The Stage

Showcall Showcase 2006 - Monday, Afternoon Session

Published Wednesday 18 October 2006 at 16:15 by Derek Smith

Showcall Showcase was always one of our much missed colleague Peter Hepple’s favourite events and one he supported since its inception. Light entertainment was his genuine love and as strange as it seemed not to be able to share some banter with him and, indeed, enjoy his wit during the week, Peter himself would have been the first to say that Showcall must go on.

His spirit certainly present at this year’s new venue, Bedworth’s Civic Hall, it was a quick welcome from compere Tufty Gordon, The Stage’s managing director Catherine Comerford, then Bedworth’s own mayoress - the latter not being tempted by Tufty’s offer to sing a quick duet - then on with the first act of Showcall Showcase 2006.

Being the opener is never easy but with strength in numbers, West End Experience looked totally unfazed with starting the show, their costumes, choreography and routines having that big production feel about them. Boasting more feathers than a turkey farm, the guys’ top hats were huge, the dance moves slick and vocals easily good enough to drive each number along. A lot of effort had clearly been put into this appearance, not least getting that all important presentation right. It’s the sort of act that some people moan isn’t around anymore - the news is that now it is. Male vocalist Keir Edwards may be a man who looks caught in a time warp but he doesn’t seem to mind and, resplendent in his crushed mauve velvet jacket and dickie bow, used the live band to much effect, particularly during his first two numbers. Even if his finisher, the wonderful Matt Monro tune If I Never Sing Another Song, was too plodding, by then Edwards had already proved that he packs a strong voice and can work live.

Vocalist Jennie Brookes clearly hadn’t quite had time to finish dressing before coming on stage, at least that’s what her rather skimpy top half attire suggested. Her opening number was pretty patchy too but her confidence grew and though initially she seemed an average, attractive female singer, there was more than enough vocal talent to suggest she gets plenty of work, Covering done to death songs like River Deep, Mountain High though doesn’t exactly set you apart from other vocalists but her finishing Whitney Houston cover was slickly performed and the pick of the bunch. She must work on her patter though, failing to make much of an impression, post-performance.

Duo Allstars are the sort of multi-faceted act which will always find work. It’s not particularly sophisticated stuff - just put on a wig, sing a few songs and away you go. It’s a format that carries an element of risk though and usually for every skit that works, a fair few don’t. The opening Blondie they got away with and the following David Essex was quite fun. What wasn’t fun was a pretty grim take on Tina Turner, though later lifted again by an impressive Elton John tribute, complete with excellent vocals.

One Elvis act who always seems to pop up on posters around the country - so he must be working - is the marvellously named Elvis Shmelvis. Picking a few numbers, then trying to build the whole persona of the King in a brief showcase set is nigh on impossible but I’m pretty sure that in full flow with a enthusiastic audience, he is great fun. This was maybe not his best day at the Elvis office - an impressive My Way cover apart - but the St Albans-based singer still looks a cut above others on the circuit.

For their pure enthusiasm, you had to hand it to the Drop Dead Divas, a duo who clearly love what they do, gel well and have enough energy to liven up any venue. But quite what sort of venue they would work I’m not sure, being more of a warm-up act maybe than a main attraction. Usually working with a musical director (unavailable at Showcall) here they made fine use of the house band, most important of all they offered something different.

Also different was guitarist/vocalist Danny King, casually dressed and totally relaxed as he went into a cracking cover of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire. Even if his Dire Straits instrumental wasn’t the most gripping of tunes to finish, by then he’d proved he could play, plus had the laid back style to, as he said later, pay tribute to anyone from Lonnie Donegan to Robbie Williams. Why not a full-length Cash tribute? He’s got the charisma for it.

Like many other bands, Kick Up the 80s have the collective skills to pay homage to just about any music genre - here covering everything from the New Romantics through to Madness, Frankie and even the Jam. Being all things to lots of music fans is fine and there wasn’t a duff number during the set but somewhere along the way, acts like this never quite grip in the same way that an out and out tribute to one band can - as long as you’re a fan of course. They probably have a very healthy diary full of corporate bookings so it must be a formula that is still in demand.

Trying to pigeonhole Joe Swing is pretty impossible and if his aim, on this showing, was to do exactly that - to keep people guessing - then he succeeded. But being part-crooner, part-magician, plus a bit of clowning around onstage made for a confused set which was hard to feel involved in. It’s an act he’s only put together this year but on this evidence it’s one that is still very much a work in progress.

With full-length promotional posters in place on the stage, duo Jenesaisquoi certainly weren’t shy about telling the world about who they were. Unfortunately, the reality never looked like living up to the hype during a set which trotted out some pretty substandard impressions, the likes of Tina Turner and Sonny and Cher verging on the unwatchable. I’m sure they can and will do better material than this but on this showing, that certain something was nowhere to be seen.

Solo tribute act Red Blooded Woman was in fact an homage to Australia’s favourite export, Kylie, and one that at least tried offer something unusual with two very weird looking (female) crash test dummies taking to the stage to gyrate alongside Ms Minogue. It never really worked, despite the vocals being pretty accurate and overall sound not that far off. Come the final cover, I Wouldn’t Change a Thing, she’d got more into her stride. I would, however, change a few things.

Like Mr Swing before him, speciality act Stephen Brailsford was also trying something away from his usual persona at Showcall and again it didn’t quite engage. Having rattled off a good crooning cover to start, his mid-set comedy banter fell about as flat as you could get, the audience listening in almost silence. With nothing coming back, thankfully he could revert to some more singing to save the day - I left My Heart in San Francisco slickly performed.

Showbusiness is all about taking risks but an afternoon showcase session is maybe not the best time. Angel is the sort of female vocalist who you hope gets work. She’s not the conventional glam vocalist doing conventional material but clearly likes to try a few different styles and covers. That this was the very first time she’d used a live band was credit to her and the set was varied and engaging, not least her emotive cover of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Proving that you shouldn’t have any preconceptions about an act came with the Illinois Blues Brothers, about as good a Jake and Elwood tribute as you’ll get. Having sat through enough poor imitations, it’s immediately obvious that these guys are at the top of their game, love doing the act and are fastidious about getting it right. Fancy footwork, a real sense of the anarchic and just great fun - on this showing they’re the standard by which other Blues Brothers acts should be judged. Hopefully, they can keep their own standard of performance high.

No prizes for guessing what type of act Winston the Singing Farmer would transpire to be. Clearly keen to supplement his EU grant by taking the stage, this Benny Hill in a Barbour serves up material saucy enough to make any milk maid blush and most audiences laugh. He’s not going to be to everyone’s taste but his is the sort of naughtiness that has largely disappeared now, making this even more of a treat. On this showing I’m sure he’ll get piles of work.

The end of any show, especially a Showcall session, requires a fitting, full-on musical finish and that’s exactly what the audience got with Platform Soul, 11 people playing a whole lot better together than the England football team. Colourful, huge fun, musically spot-on and clearly capable of providing most venues with fabulous entertainment, you couldn’t go far wrong booking this act.

As opening Showcall sessions go, perhaps not the strongest one over recent years but still there was still plenty of varied, quality entertainment on offer for bookers to think about.

EXPERT CHOICE

Mal Ford, Personality Artists

• Illinois Blues Brothers

• Winston The Singing Farmer

See Showcall Online to book the acts mentioned in this review: www.showcall.co.uk

Search Amazon for Showcall Showcase 2006 - Monday, Afternoon Session items Search for tickets at Ticketmaster