Trevor George Entertainments Showcase II 2007

Published Thursday 13 December 2007 at 12:00 by Derek Smith

A lunchtime showcase isn’t really the right arena for a full on, overly loud compere, so the choice of the always genial Tim Ames was just about right to move things along, but without being too OTT.

Finding some of the audience’s level - or rather age - launching into a fun festive turkey and tinsel routine, it was soon on to introducing opening act, brother and sister duo, Gareth and Hayley, the latter in cabaret attire that would grace any cruise ship. With a varied set that included Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, then a full on Shirley Bassey cover, they also wisely mixed things up with solo spots. I’ve never been a great fan of male/female duos, but they made for very easy listening, and being family really helps the on-stage synergy.

Dave Hughes, described as suitable for any venue, could easily squeeze his equipment, keyboards and all, into quite small confines, so can be booked for just about anywhere. He clearly loves belting out all rock’n’roll classics, here getting quite hot under the collar of his sequinned black shirt. A rarely Pilot cover showed he clearly has a varied back catalogue and can no doubt dip into just about any decade of music, picking Harry Nilsson’s Without You to finish.

Every showcase should have something different, said Ames rightly. Cue speciality turn Benson then, re-arranging his stools on stage - if you’ll excuse the expression - five in all being lined up and managing to get the required number of volunteers willing sit on them all. His bell ringers eventually rang out How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?, making for some intricate campanology, and a highly unusual act which at least kept you intrigued - and most a little bemused. He’ll have to ring a few changes though to really entertain over full sets - heaven knows what he gets up during them.

Next up, Amethyst - another male/female duo, but with a guitar adding another dimension - could keep most audiences entertained, perhaps mostly more mature ones. Their short covers were a bit too clipped for my taste though and mixing The Wurzels with Dusty Springfield and Amy Winehouse was surely taking artistic licence a tad too far.

You can, after all, try and shoehorn too much into a 12-minute showcase appearance. They even included an acoustic section on a unique ten string guitar which was one of the more engaging musical moments. Compere Ames’ own time in the spotlight then included clutching a rose and picking out a Beverley Park beauty to give it to, wandering around smooching and generally endearing himself to the audience. Not all his gags got laughs, but he stuck at it and won most people over - afternoon comedy slots aren’t generally a barrel of laughs for performers. Apparently, a work in progress is his own tribute to English crooners and his Anthony Newley cover here bodes pretty well for that project.

The Lounge Lizards - just the ‘engine room’ male duo of the act appearing - are really what they say on the tin. They can go up to a ten piece apparently, and whatever the line-up, I’m sure they’re very versatile, a UB40 cover typifying what they can cover without even breaking sweat.

Visually the complete outfit would, I’m sure, engage much more, but even as a duo they can still belt out a good tune - everything from jazz to reggae.

Male/female illusion duo Galithia Conexion, billed as a funky and fresh approach to magic, was certainly different, though it took quite a while to engage with this act. Mind reading stunts and then some card trickery wasn’t really enough to make the audience go wild and crazy, as was urged at one point, but their floating table illusion finale was nicely done - and at the very least they’re trying to do something different and that has to be applauded. There’s too many samey illusion acts around.

Female vocalist Victoria Tankard sang Judy Garland’s C’mon, Get Happy and I have no-doubt that she could instil happiness in even the most miserable audiences. What she doesn’t have really though is a USP - unique singing point - but during an afternoon showcase session it’s unfair to judge when it really is hard to whip the audience into anything even vaguely approaching a frenzy. That said, her feisty walkabout during Hey Big Spender was real fun. Male/female duo Point Break chose their covers very wisely, especially in picking the Beautiful South’s A Little Time, the lyrics being perfect for a duo to get their emotional teeth into and create real frisson on stage. We’ve Got Tonight (originally by Bob Seger) again showed they have the advantage of genuine empathy while performing - the vocals are fine and the overall impression is one of a very competent, polished vocal duo.

Male vocalist Jay Washington is one of the many confident solo singers on the circuit, here covering The Supremes and Phil Collins You Can’t Hurry Love with easy, unfussed style. He could probably do showcase sets in his sleep, it was just a shame he didn’t use the band as it would have really added to his set. It’s also always very disappointing to see a band like Jubilee just sitting on their dots when a decent vocalist is performing. I recently saw female vocal duo Gilt Edge at a showcase in Yeovil. On the day lots of acts had sound problems, through no fault on theirs, but I still liked them then, and liked them here too, especially when in big show number mode. Vocally, they complement each other very well, and could no doubt step into any productions that needed some vocal oomph without any problems. I suspect they have a mischievous side to them when on stage sometimes, something I’m sure appeals to most audiences.

Afternoon showcases are always tricky, but this never really dragged and certainly had variety, even if that came in the form of a couple of acts probably just too quirky for many bookers to take a risk with. Those with more conventional audiences certainly would have grabbed a few pictures and contact details as they made their way home. And, any umbrella they could get their hands on.