The Stage

Showcall Showcase 2005 - Day Four, Evening Session

Published Monday 14 November 2005 at 17:55 by Derek Smith

With everyone no-doubt suitably fed and watered in between sessions, the Stardust’s last instalment of Showcall 2005 got underway, after Tufty’s welcome of course, with about as good a band as you will probably see on the circuit.

The US Half Pipes have been together for two years, during which time they have clearly got very tight musically but still keep a loose sense of fun on stage, driven manically by a lead singer who looks like a rocking version of Ali G. Their repertoire over a full set must be pretty fearsome and their full-on style may not be to a minority of audiences’ tastes. No wonder they all carry towels to mop up the perspiration generated as they thrash their way through the Darkness, to mention just one cover. Great fun and, more to the point, top musicians.

Spot-on in the presentation stakes, female vocalist Nicki certainly knows how to cut a sharp, indeed raunchy, image on stage, with her opening Dido cover being well crafted and well sung. That vocally though proved the high point with her second rock anthem cover may not be best suited to what emerged as a slightly limited vocal range, one interspersed with a few suspiciously flat notes. Image-wise she looks a million dollars, vocally at the moment she is more a million euros. She has only been going two months though so there is plenty of time for her to work on that aspect - this Stardust appearance serving as valuable experience.

Often those billed as speciality acts are not, in truth, that special but that criticism can’t be levelled at Dick Van Winkle, a great clarinettist in a suit seemingly fashioned from an old mirror ball. Indeed, had he given the audience a twirl he could have transformed the Stardust into a scene from Saturday Night Fever.

As to his set, that often bordered on the bizarre, with Van Winkle using his nasal passages and ears to produce sounds of an altogether different ilk. The bottom line - thankfully he didn’t use that particular bodily source - is that he is a great musician with the bonus of good comic material and timing. Clearly a seasoned pro this was, you might say, a good day at the orifice for him.

Whenever you hear the music of the Supremes it always reminds of how rich a period for music the Motown era was. With tribute trio Supreme you certainly got a sense of the class of the originals even if the slickness and vocal sharpness you associate with them was somewhat missing. Being cool and sexy, even aloof, while also entertaining an audience is a tricky balancing act to pull off and I never felt this group managed that, though the vocals were perfectly acceptable and all the expected Supremes standards competently covered. Over a full set, as they gather more Motown momentum, it may be a different matter.

Prize for the oddest act of the session was easily won by Bolas!, made up of the talents of the charming Marie-Claude Lacroix, an ex-Cirque De Soleil performer. Coming with such impeccable credentials it is not surprising that her twirling of the boleadoras - originally an Argentinian hunting weapon - made for intriguing viewing, safely at a distance of course. A sort of Stomp with balls on strings, the concentration required to carry off the individual pieces was hugely impressive and for those old enough to remember them, this is clackers with attitude. The only down side is that because of the absolute accuracy required to perform this act safely the stage has to be “absolutely flat, no joints, no holes etc” - that might rule out a fair few across the country.

A lot of drag acts are exactly that, a bit of a drag. But, rather than just relying on the shock value of a ridiculous dress plus some lame comedy, Amber Dextrous has clearly spent as much time working on his script as sewing on sequins. That made for some genuine laughs and good patter in between some original saucy songs. Self-mockery, of course, is always an integral part of a drag act’s performance, but here it was effective rather than just a bit sad as can be the case. Good humoured, not all the gags got laughs, but enough did to keep the audience on Dextrous’ side and most were won over come the end. Showcall’s a tough gig for a drag act, but this was fun throughout.

Anyone very politically correct seeing comedian Buster go through his routine is probably likely to bust a blood vessel. Not so much “dipping a toe in to see what happens”, more like doing a running bomb off the top board into the pool, Buster’s knowing, insider industry gags immediately got his set on a roll as agents laughed along. From there, he was on a winner and even if some gags did made you wince, those winces came with a smile. Like every good comedian, he has also got a catch phrase - “It’s only a joke” - and really that’s the maxim behind what he does. After all, the worst crime a comedian can commit is being unfunny, and Buster certainly isn’t guilty of that. There are plenty who should be locked up well before him.

Paying musical homage to James Brown must be among the harder of the tributes to pull off given Brown’s totally full-on persona and stage performances. Sporting a none too realistic hair piece, Buzz D’Angelo certainly put plenty of effort into a set that incorporated all the covers you would expect, but the vocals never really stood out - unlike his stars and stripes waist coat. There is only one way to perform as Brown and that is with a manic edge and sense of danger. That, I felt, was never really present.

Having been performed to death, the thought of having to watch yet another Abba tribute group is enough to instil dread, but at least Arrival had thought about how best to present themselves, doing so in an ‘unplugged’ format, though unfortunately being tucked away at the back of the stage for logistical reasons. Having seen so many Abba performers bopping along merrily over the years, seeing the female members seated while singing made for a curiously refreshing sight, while the vocals initially appeared pleasant enough. Towards the end they weren’t quite as impressive, but by then they had already got our attention and I’m sure that over a full set they are enjoyable enough to watch. Getting over excited by Abba tributes these days is rather difficult though.

Coolness personified, male vocalist Audley Anderson breezed around the Stardust’s stage like he owned it, and that sort of confidence will pay dividends for him out on the circuit. He looks sharp, sings pretty well and clearly has a wide repertoire - from Motown to the eighties and more, I would guess. Ex-Fame Academy apparently, he would do well to maybe not rely on that credit too much get him on from now on - he has got the talent not to milk it too much.

Marking 20 years with Dings Entertainment at Showcall, The Mad Hatters had clearly decided to let their hair down - what they have left anyway - and go for a high-energy, industry-pleasing set by way of celebration. You are not in the business for that long without very good reason - that reason being they really are good, and bundles of fun. An opening skit of YMCA to the chorus “Be an agent” put everyone in the right mood and it was onwards and upwards from then, even if, as is par for the course, there were some comedy misses as well as hits. A ‘supermarket’ ditty did indeed show that this trio are off their trolleys. Best of all was the soap opera finisher packed with fun impressions. Old style, knock about comedy certainly, but no less funny for being that.

Like the Drifters act in the previous session, Temptations By Brothers Of Soul were about as slick as it gets on stage, rotating the vocals among their members to good effect and being pretty easy on the eye and the ear. Plenty of the classics were included here, of course, and over their usual two times 45 minute set, they no doubt have the scope to cover just about all the angles. Looking the part is slightly less important than sounding the part with such tribute bands, of course, but image-wise they cut the Motown mustard.

Most trendy young daughters don’t even want to be seen shopping with their mums, let alone singing on stage with them, but not so with TiggerBlake who perhaps best of all looked like they really enjoyed performing together. The family duo started with a decent version of Manilow’s (then Take That’s) Could It Be Magic before changing musical tack, somewhat unexpectedly for their second. They are very different proportions, but once seated on stools that particular playing field levelled out and it became less of a problem presentationally. At the end of the day what matters is the music and that aspect was fine. I’m not sure that they have quite sorted out where they are going with the act though. Previously on stage as Sunny Daye, the musical mum has apparently had some health set-backs recently so whichever direction they decide on, it is good to have her back in showbusiness and let us hope it goes well for her.

Having seen Liverpudlian male vocalist Derek Jones as one half of duo Loaded a while back it was going to be interesting to see how he would cope with life as a solo act. The answer unfortunately was not too well - at least on this occasion - with his attempts at comedy meeting with a collective silence while his singing, though competent, wasn’t exactly sensational enough to make up for the poor material. He is clearly good at the occasional barbed ad-lib though and I’m sure he will have better days but in the final analysis there’s not much that’s unique about him.

Time then for a blow by blow account of how speciality act The Inflations did. Initially pretty well, with the inflatable dolls they had forming part of the backing band, jiving away merrily controlled by one member of the duo. As fun as that was for one song, when the formula was repeated, albeit with Village People characters, the joke started to wear a bit thin. In small doses and with a lively crowd I’m sure they go down well - like their inflatable props when punctured - and their musicianship is certainly lively enough to keep the attention at times.

Magician/illusionist Richard Pinner had the sort of Showcall gig he will probably want to forget pretty quickly. Just about everything that could go wrong, did go wrong though he hardly helped himself by launching a pack of cards into the audience at such speed it was very unlikely to be caught. By the time they were rescued from under a table he had probably lost about three minutes from his set. The mind reading didn’t go much better, though one part did finally get the required response and subsequent applause. If he could see into the future he probably wouldn’t have bothered driving up to Leicester.

Last up, but by no means least, the band Vanity Fare have been around for a long time but with so many years experience between its members, it is no surprise that the group are spot-on musically and just love performing. That their lead singer still has a glint in his eye when singing Hitchin’ A Ride for the upteenth time is in itself worthy of praise and the genial rockers are basically a lesson in professionalism to all up and coming bands - if you still enjoy performing, as they clearly do, then why even think about hanging up your guitar or putting away your drum sticks? Old rockers never die, they just maybe have to hang around waiting for gigs a bit longer sometimes.

Next stop then Park Hall, near Preston next January 16-18 - over three days, of course. The extra day compared to 2004 looks set to more than make up for the ‘lost’ day at Leicester - so make a date in the diary and cancel more trivial engagements you may have had planned, like weddings and such. As a show for the business it will be hard to beat.

Derek Smith

BOOKER’S CHOICE

Noel Gee, Noel Gee Associates - Buster, The Mad Hatters

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