utterly brilliant

Monday, March 25, 2013
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The ultimate guide to what’s on in the south: dailyecho.co.uk/leisure
REVIEWS SPECIAL
‘UTTERLY BRILLIANT’
IT’S always a pleasure
to experience Kelly
Jones and co in
action.
I’ve seen Stereophonics live
seven or eight times over the
last 15 years or so and they are
always the same – utterly brilliant.
The chance to see them in
such an intimate setting,
along with about 2,000 others,
is a rare treat these days.
Consummate professionals
and without doubt one of the
best live acts around, they
know exactly what their audience wants.
That is plenty of the old
anthems to sing their hearts
The Dublin Legends,
The Anvil, Basingstoke
THEY were still tapping their feet and
attempting an Irish jig as they left their
seats.
It was not surprising because the
Anvil audience had spent more than
two hours in the company of an Irish
band whose infectious music spreads
like wildfire as soon as they step on
stage.
There is an old advertising slogan
which says that Guinness Is Good For
You.
It is shame that the musical medicine
prescribed by The Dublin Legends
could not be put on tap because it is
guaranteed to lift spirits on an ice cold
rainy evening.
Three of the band are former
Dubliners, Sean Cannon, Eamonn
out to. Getting the set under
way with Indian Summer, hits
like Maybe Tomorrow and The
Bartender And The Thief went
down a storm.
Handbags And Gladrags
was a definite omission from
the nearly two-hour set but a
rocking sold-out crowd loved
every second of Have A Nice
Day and A Thousand Trees,
clapping, dancing, jumping,
singing and even taking over
the vocals at times.
Tracks from new album
Graffiti On The Train, which
has a slower bluesy soul feel,
also proved popular.
There were heavy rock
moments and an extremely
varied set only served to show
off the tremendous talent of
Jones, whose distinctive voice
Campbell and Patsy Watchorn.
Last year The Dubliners marked
their 50th anniversary but their
celebrations were overshadowed by
the sudden death of founding member,
73-year-old Barney McKenna.
The band decided to come off the
road. But The Dublin Legends were
launched to continue The Dubliners’
rich musical legacy.
Highly talented fiddler/banjo player
Gerry O’Connor was added to the lineup as the successor to the late
McKenna.
O’Connor has made a major
contribution to the musical dimension
of the band who live up to the name of
being truly legendary.
The Dubliners’ musical roots were in
Irish folk but they became an overnight
pop sensation and a household name
was pitch perfect as ever.
Closing the main set with an
emotionally charged Local
Boy In The Photograph, there
was a near stampede before
the band took to the stage
again and performed Mr
Writer as part of a stunning
finale.
As usual, the night ended
with the band’s only No 1
Dakota and a superb guitar
versus drums rock off.
With Stereophonics you
know what you are going to
get – and it is always outstanding.
The band return to the south
coast for an arena date at
Bournemouth in November.
And I for one can hardly
wait for the next time.
LORELEI REDDIN
with stirring hits like the Seven
Drunken Nights. Although that was not
in the playlist there were plenty of
other foot tapping, head swaying
favourites.
The first of their two sets started off
at a gentle pace but then roared into
full steam with I’ll Tell Me Ma, Spanish
Lady, The Rocky Road to Dublin and
Dirty Old Town. And The Irish Rover,
which became a hit single when The
Dubliners recorded it with The Pogues,
really got them reeling in the aisles.
With his razor sharp Irish wit Sean
introduced the classic Irish folk anthem
by saying: “We learned this today on
Youtube!”
Basingstoke was one of the first
stops on a tour which is foot tapping
across the nation.
DUNCAN EATON
15
with Lorelei Reddin, Entertainments Editor
.
lorelei.reddin@dailyecho.co.uk
023 8042 4877
Calendar Girls,
Lee Players,
The Crofton Hall Theatre, Crofton Community Centre,
Stubbington
A GROUP of extraordinary women in a very ordinary Yorkshire
Women’s Institute challenge each other to produce a charity
calendar with a difference.
This was a valiant effort by Lee Players to bring the feel-good
comedy to life and was performed with solid dialogue delivery
at a reasonable pace, although it would have worked better
played for honesty rather than laughs.
Calendar Girls is famous for the nudity themes, but this is
only actually a minor part of the play. The crux comes from the
relationships of strong women, their love and admiration of
John (whose death inspires the calendar) and the empathy that
characters evoke in the audience. The humour develops from
this.
The photo-shoot was tastefully presented,
genuine camaraderie between the women was
displayed and the community theatre audience
found much to entertain them.
ANNE WAGGOTT
PITCH PERFECT:
Frontman
Kelly Jones.
Stereophonics,
Portsmouth Guildhall
dailyecho.co.uk
Summer Holiday,
Fareham Musical Society,
Ferneham Hall, Fareham
FIFTYyears after the release of the film featuring
Cliff Richard and The Shadows’ hits, we follow the romantic
adventures of four London Transport bus mechanics as they
drive a converted double-decker across Europe.
Wezley Sebastian directs a very talented cast and the songs
have survived the test of time very well. The audience of all
ages was noticeably swaying and foot-tapping from first note
to last, with musical director Rhys Scrivener’s keyboard a fair
match for Ray Wills’ Stratocaster guitar licks.
Leads Gareth Daniel (Don) and Soraya Scrivener (Barbara)
are both exceptional, with equally-strong support from Sarah
Burrell and the ubiquitous Graeme Clements (agent Jerry) who
you half-expect to be selling ice-creams in the interval!
Choreographers Natalie and Kerry Cleave had the cast drilled
to a very high standard and sets, costumes, sound and lighting
were top-notch. Congratulations, as Cliff might say!
ALAN JOHNS
A Double Bill,
The Maskers Theatre,
Company,
Maskers Studio, Shirley
Forward to the Right
LILY Ann Green’s retelling of
the Joan of Arc story is
graced by two strong
performances. George
Moody looks perfect as the
maid, but Eric Petterson
excels as her English jailer.
He evolves from ignorant
hostility to a charming
friendship with his charge,
and makes us feel the true
power of her tragedy.
Debut director Jo
Iacovou creates some
powerful moments
and promises to
develop quickly.
Contractions
WITH less than a
week to present a
rehearsed reading –
due to cast illneess –
director Paul Green gets full
value from Mike Bartlett’s
satire on modern corporate
mores.
Samer Fugeira gives a
beautifully poised debut as
the employee who eventually
succumbs to the unctuous,
smiling concern and
grotesque “suggestions” of
nightmare HR Manager Sue
Dashper, whose superbly
suggestive performance
keeps us hooked.
HAM QUENTIN