Pynchon

1. Ellis, Beggs & Howard supporting T'Pau at the NEC in 1988. Frankly, Ellis, Beggs & Howard blew T'Pau off the stage. The band were formed by Nick Beggs of Kajagoogoo fame; Kajagoogoo being huge in the UK for about 10 minutes back in 1983. I thought that Ellis, Beggs & Howard were just a fantastic live band. Great songs. Great lead singer. They should have been huge. T'Pau were as dull as dishwater.
2. Ian McNabb supporting Aztec Camera at the Symphony Hall in 1992. Ian McNabb used to be in the Icicle Works. I saw the Icicle Works way back in, I think, 1988 when Zak Starkey was occupying the drum kit and the guy who played bass in Black was on... er... bass. Great gig. Great band. Much missed, by me at least. Supporting Aztec Camera on that night in 1992, Ian McNabb grabbed the chance with both hands and entranced the audience with a mix of Icicle Works classics and his (at the time) new solo material. He joked with the audience. He led singalongs. He invited requests and played them. Simply fantastic and he got a standing ovation. Roddy Frame (who is Aztec Camera), on the other hand, performed like a dead man. I'm surprised that Roddy Frame didn't take to the stage with a white flag. All over bar the shouting.

For the past couple of years Lorraine and I have taken my Niece and Nephew to a show around Christmas. Normally it wouldn't matter if it was something we wanted to see, because it was the kids choice, but this year, as soon as we heard that John Barrowman was going to be heading the panto "Aladdin", it became the only choice for all of us. Lorraine and I are both big fans of Mr. Barrowman and the kids of Captain Jack Harkness.

Ah... John Barrowman. Actor ("Doctor Who" and "Torchwood"), singer (he has worked in West End musicals for years and has released a couple of albums), reality TV judge ("How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria", "Any Dream Will Do"), writer (his autobiography is hitting the stores anytime soon) and Gay icon. At the moment he is a ubiquitous presence on British TV. Lorraine has said that he is making the most of his 5 minutes of fame, but I hope he will last a big longer than that. At least I hope he will last until April, when we are due to see him in concert.

We were really looking forward to seeing John Barrowman in "Aladdin" and... Hmm.. he was OK. No. Wrong word. He was good. Energetic, warm and funny. Engaged the audience. Couldn't dance for shit, but a great performer and singer. The perfect lead for a pantomime.

Except...

Gulp! I can hardly believe I am saying it.

The Grumbleweeds were better. They were a revelation. Absolutely brilliant. Genius. The funniest thing I have seen live in years. They perfectly pitched their performance for adults and kids, which I would imagine is a very difficult thing to do. The Grumbleweeds have been around for years. I remember them on a Seaside Special in the 70's doing a wicked takeoff of Gary Numan. Old troupers. Started as a pop group in the sixties. Became a comedy pop group. TV, panto, cabaret, cruise ships. Now down to the original members - Robin Colvill and Graham Walker. You can read all about The Grumbleweeds here. If you get the chance, go and see them. I thought they were great.

The rest of the panto? Pretty good, actually. You either like panto or you don't and I love it. A 3-D genie. ("Put your glasses on to protect your eyes from the Genie!") Patrick Stewart's uncredited voice cameo. It was definitely him. The Daleks. Ultimate evil and great fun. Don Maclean, the best dame in the business. Peter Gallagher's hissable villain. Terrible jokes, slapstick, comedy and audience participation. Couldn't be better. My Niece and Nephew really enjoyed it. So did I.

"Robin Hood" next year. I want to book now, but Lorraine said to wait to see who is headlining first. Probably sensible.

Labels: Gigs

# posted by Pynchon @ 9:24 pm