E-mail to a friend Find tickets

Liberty Entertainments Showcase 2008

Published Thursday 23 October 2008 at 14:45 by Trevor Davies

The relaxing cocktail pianist Anthony Willcocks, who certainly seemed to be enjoying the experience, gently eased the audience into the proceedings. Meanwhile, delighted attendees were treated to some rather splendid close-up magic from young Daryl Millward, who covered as many tables as he could prior to the show.

Lights up and after a rather cheesy recorded introduction, Eddie Daniels warmly welcomed us to the event and introduced us to two new stars in the making - Lauren Medway, aged 11, and her brother Joseph, aged nine.

Lauren was first and her infectious smile and amazing vocals grabbed the audience from the start. As soon as she finished her first number, Get Happy, she effortlessly got straight into Homeless, made famous by Leona Lewis. Her stage presence and talent are first-class and I have no doubt that this young lady has great things ahead. Her brother Joseph had boundless enthusiasm and like his sister, amazing stage presence, killer dance moves and is very cute to boot.

So on to the show proper, as our compere Ashley Day professionally introduced us to the showcase.

Just the Two of Us, Annie and Amy, a female vocal duo, started with a pleasant You to Me Are Everything and then changed pace a bit with a Dolly Parton medley, which highlighted their solo voices, and this seemed to work better than when they sung together.

George Holloway brought some live music to the stage with his superb vocals and guitar set. He has a very modern look and sound and was warmly received by this audience and quite rightly so. It is difficult to play acoustic guitar standing up for any length of time, but I would suggest that he does this on at least a few tracks in his set to vary things a bit. A top-class performer.

Tommy Cooper impressionist Clive Greenway made us laugh out loud with his silly antics, and this reviewer - having never been much of a fan of Cooper himself - was impressed enough to think again and investigate some of his old footage.

Sarah Brackstone is an accomplished singer and chose her showcase set very well, highlighting her vocal versatility and depth of material. You could hear every word and she was immensely watchable.

Steve Marks is a powerful tribute act, and he started his set with Tom Jones. His vocals were truly amazing and he hit some quality notes. Does this man need a microphone? It is difficult to go from character to character but Steve successfully morphed into Elvis and wowed us with a fantastic version of I Can’t Help Falling in Love. A great act and a very likeable personality.

Minutes to Midnight, a local function band, were the biggest let-down of the evening. Not only did they seem totally unrehearsed, they also had music stands placed in front of their faces. Ironically starting with a clumsy Smooth Operator, things got progressively worse as they performed a lacklustre version of Valerie. The group looked miserable as they ended their unfortunate set with Run to You, which perhaps should have been renamed Run From You.

After some more magic and piano, part two commenced with Ashley Day showing us that he is not only a professional compere, but also a compelling singer. His set was truly mesmerising, of which his version of Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars was a highlight. This man loves singing, and with his vocal talents and warm stage presence, so he should.

Break in the Middle are a unique vocal/sax duo. Starting with One Step Beyond, they continued into a lively set, most notably a heartfelt I Can’t Make You Love Me by Bonnie Rait. This act is very different and I’m sure they will get plenty of interest from bookers.

Mark Curtis was the star of the night, playing rock’n’roll from the fifties era on guitar, accompanied by his own original backing track, all overdubbed by himself. He was an immediate hit with the audience and his renditions of Oh Boy and I Saw Her Standing There left us wanting more. Curtis is a talented musician and performer and he seemed to absolutely enjoy himself on stage.

Kitsch Kittens, a pastiche of the girl groups of the fifties and sixties, were very funny and totally enjoyable. They did a very amusing Leader of the Pack and you couldn’t help but laugh at their mannerisms and over-the-top costumes.

Vocalist Paul Michael has a fantastic range. He honed his set to show off his talents, ranging from Shine to Nessa Dorma. My only criticism of his act was that he appeared to be chewing gum, which was a little irritating, but also impressive that he didn’t swallow it during his outstanding vocal performances.

Joanna Gray and Heartbeat, tonight a three-piece, closed the show and unfortunately appeared to be a little tired. The arrangements of the songs were very predictable and their whole performance reminded me of closing-time music. Having said that, there is an audience for this type of music and style, and it was professionally played throughout. The keyboard player announced that they had travelled a long way, which as a gigging band you have to be prepared to do, but I can’t help thinking that in this current climate that they need to raise their game and be a little more energetic.

Overall, a very impressive range of talent was on show, and it must be mentioned that the sound and lighting for this showcase was excellent.

E-mail to a friend Find tickets