Lopez Blogs

Avid readers will be pleased to know that the bee-sting on my face has dissapated to far less noticeable levels thanks to copious antihistimines, aloe vera and the power of positive thinking. I had no sympathy from anyone - my mom said "roffle", which after much deduction turned out to be what she thought the text abbreviation ROFL was (ie, an actual word. The goon!); and an ace ganger told me that essentially living things would rather die than sit on my face. Charmant. Let's dwell no more on this tawdry subject and sally forth with the post...

THE OVERTONES (LIVE IN B'HAM-MARCH 25th)

In hindsight, the title of The Overtones debut album, Good Ol' Fashioned Love, sets out the stall for what the boys are all about. They embrace a musical heritage that is rich in melody, harmony and sincerity, yet prove that they can make it sound fresh and relevant in a vocoder heavy musical landscape. They are romantics at heart. And the "good" at the start of the title indicates that they are rightly unashamed to fly the flag for these values - that sometimes a timeless, classic approach will always win out. This was more than evidenced in their sparkling live show on Friday night. Strolling on stage to deafening cheers (from the girls and gays), they looked like they just came from the set of Mad Men - vintage in their style but rocking the timeless, classic mix of cravat, bowtie and tie between them. The show proved that their voices blend together as wonderfully in a live setting as they do on record (still top ten this week after the Dancing On Ice boost. World domination follows?!) with the jaunty opening track Sh-Boom (Sh-Brum!) and the magic continued right through to the enthusiastically received closing number - Gambling Man (which oddly enough I heard a club version of when I was out on Saturday night. Amaze). (Pic above taken from thetoners website - always an excellent Overtones resource!)


Apart from those songs (the audience definitely seemed to be at their most boisterous singing along to the giddy charms of Gambling Man), the highlights included a vocally reconstructed version of Cee-Lo's F*** You, a swoonworthy In The Still Of The Night and a gorgeously romantic Blue Moon that achieved near perfection by being accompanied by an actual wedding proposal. Good Ol' Fashioned Love indeed (thank god she said yes :P). The boys never faltered and it really was over far too soon. After the show (I was too ashamed of my bee sting to stick around and try and meet the guys :/) I was contemplating their sound and I think there is a reason that the Dalton Warblers are the definite highlight vocally of the second season of Glee - unlike New Directions, who mainly do karaoke versions of pop hits, the Warblers seem to really look at a track and evaluate how it will best suit their blend of voices. This is exactly the same with The Overtones - the lead vocal, the backing harmonies, the instruments and the melody are equal components that take no precedence over the other; rather they slot together to create a layered, textured sound that sparkles as much today as it did years ago and as much as it will in twenty years time. People are clearly clammering for a pure musical experience and whether on record or in a live setting, The Overtones excel. I remain smitten... (bring on the nude-ish Cosmo photo shoot!!)

THE HISTORY BOYS (CURVE THEATRE, LEICESTER - March 26th):


I've seen several different productions of The History Boys now. Like a lot of people I've seen the film. I've also seen Ben Barnes play Dakin - once on tour, and once in a London residency. It's been a bit quiet of late for the play, but mercifully the touring West Yorkshire Playhouse production has changed all that. Perhaps the most famous of Alan Bennett's plays, it's a study of Englishness and, in particular, the English education system. Different teaching methods are enshrined in the three main teaching characters - Mrs Linnot, Hector and Mr Irwin - and this sets up a dialogue about truth, the function of knowledge and how history is made. This makes it sound very serious - and parts of it are. It's punctuated by an energetic soundtrack, lovely character studies and some genuinely hilarious moments. Previous history boys have gone onto big things (Dominic Cooper, James Corden, Ben Barnes, Russell Tovey et al) and I suspect it will be the same for this cast. All were excellent in their portrayal of much loved characters, though several of the cast really stood out in this "class of 2011" version. George Banks was a charming yet almost smarmy Dakin who managed to make the chemistry between himself and Irwin (Ben Lambert) utterly believable and totally engrossing (while sporting a particularly sturdy pair of legs for the famous y-front scene!) Philip Franks bought an almost devastating feel to Hector - a difficult role to play considering some of his actions and to keep the audience onside. The classroom breakdown scene and the impact of his death were both really touching and sweetly sad. And Ryan Saunders sparkled through in one of the overlooked roles as Lockwood (I noted he is an understudy for Dakin and would love to see him in that role in the future).

Scenewise, my favourites have always been the Gracie Fields song, the reenactments of Now Voyager & Brief Encounters and the sorrowful Bye Bye Blackbird of the funeral scene. Two additional scenes really shone in this production - Mrs Linnot's delivery of her "c*** struck" line was still shocking and hilarious, while the french bordello scene was the filthiest, bawdiest and funniest I've ever seen it. A genuinely splendid way to spend the afternoon, and one that made me a fan of several upcoming young actors. Delightful.

No X factor round up this week, as I was out when it was on and haven't watched it on Sky Plus yet. Oddly enough I'm in no hurry to watch it (unlike the rest of the nation - the viewing figures are way up! Guess that new audition format is working. Britain's Got The X Factor indeed :/ ) Am sure I'll be fully back into it by next week - this week however, a far more interesting X Factor was taking place in Central Park, East Ham (London) of all places. Now I may have mentioned with fascination with Elouise once or twice before on these very pages - in terms of writing about unsigned artists, she's right up there in a very short space of time with my beloved Simon Curtis. I first read about her on dontstopthepop and fell quickly in love with the motown chic of the adorable Since You've Been Gone and the good time 60s girl group romp of the utterly charming Miracle Man. Since that time, Elouise has been working with pop heavyweights like Steve Anderson (Kylie) and Terry Ronald (Girls Aloud) on perfecting a sound that not only pays tribute to artists like Dusty Springfield, Shirley Bassey and Diana Ross but sounds entirely epic in today's pop landscape. So while I (im)patiently await the release of the first single and album, a number of live shows have been taking place - with last night's the best yet.

After a perfectly pleasant day out in London, Darren (chauffer for the day and a much more patient driver than I would have been) bravely drove the Ace Gang (ie, the lovely Mark!) across central London (13 miles took 2 hours due to traffic and roadworks, but then London isn't for driving is it?) to Central Park. We were greeted with a huge outdoor stage and literally thousands of people just wanting to have a good time and enjoy a bit of live music. It wasn't quite a night under the stars as the clouds covered up a gorgeous full moon, but Elouise's star shone bright enough to sparkle and glitter for the dusky heavens. Performing with a live band and performing a mixture of pop classics and original compositions, it was like watching the best X Factor auditionee ever (and yes I'm including Leona, Same Diff and Shayne Ward in that) do a Sharon Osbourne cliche ("you really owned that stage) and totally charm people the moment she sang the first note. The night started off with a warm and lovely rendering of one of my favourite pop songs of all time, Sweet Talking Guy (see youtube clip above - kindly dedicated to me by Elouise on her youtube page!) which is an incredibly hard song to sing and sounded just lovely. The covers fitted in with the motown theme of the night and ranged from ballads (a flawless reading of I'll Be There and a powerful vocal delivery infusing just the right emotion into When You Tell Me That You Love Me) to pop party numbers (You Can't Hurry Love was kitschy fun that reminds me everytime of how much S Club's Reach owes to the drum breakdown). Standouts from the covers included a real funky The Runner (done in a very different way from how it appears on the Bananarama album) which just amazed the crowd (and had them all on their feet) as it showed a powerful and controlled vocal coming from such a petite person. And of course, I can't write a review of an Elouise concert without mentioning her glorious signature tune One Night Only. Despite having obviously perfected the performance, Elouise delivers it with passion each time and is a rousing finale to a magnificent set. Not one person in the crowd remained sitting and the party atmosphere was definitely contagious. One credit to Elouise (and her posse!) is how seamlessly the original material fitted into the act, and I want to dwell on 3 numbers in particular...

• Be A Man About It ~ written by her guitar playing brother Tom, who was working his magic once again in his trademark shades (hello Christmas! :P), this song wouldn't sound out of place on the radio played back to back with Girls Aloud's Love Is The Key. That's not to say it's similar, just that it shares a similar vibe. Infused with a cheeky hook, great horns and a lovely crescendo in the middle 8 that leads to a gigantic final chorus, it's incredibly difficult not to be swept along with this anthemic track and want to boogie on down. Much more like this please :)
• Another Day ~ I've already said that if the studio version of this was in my grubby little hands, it would have been number one for an age and a half on my charts. It's such a powerful song that is both heartbreaking and hypnotic from start to finish. The lyrics draw me into the story of clinging to love and although the word 'epic' is thrown around quite a lot (mostly by me), this is thoroughly deserving of the title. Plus it's won over my new fave DJ Larry Flick and I get goosebumps everytime I hear it on his show. Last night it sounded just majestic.
• Pretender ~ First time I have heard this tune live, and first time Elouise has performed it live and it did not disappoint. Another incredible vocal delivery, gorgeous chorus of love and yearning (please note pop performers - Elouise throws her all into these performances from every nuanced hand gesture to the emotion written on her face. This is how it should be done) and that beautiful "remember what you're missing baby" hushed singing at the end of chorus one. Though the night was warm, I had goosebumps up and down my arms...

So yes, an incredibly gushing and favourable review (and not just because my new prescription of xannax has arrived :P) because it's entirely deserved. And of course, it's not just Elouise - she moves as one with her backing singers and band, never overshadowing their contribution but leading them in her command performances. Just. Astonishing.

As i mentioned yesterday, I had a lovely weekend away with Darren - the highlight of which (after seeing Simon and Mark of course) was catching the preview show of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (The Musical). It opened on Tuesday 10th March and thus is still in it's infancy, but is bloody marvelosity from start to blooming euphoric finish. We had great seats, front and centre. In fact the only annoying thing about the seats was the far too up herself woman behind who kept loudly proclaiming things like:

"Oh i love the gay homosexuals. Aren't they just so much fun" (Um, as a species?)
"Oh these seats are absolutely super aren't they? Oh well done me" (!!)
"Oh i saw Bros in a limo once when I lived in Olympia - or Limps as I called it - and I shouted 'oh f*** off Bros, I love Jason Donovan' No I did. I really did" (Oh great. one of those who thinks telling you where she lives makes her a more interesting person. Fact - it does not!)
"Oh remember when i saw a drag queen in Fiji. Super people" (Shoots self in ear)

!! Speechless!! Anyway, the musical is super fun (sorry!) and obviously based on the 1994 film of the same name and clearly the 2006 Sydney musical. The story features around 3 drag queens who journey across Australia to perform in a casino in Alice Springs and to be reunited with one of the characters (Tick) son. The musical is marginally more fleshed out with a clear outline of the loneliness their lives have bought and while it is generally hilarious from start to finish (it's jam packed with innuendo and visual gags), there are some moments of great pathos. I won't spoil it too much in case you are off to see it, but needless to say Jason Donovan as Tick did an outstanding job and the entire cast is excellent. Here are my highlights:

• The choreography in the show is brilliant from the start. The perky Downtown is played while punks, drug addicts, thugs and prostitutes menacingly walk around Jason Donovan's Tick. Also brilliantly menacing are the unfriendly pub regulars during Hot Stuff.
• Jason Donovan quite rightly strips down to his undies within about 2 minutes of being on stage. He is quite buff. As are the majority of the cast. Oliver Thornton (from theatre boyband Teatro fact fans) plays Felicia and has a stomach you could bounce lovewee of. He also looks disturbingly like Austin Drage at various parts of the play.
• While the 3 main characters mime along to various disco classics (see my cd review here), the Divas sing the real versions above their heads bestowing our heroines with music and song like gaydian angels. One of them is Zoe Birkett - back from pop purgatory after Treat Me Like A Lady! She is rather good.
• Tony Sheldon who plays Bernadette (both here and in Oz) is literally flawless from start to finish. Bought a real dignity and warmth to the character.
• The funeral scene during Don't Leave Me This Way is both amusing and sad. Plus you get to learn the real reason that Bernadette's boyfriend was called Trumpet (he has an enormous foreskin! So large he could fit it around a ginger biscuit! Oh my lord)
• The bus is a marvel - and as the cast sing Go West the audience are showered with ticker tape for a ridiculously long amount of time. They, quite rightly, go bonkers. Later the audience are showered with ping pong balls during the lovely Cynthia's artistic performance of Pop Muzik.
• It's not hard to go from humour to heartbreak without it feeling forced (surprisingly I think that Xena Warrior Princess was very skilled at accomplishing this - really!), but after a night on the town (to I love the nightlife), the gang get back to see their bus vandalised. Their gloriously harmonised rendition of Both Sides Now was haunting and lovely. It really made me want to smooth down the bed covers and dab my eyes :( (bonus points if you guess that reference)
• The story is changed a little to have Felicia want to sing a kylie medley in full drag on Ayre's Rock (prompting huge cheers for the famous line "a cock in a frock on a rock") and during one of the early 'on the bus' moments, Felica and Tick (JD) sing various Kylie songs and Tick confesses to fancying Scott from Neighbours. It gave me a certain thrill to have Jase singing The Locomotion :)
• The double whammy of Colour My World (where the bus gets painted pink right before your eyes) and I Will Survive (complete with aboriginal remix) are both deliciously endorphin making. Colour My World sees the ensemble come out dressed as paintbrushes while I Will Survive turns into a tourist romp with every stereotype under the sun (I was just waiting for an inuit to be perched over a blowhole waiting for some fish).
• Talking of "colour" my world, Jase the face wears an increasingly colourful array of jeans when he is out of drag that James Leon and his burgandy slacks would be jealous of. And a nifty line of footwear that Simon Curtis would kill for :)
• Because of the above bullet point, you often don't know where to look on the stage. There is so much going on alongside the little in jokes, the innuendos, the road signs, the dancers, the costumes, the teletubbies (really!) et al. Perhaps that is to force people like myself who are easily distracted by one thing to go again?!
• There is a lovely father son moment for Tick and um, the little boy (who is freaking adorable) whose name i forget right now. They do quite a nice medley of Always On My Mind and I Say A Little Prayer.
• The finale is party time. The theatre will make an absolute fortune on all those pink feather boas they were selling!! The ladies-who-go-with-gays -to-things loved them! And a medley of Finally, I love The Nightlife and I Will Survive (all with iconic costumes from the film) literally (and by literally i mean figuratively) bought the house down. I haven't felt that uplifted for ages. Must go again!

Only we booked to go and see Sister Act The Musical in May instead, but I'm sure that will be lovely too :)

OTHER THEATRE REVIEWS:

• Chess (May 2008)
• The Sound of Music (June 2007)
• Little Shop of Horrors (March 2007)
• Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (Mar 2007)
• Beauty and The Beast (Oct 2006)
• Dirty Dancing The Musical (Oct 2006)
• The History Boys (Sept 2006)
• Wicked (Sept 2006)

It absolutely bamboozles me that The Feeling, who are clearly one of Britain's most consistently excellent writing band (along with Take That and Xenomania-for-Girls-Aloud) went from such giddy debut highs to such back turned sophomore slump. Currently Join With Us stands in my top five albums of the year and I don't really see that changing before Christmas. It's packed with top notch harmonious, melodic, singalong singles and plenty of other alluring tracks too - like my current fave Won't Go Away (tragically not played at the concert tonight) and brilliant We Can Dance. Luckily, The Feeling are still a massive draw live and the venue was packed tonight with a really wide variety of people enjoying their amazing music. Ruth and I had such fun bopping along, and trying out new lime infused fruit drinks for a ridiculous amount of spondoolies per bottle. The concert started with a big screen playing lots of amusing, embarrassing and downright cute youtube clips of people singing along to Feeling songs before launching into a couple of bars of their beach boys-esque Fill My Little World intro. However, that was soon interrupted by a high octane infusion of electro-disco noises that lead nicely into the first song:

1. I Thought It Was Over - their glorious, slightly electro-tinged comeback single was a brillo opening to the show. Dan looks rather emaciated and could probably do with a bit of cake every now and then. It just goes to accentuate how much a tall drink of water Richard Jones actually is :P
2. Fill My Little World - my all time favourite Feeling song always seems to feature quite early in the show, and I'm still not sure how I feel about that. It's always a spine tingling sensation live, but I still kind of wish it had that build up that the final songs have when you anticipate hearing them. Still, this song really showcases how note perfect the melodic arrangements of The Feeling actually are - whether on record or live in concert.
3. Never Be Lonely - ditto the harmonies comment above. Dan is practically aglow with sweat at this point. Richard looks cool and collected still though :P Still brilliant live...
4. Without You - first time I've heard this song live and it is just as lovely as I had hoped. There's a really melancholy in Dan's voice which permeates the venue, and as glorious as the song sounds, you can't help but feel a twinge of sadness at the lyrics...
5. Don't Make Me Sad - brilliant piano work on this vaudevillian second album track. Half the audience looked baffled though. Perhaps they just like the singles? Loved the way the rest of the band aped the mics when joining in on the harmonies at the end of the choruses!
6. Rose - ah the live staple that has featured in all Feeling concerts since the beginning of time. Dan finally takes his restrictive jacket off and his sweat stained singlet top makes him look slightly naked. A woman in front gets very excited that they are playing this song and tries to mosh along. It doesn't really work because a) it's a ballad and b) she has absolutely no rhythm. It's quite frightening.
7. The Truth Comes Out When The Drink Goes In - oooo a new song from the "we've not been dropped" third album, out sometime next year. It's really very feeling. In fact now is a good time to analyse what makes a good feeling song - huge singalong chorus. Manic guitar solo. Quiet piano bit middle eight. Gorgeous harmonies. A pulsing drum beat. This song has all of that. Actually we got a bit excited and thought they said The Ruth Comes Out! Never mind. It also has some nice handclapping in it.
8. Take On Me (Aha cover) - and if that wasn't exciting enough, they then launch into a brillo sing a long bump into the person next to you while bopping around cover version of Aha's Take On Me. They probably didn't even practise it either - it's probably a staple from their swiss chalet ski resort shows! Studio version please - if they oblige it may replace A1 as my fave interpretation of this song. Tingly!
9. Kettle's On - while i'm quite happy for them to pull lots of album tracks from the first album, I had been hoping that Join With Us album tracks would get a time to shine. Oh well. Can't fault a song as blatently transparent as Kettle's On...
10. I Miss You - the gorgeous gorgeous hidden track from 12 Stops and Home. Always absolutely mesmerising live. Dan popped a nice little teddy bear on the piano, which (while cute) gave him an air of a cross between Liberace and Elton John (but thinner). Obviously a little bit off putting. Lovely backing vocals from the guys.
11. Helicopter - it's audience participation at it's most intimate. Dan leaps (well more carefully places himself) on top of the crowd and surfs along them right to the back. I unwittingly got the crotchal area and can affirm that actually he is not only blessed with musical talent. And is surprisingly heavy. For such a skinny rake.
12. Strange - then he nips up to the balcony bit of the arena and does a lovely acoustic version of "outsiders" anthem Strange right next to the people with the crappy seats. I have never seen so many mobile phones switch to video recording so quickly. There was this rather lovely old couple up there, who seemed most bemused by the situation.
13. Turn It Up - oh look! The second album does exist! Another crowd favourite (where were these people when it was stiffing in low sixties on the charts?) and Dan really emphasised the "you talking but you don't say anything" lyrics which i now am obsessed with.
14. Sewn - ah the song that started it all for the lads and it sounds as powerful and fantastic now as it did three years ago. I've said it before and i'll say it again - they need ivor novello awards and more chart success right now!
15. Join With Us - the anthemic title track of the second album finally makes an appearance. This song is as packed full of different parts as any xenomania-for-girls-aloud classic. They've played it at every live show ruth and I have been too since early 2006 and it still blows the roof off the venue every time i hear it. The build up and complementary instruments in both live and studio version are phenomenal and show what accomplished song creators the boys are. Amazing.
16. Love It When You Call - Perfect song to finish the set off with. Everyone knows it. Everyone loves it. Everyone sings along. It's a totally euphoric song. I think i accidentally headbutted Ruth with my crotch (she is quite little) but being the good friend she is, she doesn't interrupt my pogoing to complain :)
17. Encore: We Can Dance - ooo surprise me from behind why don't you Mr Jones? The Feeling return for an encore by popping up in the audience in Sergent Pepper esque costumes and doing their glorious hidden track from Join With Us. Nice use of their quirky looking instruments too!
18. Encore2: Fight For Your Right To Party (Beastie Boys cover) - Ciaran takes centre stage and looks like he is having a whale of a time on this "way beneath the talents of the feeling but it works anyway" beastie boys "classic". I'd have preferred Fat Bottomed Girls but it was a raucous end to a glorious night :)

For more Feeling reviews including the 4 previous live reviews (!) click here. Back tomorrow with a new pop special!

Frankly I could write all day about Kylie, her music and her live shows. And sometimes I do. But not today. I have been stuck in Preston all day (the town oop north, not the Ordinary Boy) and am tired and have 5 hours of delayed train journey on me, all without - WITHOUT - the new Sibling Ciccone book. Boo you slow stocking train book store whores. So today, in exchange for some cuddling time with Dazpecs, I hand the reigns of fizzypop to one of my fave MSN buddies, upcoming popstar James Leon to share his thoughts and photos on the Kylie concert last Friday in Manchowder...

"From the moment Miss Minogue descended from a weird spider-web type chair to the sounds of ‘Speakerphone’ I was transfixed.

The show was a visual spectacle as you’d expect – there were several different themes, encompassing oriental/geisha costume and backdrop. Cheerleader with a multi-coloured neon backdrop, gothic glam with Kylie astride a giant glitter encrusted skull, and a black and white Viennese dinner dance theme

While Kylie has never primarily been about her singing voice, she nevertheless was note perfect throughout and really held some impressively long notes at the end of some of the more emotive tracks. She radiates joyful pop de vivre, and despite some recent photos suggesting otherwise – she still looks amazing, and seems to enjoy every moment she’s on stage

I was surprised by the songs that I enjoyed the most – it was the rockier numbers in particular, ‘Kids’ was the moment when I really got lost in the event – when Kylie steps outside of the disco-pop box she seems to really loosen up and gives that extra spark. I’ve never been too sure about the rockabilly electro strut of the comeback single -‘Two hearts’, however live I really got it – and now reckon this might in time be seen as something of a lost classic.

One criticism was the dominance of newer material – she played almost every track from the ‘X’ album, which although does have a few decent songs is not really what the fans want to hear. Myself and the friends I was with were most disappointed at the omission of the classics ‘Hand on your heart’ and ‘Better the devil you know’ –the idea of a Kylie show without the later seems absurd to me. Thankfully ‘Step Back in Time’ and ‘On a night like this’ were highlights elsewhere.

I was however praying that she would do ‘The One’ - the stand out track from ‘X’ and when she finally she performed it as her penultimate number I thought I might combust in a cloud of glitter dust!


Kylie seemed almost reluctant to leave the stage with a 5 song encore, including a fantastic ‘I Should be so lucky’ and clearly was relishing the delight of the audience. True star’s like this don’t come a long very often! "

More Kylie:

• Why 'X' is ok by me (Similary Hard Mandy themed post coming soon!)
• My comprehensive Kylie overview (part one/ part two/ part three )
• Kylie Showgirl Review from 2005

Back tomorrow with more something!

So, you've just finished with one of the world's biggest and most amazing pop groups ever. You could probably do anything you darn well wanted to. So why on earth would you make a musical about a romance at a chess match set during the cold war? Because you are a genius that's why. Benny and Bjorn Abba teamed up with lyricist Tim Rice to create something that on paper sounds an absolute snooze but on disc (and live for it's 21st Anniversary Concert) is an absolute corker. The thing that is so noticeable about Chess is that it's actually a musical full of great pop songs. And these pop songs are originally for the musical, rather than songs taken from the catalogue of pop and inserted into a musical (a la We Will Rock You, Mama Mia, Tonight's The Night et al). There are elements of opera, rock, balladry that ranks up there with the most heartbreaking of Abba's songs, electro-tinged pop and even choir type numbers that almost indicate what Opus Ten would have been like if Abba had stayed together. The musical had a rocky run on Broadway back in the 80s but went on to be well known if only for the concept album that launched it. 21 years later, the Royal Albert Hall in London was packed out for the all star cast revival...

And what a cast. Idina "Elphaba" Menzel takes the role of Florence (the lover), while Josh Groban does an outstanding job with the reluctant protaganist husband Anatoly. Adam Pascal is electrifying as the selfish, manipulative, spiteful and desperate for money American Freddy. Tim Rice came out at the beginning to introduce the cast and launch into the presentation of the Chess he always wanted to make - a subtle political commentary through the focus on a game of chess. And it was cast brilliantly. Idina was received as pretty much a superstar while Josh's voice was perfect for the role he was given - indeed his Act One Finale number "Anthem", well you could almost hear a pin drop during it and the place erupted when he released the last note. An incredible performance. The dancers and chorus were also flawless throughout the whole show - an utter delight to listen to and watch. However, you could almost sense people waiting for the "big numbers" - the ones that had hit the pop charts in the 80s, and subsequently been covered by Steps, A*Teens and uh, C-21. One Night in Bangkok remains a terrific little pop number - all pseudo rapping and a dark menacing chorus disguised in a perky but slightly ominous pop beat. Adam Pascal did an excellent job and his projection and diction on the song were right on the money. Kerry Ellis (who has also played Elphaba) duetted with Idina on "I Know Him So Well" and while both gave an incredible vocal performance, Kerry was just - wow. It really was a wow moment. I never realised how sardonic the song is before either... All in all, a winning performance of a much maligned musical that I can't wait to come to DVD...

LINK: Stage shots courtesy of Ice The Site
LINK: Download the concert recording at Singing Stage

Ah, what a gloriously festive weekend it has been. More about what I did during the day on Saturday in the Christmas eve post, but for now let me catch you up on what the past two evenings have been like. Friday night was Darren’s office party at a local comedy club. As I used to work at the same place as Darren does now, it was rather great to see everyone again and catch up. Plus I looked rather aces in my new fuck me pumps, ace low pocketed jeans, white shirt, black tie and black cardigan (the only ensemble i think it is appropriate to wear a cardigan with fashion fans!). The comics were rather ace, especially one woman whose Enid Blyton jokes I laughed way too loud and knowingly at. However, it was Saturday night that was just a giddy fun evening. Bernice, Daz and I went to see Same Difference at Nightingales. Now there have been a lot of huge pop acts perform there in the past (Sugababes, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Girls Aloud, et al) but i seriously haven’t see the place as packed as it was for the mighty SD. After an introduction from the host (in which a mention of an upcoming appearance from Rhydiculous got resoundingly booed, the silly haired homophobic comment making fool won’t be getting a warm welcome then!) the siblings came on stage (Sean wearing EXACTLY the same as I wore the night before. The crush continues) to a rapturous welcome. And what was lovely was that they seemed absolutely overwhelmed by the reception, and were reduced to tears several times. Darren and I had elbowed our way to the front and I took a plethora of videos and photos. That came out quite well in my humble opinion. They performed all the greats from the show, finishing with All I Want For Christmas Is You (where Sarah touched my hand and Sean shook hands with Darren and winked at him! Swoon!) and an announcement that their debut single on Syco records will be out in early March! What a marv Christmas treat. I’m more addicted than ever… Download our Christmas weekend photo album here!!

THE DAZPANTS REVIEW OF HALF A SIXPENCE:

(Dictated to and transcribed by hunky Paul. Yes Darren, I will point out that I put that hunky in myself. Boo you gabor-whore [thanks Yuri!!]) Hello XOLondoners (I am now obsessed with my invention of that phrase so prefer it to zappinos). Last week I “dragged” your lovely blogger Paul to see Half a Sixpence at the theatre around the corner. And by dragged I mean, he ran skipping down the street to ensure they didn’t sell out of programmes. They never do, do they?! Anyway, I had procured first row centre seats, which as it turns out isn’t as impressive as it sounds because much like a recent Darren Hayes concert I read about, it was only half full. I’ve got lots I want to say, so Paul has instructed me to use bullet point and seeing as he is typing this up, I don’t have much choice…

• We sat next to a rather lovely old couple, who kept mentioning they had been to see “joseph” here and that they played the soundtrack to that at least 3 times a day. No wonder the husband looked like he would vote for voluntary euthanasia.
• In the break, said couple had bought their own snacks, and then confided in us that they wished they had bought the packet of Wotsits they had in the kitchen cupboard. Nan, you’re a window shopper, etc.
• Paul would probably go on about how half a sixpence is about the class divide, etc., and how money changes people and you should be who you are with for love, not because they can make you better. I say bollocks to that, and concentrate on the burrrrrilliant dance numbers like Money to Burn and one of my faves Flash Bang Wallop which went down a right treat.
• The family behind us were well annoying. They were talking to the lovely old couple and had to outdo them on everything. If the old couple paid 12p for that packet of wotsits, the family behind paid 10p and weren’t afraid to let you know. Which just goes to show, you can’t buy class.
• Paul was rather excited that some bloke who sang Maroon 5 in a nice outfit (in his opinion) on Any Dream Will Do was in it (Chris Crosby).
• The cast worked really hard and were all really good – there was only an ensemble of 14 and all did really well.
• It was a nice evening ~ take that, pretentious musicals (Rent remixed, etc)

24th June ~ My it seems like such a lot has happened this weekend so I am just going to get you all uptodate as quickly as I can, then will be back to normal tomorrow with two – TWO!!! – mammoth posts! Ooo look it’s that trusty bullet point format. Again.

• I realised after my craptacular day on Thursday, that it was the longest day of the year and boy, did it feel like it! Still Friday was just around the corner and the weekend turned out a lot better than the week did…
• I drove straight from work on Friday to pick up Ruthiepoos as we were off to the big outdoor Feeling concert in Cannock chase park near ruthiepoos house…
• I had foolishly dressed for the occasion rather than the weather, so wasn’t overly thrilled when it started pissing down with rain on the way there. Luckily sensible ruthiepoos had layered up and lent me her “hoodie” so I didn’t get completely drenched…
• Once there, we were both very rock and/or roll. Ruthiepoos ordered a water, and I went all out with the ligging and had a hot chocolate. As Darren texted wisely from the warmth of our apartment “you are so wild”. Indeed.
• Usually at concerts, all ruthiepoos sees is the back of someone’s arse cos she is so tiny. Honestly, you want to pick her up and put her in your shirt pocket so she can have a better view. This concert was on a hill, so to avoid the running water and for ruthiepoos to get an actual view of the stage, we stood near the back…
• … she was like a kid in a bloody candy store, actually seeing people on stage! Haha. Bless.
• The Ghosts were the support act and as usual XO is correct. They are very good indeed. Stay The Night positively rocked despite the pouring (and I mean pouring) rain, and even their version of Don’t Cha had a certain charm to it… Then! After we were told we weren’t allowed to bring umbrellas in (which was my provision for keeping my ensemble dry) they sold Ghosts umbrellas! I was most unimpressed!!
• In between the support and main act, Ruthiepoos had to widdle about 9 times. She had the bladder of a 92 year old man. And! The toilets weren’t a patch on V Festival ones. You couldn’t even flush them. I held mine til I got to the safety of my £3000 refitted bathroom.
• We were both quite cold and miserable by the time the feeling came on the stage. That is they appeared on the stage. They didn’t “come” on the stage. That’s a different show completely and one I hope to see one day with just Dan Gillespie Sells Sex and Mr Ellis Bextor, who as always looked adorable in his braces/suspenders.
• However, once the Fill My Little Fanfare intro merged into I Want You Now, our moods lifted, the sun peeked out from the clouds and Ruthiepoos and I were bopping about, albeit sedately as we didn’t want to slip in the mud.
• The set list was pretty much the same as the last two times we saw them live (5 times in 15 months. Obsessed much?) but still quite delightful.
• Fat Bottomed Girls live is just amazing, and they need to record this as a b-side tout de suite.
• When Never Be Lonely came on, a couple near us were spinning each other around, which was a bit hazardous but actually quite a lovely sight to behold. People in love are indeed fast and foolish J
• I think Ruthiepoos and I bopped hardest to the amazing Join With Us, which Dan once again promised would be on the second album.
• Then we drove back to my house as RP was staying over in preparation for an early start to Manchester. She was freezing in the car and I was boiling. It may have been a little selfish of me to turn the heating down surrepticiously.
• Saturday morning came round far too quick, and soon DazPants, Ruthiepoos, LusciousLou and myself were off in my little Merc up to Manchester to Sparkle In The Park(le) which is transgendered pride. We stayed in these gorgeous serviced apartments literally opposite canal street, but first of all popped off to the shops for a look around.
• I was VERY disappointed with Manchester shops. ScallySports is not a shop I want to peruse, though I did see an inordinate amount of people with Primark bags. Turns out it was 10% off day. Still, it’s nice for people who need 4 outfits for £13.50…
• Fact: If you are foolish enough to buy primark clothes you will notice they fall apart after two washes. I have this from a very reliable source.
• My Saturday Starbucks was only ok. It did not fill me with vim and vigour like it usually does. I think the boy serving was a bit stingy on the white chocolate part of my mocha. Question – do you pronounce it Moe-Car or Mock-Uh??
• After that, we mosied on down to Sparkle In The Parkle which was on this cute little village green and had a really nice atmosphere to it all.
• The drinks were more reasonably priced than the upitself Soho Revue Bar, so I was soon pretty hammered on orange Bacardi Breezers (hence the orange tongue in the vidclip above) and Darren was dancing around to an Indigo Girls tribute transsexual called Gloria.
• Luckily it got much better than that cos I got to hang out with the lovely Digital boys before their performance – and they are all as absolutely lovely in person as they are on msn/myspace, etc…
• …And gave an amazing performance to an adoring crowd. Much MUCH more on Digital tomorrow…
• I also got to say hello to Jazz and Ste from Billiam who were constantly surrounded by swooning girls. It was quite funny. For the record, I didn’t swoon.
• Having an all you can eat Chinese buffet with the Digital boys before going clubbing was a mistake, as it pretty much killed everyone off!! Hehe.
• It was an ace weekend, though I’m really tired right now.
• Of course I can’t leave without some Big Bro gossip – though I am no fan of Seany, I thought the moment below would have saved him from eviction. Genius!
• And below big bro vid, some more pics and vids from the weekend!

(at least Charlie Digital is looking at the right camera!)

THE THEATRE NEWS:

~ Sound of Music review...

Paul again, taking control here. I have to say I was most impressed with the Sound of Music stage version. At the London Palladium don’t you know. Which has no air conditioning so most people were flapping their overpriced programmes all the way through. The man in front had a constant trickle of sweat running down his neck which was quite offputting. This version was faithful enough to the film that it would keep your average punters happy, but enough little quirks to make it’s own mark. A couple of quick observations...

• Connie Fisher is a powerhouse maria, though her cheeks didn’t go as red as Julie Andrews when she fell in love with the Captain...
• The orchestral arrangements of the songs were uniformly stunning...
• ...as was the stage set. Very inventive and clever.
• Stage Maria came across as much more as a teacher, particularly during the cute Do-Re-Mi...
• ...which, along with So Long, Farewell and Lonely Goatherd, had the cutest dance routine this side of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Stage Mary Poppins...
• ...Rolf is a lot nicer/hotter in the stage version...
• The Baroness and Uncle Max came across as a 40s version of Will and Grace. Quite the comedy couple, and the orphans potential mommy was a lot nicer in this version. Oh! And their songs, cut from the film, are real burlesque type highlights.
• There are some great comedy moments with the nuns, particularly as Maria prepares for marriage and one of the Sisters pulls a skimpy nighty out of her suitcase. Hahahaha.
• The Wedding Processional is always aces ~ I played it as my sister Hannah walked down the aisle 8 years ago and accidentally went into the how do you solve a problem like maria part. Ah, good times...
• But to be honest, if I was Maria, i wouldn’t particularly want some nuns telling me I was a flibbertigibbet or a willo the wisp as I walked down the aisle. Although, when i was at school, some people did think i was a character from willo the wisp...
• The kids were all bloody excellent.

It made me want to dig out Connie’s album again, and although it’s no Laura Michelle Kelly album, it’s still quite good.

MP3: Connie Fisher ~ Another Suitcase

It’s one of Darren’s favourite musicals so it was nice for us to go and see something that he chose rather than one of my force fed choices. And what a corker Little Shop Of Horrors is. With music written by the amazing Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, I knew it would be a musical tour de force. Ashman and Menken were responsible for a trio of Disney classics that bought the company back into the limelight – The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast and Aladdin. The duo have a knack for creating songs that deal with very real human emotions while focusing on the humour, pathos and sometimes the fantastical. I have always loved their music and the Steve Martin film version, but have been dying to see the original theatrical production with less happy ending on the stage. The 3 singing girls really hold together the production and were not only fine of voice, but also hilarious in their performances, particularly in the slow motion fight scenes with the bums during Downtown. Alistair McGowen was downright sleazy as the evil dentist who enjoys inflicting pain on other people (and a number of other characters later on) and the actor embraced the leather trousers and the fetishist angle. Sheriden Smith (Antony’s girlfriend, Emma from The Royle Family) was a lot different to the iconic version of Audrey played in the film by Ellen Greene and she played it very well. Her role as the beaten girlfriend was played equally for laughs (bearing breasts and neck for a nipple tweaking “whatever you say, doctor!”) and pathos (her “I’m dating a semi-sadist” during somewhere that’s green was heartbreaking) and it was her focus on feeling that she didn’t deserve any better that made it a great performance. It was Paul Keating that shone out as geeky Seymour. As the plant grows and demands human flesh, it plays on Seymour’s fears and gets him to do downright devious and despicable things in order to prove his love to Audrey. It’s a play filled with moral dilemmas and ethical propostions, but if you just want the light stuff, the songs are catchy, the doo wop chorus girls hilarious, and Paul slightly sexy. Geek chic is back!! Huzzah, etc. PS – if you were the woman in front of us with the mad fly away hair, no wonder your fella left at half time and didn’t come back. No one likes a stray follicle in their minstrels. Grrr PPS – Paul was also in Closer To Heaven, the pet shop boys musical and the mp3 below is taken from that!

MP3:

MP3: Paul Keating – Positive Role Model (Almighty Mix)

LINK: Little Shop of Horrors website (with cool video)

It’s SlippyDisco’s favourite musical. Poppostergirl spent most of her youth calypso-ing along to it. So I was all hyped up for Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat to roll into glamourous Birmingham, and I was not disappointed. For those who find the Old Testament somewhat moralistic and preachy, this show will totally change your mind. I’m not a huge fan of Lloyd Webber, but he has turned this story into a riotous romp through a variety of musical styles and fun performances. The sets were amazing incorporating ancient Canaan, pyramids in Egypt, and even the Eiffel Tower in Paris! The costumes are a visual delight with a rather buff Joseph (more on him later) spending most of the show in a skimpy little skirt number – yet the Pharoah’s wife wears an appropriately slutty and modern red dress, while the guards kind of look like Vorlons (nerd reference number one). Ultimately it’s the song and performances that bring this musical to life. Any Dream Will Do is of course a favourite, and is performed at the very start, the very end and twice during a singalong-an-encore! The Pharoah has a scene stealing moment during his Elvis inspired number and chewed the scenery with his swooning dancing girls who were eating out of his hand by the time the number was over. The choir of primary school children (from my home town of Sutton Coldfield) did an amazing job. However, it was Joseph (a rather RAR Jonathan Parkin in his debut professional role) and the Narrator (an amazing from start to finish Harriet Shaw) who gave flawless vocals, impassioned performances and went from funny to poignant at the flick of a switch. Clearly Jonathan is a young star in the making and I look forward to seeing more of him in the future. The show is a corker and utterly enjoyable from start to finish. I may now be obsessed with learning to get all the colours in the right order for when I sing a long to my Jason Donovan sung soundtrack!!

Bear in mind that this is written after I have knocked up the previous three reviews you have just very kindly sat and read/scanned through/totally ignored. If Joseph was a great ‘B’ grade show and Horrors was a solid ‘A-‘ performance, then Dancing On Ice was a freaking knock out top notch, blow you out of your seat, prickly hairs on the back of your neck extravaganza. Now I love the musicals and concerts I get to go and see, but seeing Torville and Dean live on the ice, less than 30 feet away was quite the thrilling experience. Having sat in awe when I was just eight years old, and watched them get perfect 6.0s for their Bolero performance, I was tres excited to see Dancing On Ice turn into such a phenomenon and take the show on the road. Most of the shows finalists (Duncan Blue, Lisa Scott Steps, Stefan Booth, Bonnie Langford, Claire Buckfield and Kyran Bracken plus Australian finalists Lisa Blingle and Jake Wall - in the DNA shot above both who were really great) were there along with all the professional skaters. The show was done very much like the tv show – a performance and then judges comments. All were very good (hey Lisa has sold out many times in the last few years, but it’s the first time in a long time that she has sold out an arena ba dom tssk!), yet it was Bonnie, Claire and Kyran that were head and shoulders above the rest. They were so fluid in their movements and moved incredibly well to the songs that they had chosen while being quite fearless in the way they flung themselves round the ice. In the second half, the professional skaters got to do more and I have to say two of the routines just blew me away. One was set to the CanCan music from the excellent Moulin Rouge and involved lots of death defying flinging of some completely fearless lady around the guys skates and close to the ice and into the air, all at incredibly fast speeds. I was literally holding my breath the whole time, fearing for her safety! Then Daniel Someoneortheother did Angels and flew off the ice just holding onto two pieces of cloth. Man, you got to be ripped to do that! I got sore just watching him. So all in all, quite the magical breathtaking evening (i’ll tell you more about my quite serious back injury I sustained today tomorrow in the pre-amble…)

Mine (Ruthypoos) and Lou's night with the Indigo Girls (and many many other lesbians!) started beatifully with Katherine Feeney who is not only visually pleasing but has a haunting voice and interesting tunes which compliment her style perfectly. A great opening act whom I'm afraid i have to skip over in order to try and demonstrate how awsome the Indigo Girls were! First a quick apology to Paul who was my intended 'date' for this gig I did miss you gig buddy and boo to work for making you unable to go - may it never happen again!! That said it was wonderful to be at a gig in a heterosexual venue and still feel totally able to snuggle with your woman! Add to this the amazing talents of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers and you have a night made in heaven! To say the guitar playing was out of this world would leave me short of an analogy to use to describe the vocal harmonies - suffice to say their CD's sound fabulous - live they defy my vocabulary - (although I'm sure Paul with his eloquence could have found words!) They played a very varied set (off about 26 songs) mixing songs from deep in their past with more recent songs and a lovely mix from their new album. I think the most memorable songs for me were Moment of Forgiveness, Power of Two, Closer to fine, Fill it up again, I believe in Love, Little Perrenials and a lovely lively medley of 2 songs, one of which I think is called Have you ever been Lonely? and the other I didn't know but they gelled together magnificently. Having highlighted but a few i must stress that every single song was spine tinglingly good. The Indigo Girls are very much at home with their performance skills and their audiences which made for interesting and perfectly timed mid song banter, such as one of them saying "it's kinda small in here I feel like we're playing in a bar" and the woman standing next to me shouted out "you are!" causing much hilarity and a good natured "ha that explains it then" response! Another classic moment was Amy forgetting a verse to a song - apologising and missing out the verse with such genteel humour that I think she could have got away with forgetting a verse in every song! I guess a review of any Indigo Girls gig has to mention their politics which still run strongly through their songs, I think however that this was perfectly reflected in the openness of everyone at the gig - when me and Lou went to the bar between acts a woman standing next to us offered to 'save our space for us'! Now that doesn't happen everyday! Amnesty International were there with very worthy petitions the details of which can be seen on their website www.amnesty.org.uk/ Finally for their encore the Indigo Girls finished perfectly with two of my favourites In Love with your Ghost and finally a roofraising performance of Galileo! We had an amazing evening which I cannot wait to repeat and I implore the Indigo Girls to return to the UK soon! Just as an end to this gushing review me and Lou were having a sneaky snog in the car when I dropped her off home and pulled apart just in time to see a nosey man passing by walk right into a lampost!! A comical end to an uplifting evening which won't be forgotten in a hurry!

Ruthiepoos and I have now seen the marvelous Feeling 4 times in 12 months. And each time has been truly magnificent. They were one of the first bands I championed on this blog and it was a real thrill to see lots of other people start to appreciate their music in the blogging world, and the band proved to be a huge success in England and Europe (I'm pretty sure America is beckoning!). The set list was exactly the same as when we saw them late last year, with one exception, yet it was still an exciting and energetic performance. Here are some highlights:
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~ the concert was in Wolverhampton (how alienhits ;) ) so Ruthiepoos drove us there and I navigated. Rather brilliantly as well.
~ I decided to pay homage to Dan Gillespie (Sex)Sells by wearing a cool white shirt, sleeves rolled up and a waistcoat. I looked amazing, natch ;)
~ the line for the booze was amazingly long. We passed the time by judging other people in our minds which is always fun. There was an enormously large woman in a some sort of mumu/cardigan that really made me rub my eyes and doubletake at the horrificness of it all. Trinny and Susannah that woman now!
~ Once we had got our booze (water), we moved into the main hall and some random young ragamuffin asked where i got my waistcoat from, was mostly disinterested in the answer and then said "are you a gay? Is it ok to ask that?" I confirmed that I was indeed "a gay". Sweet Jebus...
~ He then high fived me (presumably for being "a gay" in a waistcoat) which i ashamed to admit i reciprocated. His equally drunk/strung out buddy then lead him away. Probably to experiment with "bumlove"
~ Some posh person in front of us had his v-neck on back to front. We couldn't tell if he was being ironic or not. V necks are not designed to be worn back to front. He looked like he was wearing a fashionable strait jacket.
~ Bring it on haters ~ The Fray were surprisingly good if inoffensive. Highlights of course were How To Save A Life (which they spunked 2 songs too early in my opinion) and Over My Head.
~ Though apart from the guy in the brown shirt, they are ugly as fuck and the lead singer was wearing a baggy illfitting t-shirt. Which just won't cut it when you are touring with people as effortlessly stylish as The Fee.
~ The girls behind us were ridiculously annoyed that the main show didn't start til nine thirty. One of them had to be up early apparently. Yikes. Poor luv.
~ The concert started off with that amazing Fill My Little World intro from the last concert that leads into the very beach boy-esque and perfectly harmonised I Want You Now.
~ Fill My Little World is still the most amazing song I have heard for years.
~ There is no filler on the feeling album. And they did Join With Us again. Ruthiepoos and I were happy.
~ New addition to the set was an utterly rocking Fat Bottomed Girls cover. Insanely amazing.
~ Dan looked as lovely as ever, but I may have transferred some of my affections to Mr Ellis-Bextor. He has a very adorable floppy fringe/bangs and wore red braces that made me feel gooey downstairs
~ Ruthiepoos and I are now going to see them at some concert in a forest in June. Huzzah.
~ Blue Picadilly is still the most perfect song to end their set on. Ironic too seeing as it is about trains and the last one left for Birmingham about 10 minutes before they played it ;)
~ Je t'adore la feeling.
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LINK: Check out my previous feeling concerts here, here, and here. Marv.
LINK: For gods sake buy 12 Stops and Home if you haven't already!

I love a bit of alliteration. It's good for the tongue. As DazPlantoon well knows. So attracted by the tongue-rolliness of it all, last night as a Christmas present to my folks I took them and my tres bon friend Cat along to the original X-Factor runners up G4's Christmas Carol Concert at Coventry Cathedral. And DazPalooka reluctantly came along too. Bless 'im…

Obviously, it was not going to be your normal "pop" concert, set in a working religious cathedral, and there was even an awed hush as the 1500 strong throng took to their pughs (kudos to papazapping for being able to break the prayer kneeling thingy within about 3 minutes). DazPetal, Cat and I were BY FAR the youngest people in there, and after a quick plug from the vicar, G4 came in from behind (ooo just how I like it!) singing Once In Royal David's City. And of course, vocally flawless it was too. The great thing about the whole performance was that they didn't use microphones and just embraced the acoustics of the cathedral to project their voices. The guy playing piano for them was incredibly talented and added an extra layer to the performance. All 4 boys were decked out in tailored suits and looked mighty fine, though Jonathan's quiff was a bit out of control, let me tell you. Mindful of the setting, the boys chose some of the more reverent songs from their catalogue, such as My Way, Amazing Grace, Nessum Dorma, To Where You Are and current single Danny Boy. All beautifully executed and enhanced by the environment. The stand outs had to be the festive tunes – When A Child Is Born was utterly stunning live as was the restrained Silent Night. O Holy Night (which they must surely put on next years album) gave me goosebumps from head to toe, and finally the audience joined in on the slightly messy O Come All Ye Faithful, where the boys came down to check everyone was singing and stood on the end of our row! Cute… Overall, it was a unique way to put a new spin on a tour that worked well and added some yuletide sparkle. And my parents LOVED it, so a good time was had by all ;)
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LINK: Buy G4's Act III
MP3: G4 – Silent Night
MP3: G4 – When A Child Is Born
BONUS MP3: Il Divo – O Holy Night

Normally right about now, I would be writing about how great Guys and Dolls is (it was) and how Nigel Harman is sex on 2 legs (he was). Sadly that was all ruined and suddenly the best of times became the worst of times. it all started off so well...I was outside the Alex Theatre in Birmingham, gazing lovingly at Nige on the poster advertising that Guys and Dolls was opening that night. I was waiting patiently for the lovely Kirsty to arrive and was enjoying the blustering gale that was blowing me from pillar to post (and not in the good furtive under the duvet way!). Suddenly an excessive burst of wind whipped up a (mercifully empty) bin bag which then proceeded to hit me right in the face. I'd like to say I handled it with grace and ease, but instead i ran around screaming like a loon on loon tablets at a loon convention until some kindly old woman pulled if off my face (mmm slimy) and i realised it wasn't a blood sucking alien. Having humiliated myself in front of the quite long line of people waiting to get in, I slinked to my seat and buried my head in a picture of Nige in the programme. Behind us were a rowdy group of girls who were clearly looking forward to the Harmeister... except clearly not that much. As when it started they still carried on talking and laughing and getting their malteasers out of their purse and then dropping them on the floor and then yawning and saying it was boring and they couldn't hear properly. For 30 freaking minutes. When one of them said "oh god why are we here" i could take it no longer - i turned round and practically spat the words out "i think everyone is wondering that - you have done nothing but talk and laugh and chew with your mouths open and yawn and ruin it for everyone. It's like sitting in front of a bunch of socially retarded school girls. I've paid good money for these tickets and i didn't pay it to come and listen to you" To be fair I'm not proud of my outburst and particularly not proud of my socially retarded, but their biggest comeback was "we paid for the tickets too" and continued to grumble through to the break. When the break came they all filed out to go the bar, and one of them said they were sorry for talking but it wasn't polite to call them what i did. I kind of grunted and let it go. Several people went to complain to the ushers and asked them to be vigilant to the noise in the second part of the show.
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They came back from the break where they had obviously all been talking about what i said and all 8 of them were well rowdy when they got back. "Which one of youse called us a retard". I had lost the will to live by this point so I as politely as I could explained that i didn't call them retards i said they were socially retarded and had ruined the first half for everyone around them. Then one of them said I wouldn't be so brave if 'er 'usband were around. I told her I frankly found it astounding that she had a husband and wouldn't be surprised if the poor hen pecked fool was currently packing his bags to make a quick getaway. Then the music started up and I clearly had aggravated the situation as they all then sat and yawned excessively and said they weren't allowed to talk! Then about 5 minutes in they all stood up and had an argument about whether they should leave or not (and still the ushers did nothing!). Ultimately they did decide to leave in a non quiet disorderly fashion. By then I was too aggravated to enjoy the show, although I have to say I know I would have enjoyed it because it very nearly did make me forget towards the end and seemed highly enjoyable. Curse those soulless witches!!
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LINK: Purchase tickets for Guys and Dolls

THE CONTINUING CONCERT ADVENTURES OF RUTHIEPOOS & PAUL (& DAZPRACATAN AND LOU!!)
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It really amused me that someone on The Feeling forum said they enjoyed reading my blog for the continuing adventures of Ruthiepoos! She is getting as famous as DazPanteloons! Hehe... Anyway last night we trekked from the apartment through the dodgy part of Birmingham to go and see the Scissor Sisters in concert at the National Indoor Arena... which of course was packed with girls in cowboy hats and feather boas, and gays in sparkly tee shirts. I looked positively demur... I have to say overall, while i absolutely love the Scissters live, there was a certain something missing from the performance that i can't put my finger on. It was a great evening, but not as magnificent as the other times i have seen them. Here are some highlights and lowlights of the night though...
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~ The programmes were pricey but nice. An LP sized box contained some gorgeous photos and the band's feelings on making Ta-Dah and touring it around the world...
~ The support band The Gossip were rubbish. It was like watching a giant lava lamp osmose around the stage while someone skinned a cat. I was not impressed. At all...
~ Then there was an hour wait for the Scissters which was ok because we got to hear about Ruthiepoos new job and take poor quality mobile phone photos. Because we are hardcore party animals. I think Ruth dribbled on my cashmere sweater at some point too but i am not sure...??
~ When the Scissters entered the stage, they did so through those elevator doors on the front of their cd. Which is quite clever, no?
~ the first six songs were all magnificent in the extreme - i particularly liked when Del came up front at the instrumental outro of I Can't Decide (a definite audience fave) and did a funky little jig with Jake...
~ Ana Mantronic is the queen of on stage banter (take notes Sandi Thom!) - she dedicated Laura to the first lady ("may she rest in pieces someday") and Lights to two sisters in Ireland who chopped up their mom's boyfriend, and whom the press christened the Scissor Sisters ("you know you've made it when serial killers are named after you")...
~ Some of the songs were just plain not good live or in a weird order. I would've skipped Transistor altogether, put ballad Mary after the glorious Land Of A Thousand Words (the best bond theme never written and performed below thousands of twinkling lights - a definite highlight) leaving the show to be finished with two party stompers...
~ The encore was also super good and bought it all back together. Great lights show and the big screens had some great camera work during Filthy - constant live images changing instantly led to a frenetic but exhilarating viewing experience...
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SETLIST:
~ She's My Man
~ I Can't Decide
~ Tits On The Radio
~ Laura
~ Lights
~ Kiss You Off
~ Paul McCartney
~ Take Your Mama Out
~ Everybody Wants The Same Thing
~ Land Of A Thousand Words
~ Transistor
~ Comfortably Numb
~ Music Is The Victim (surely should have been a single?!)
~ Mary
ENCORE: I Don't Feel Like Dancing
ENCORE: Filthy/Gorgeous