite, Captain Ambivalent makes this virtual performance one to remember with a hysterical mix of new songs and old favorites. If you’ve been to any of the Captain’s past shows, you know that costume changes and characters are a big part of the draw. Being able to prerecord his set allows Cap to continue the costumed madness while also bringing in some charmingly lo-fi video effects that ramp up the funny.

Yet, as always, it’s the songs that are the real star of the show here. Captain Ambivalent is often compared to artists like “Weird” Al and They Might Be Giants. And while those comparisons are apt in that Captain Ambivalent’s songs limn big themes like consumerism, gender, loss of innocence, and environmentalism while wrapped in a deceptive cocoon of silliness and whimsy, it’s also true that Dan Biemer (CA’s civilian alter ego) is a one-of-a-kind voice and these songs couldn’t have come from anyone else. If your idea of a good time is an evening of whip-smart comic songs filtered through the lens of nerd culture and accompanied by a golden accordion, look no further; you have found what you’re looking for.” -Jamey Bouwmeester, Elgin Fringe Festival reviewer

About Captain Ambivalent

Captain Ambivalent is a satirical songwriting superhero with a sparkly accordion, cape, and boots. His glacial rise from total obscurity to semi-obscurity began at the Front Porch Music open mic in Valparaiso Indiana and has grown to include Doctor Demento, The Midnight Special, South Bend Public Television, PierogiFest, the Gen Con gaming convention, one-man shows in Fringe Festivals and alternative theaters, and even a brief cameo on America’s Got Talent.

The Captain’s not-so-secret identity, Dan Biemer, grew up in Louisville, KY then spent 20 years as a Litigation Support paralegal in Chicago before un-selling out to fight criminally boring music. His songs are comic takes on the entire human condition with a special fondness for the nerdy bits. More