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Inspirations Entertainments (in association with BFP Entertainments)

Published Friday 20 November 2009 at 15:35 by Derek Smith

A big, live football game being screened in the venue’s front room, raffle tickets being sold on the door and a table enticingly stacked with goodies for the winners could only mean this Inspirations Entertainments showcase was being held at a more traditional club. A chance to win a tin of Quality Street and see some quality acts then promised just about the perfect evening, as the more intimate atmosphere such venues offer is always welcome. Quite whether performers feel likewise, I’m never quite sure though.

Artists such as Dave Whitmore, a likeable singer/guitarist, who though visually impaired, appears very capable of building a good rapport with his audience almost instantly. The initial awkwardness of having to be helped on stage and guided to his microphone out of the way, he then joked and sang his way through a bright, brief set. He’s clearly a fine guitarist, an engaging act and evidently really revels in performing.

Vocalist Kayley, like so many other female singers, rightly used her short showcase set to show she’s capable of performing very varied material, including a fine opening country and western track, followed by a less assured version of Duffy’s Mercy. Certainly a competent vocalist, she really got into her final Fleetwood Mac cover, though here it was her opening material that she seems most at home with.

One of the best compliments you can pay a comedian is calling them original and Drew Cameron is certainly that. On his own admission, his material can come a cropper in front of the wrong audience, but his inventiveness and twists on famous characters always makes me laugh. He’s thinking about performing at next year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe apparently. I hope he does - the audiences there love eccentric acts and Cameron’s is definitely that.

Inventive and fun are two words not always associated with illusion acts. But with Magic V, while the male/female duo’s set contains familiar routines, there’s plenty to entertain - not least an unusual routine using a volunteer as the ‘body’ through which the assistant’s arms were placed, with comic results. In between the mind-reading and illusion trickery, they also have the experience to maintain good rapport with their audience. Highly entertaining.

While swing vocalist Steve Getz has a decent enough voice, it’s his appearance which may, unfairly perhaps, put off bookers. Looking more like a bank manager than a Rat Pack member, in truth, he’s very comfortable with the likes of Lady is a Tramp, but much less so performing Queen’s Crazy Little Thing Called Love. He needs to stick to swing - and get a makeover.

Bournemouth-based vocalist Emmalissa is the kind of young, bubbly singer that can always brighten up a venue. Her enthusiasm is infectious and including such varied material as Summer Time and Kings of Leon’s Sex on Fire shows there’s not much she’s not willing to cover - as it should be with young performers.

An act with a good few more years of collective experience, Wingsbanned pay very impressive musical homage to Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles outfit, Wings. If they only covered Wings’ songs, you suspect some audiences may get a little restless - not that tracks such as Band on the Run and Live and Let Die don’t make for great listening - but their set list also includes Fab Four classics, so there’s something for every Macca fan. They’re a great tribute act, fine musicians and gel perfectly on stage. Interestingly, they don’t perform Mull of Kintyre - perfect, surely, for that late-night, lighters in the air singalong.

Comedian/vocalist Allan Sellers offers that old-fashioned mix of gags and songs that older audiences in particular seem to always like. Youngsters, though, may struggle with Sellers, especially as much of his material has a dig at their generation’s habits, albeit harmlessly. His trump card, given his somewhat patchy material, is his strong voice - so much so that dropping the comedy altogether is certainly something he should at least consider.

Initially, this audience wasn’t too sure what to make of Brummie vocalist Debbie Ray, a performer with 11 years’ experience. In terms of presentation, she doesn’t seem have to learnt much over those years, but her honest, almost childlike banter with the audience and her lively covers of sixties classics from Cilla Black et al made for something of a curious but engaging showcase performance. Come the end, she’d won most people over.

Another act with good ad libs was mind ‘boggler’ Chris Hare, struggling at times with limited feedback to his material and trickery. He kept going though and paying close attention to his distinctive brand of entertainment paid dividends. An earlier slot would have helped him engage more of the audience.

Final act of the evening, vocals and keyboard duo Second Time (aka Judith and Paul) are really best suited to providing the background music at functions. The vocals were, at best, average for much of the set, but maybe coming on at the end took its toll on their performance. Offering ‘music from the sixties onwards’, they do, at least, offer variety.

For me, Wingsbanned easily took the evening’s honours, a somewhat unexpected musical treat. Compered, without fuss, by BBC Radio Solent’s Jason Dean and with impressive close-up magic provided by Chris Keward, this was an enjoyable, well organised and varied, though maybe unspectacular, showcase. Well worth catching, though.

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