Keeping it Live!

Opening the first session of Keeping it Live! 2008 was 5-piece band Element. This set of 5 young smartly dressed and good looking young men had a great attitude towards the crowd and it was nice to see live music played. Great party group that would get any gig going. The lead vocal seemed to be slightly attacking some of the notation, but on the whole they were very good.
Female vocalist Clare Elise opened with “Caught Up” and had great stage presence and moved well but somewhat lost the vocals at times where impact was required due to the lack of good microphone technique. Better use of the microphone would enhance the vocals where they are not very strong. Her second song was not really well known as a ballad but was well delivered.

Male vocalist Richie James’ stage presentation was like watching some run a marathon except for the constant moving from one side of the stage to the other - slow down. Vocally he possesses a good chest voice and resonation. Would like to have heard him sing a good strong ballad in his set, however everyone seemed to enjoy his short performance.

Karen Dalton has to be absolutely the funniest lady I have seen in along time. A very talented character actor/singer -well everything really. Well worth booking for any event.

Welsh female vocalist K.T. performed a great opener but the lack of dress sense let her down a bit. She also needs to smile more. K.T. decided to do two numbers because of the time constraints of a showcase environment and the two songs were well balanced in difference.

Always the most difficult job to do is to be a comic, especially to a whole room full of agents and bookers but this didn't faze Bill Wooland. Bill dressed very smartly and I really enjoyed his 10 minute spot. Well-done Bill - particularly for a Monday afternoon at a showcase.

Marc Drew is a cheeky looking chappy who bounced onto the stage larger than life, with great stage presentation. Although he missed the key change slightly on the first song “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” he certainly got the crowd going. I would definitely put this guy in the category of vocal entertainer as he also plays the guitar and does impressions. Loved it Marc.

Two identical twin sisters make up Caution, a very young and high-energy duo. They showed great harmonies and stage presentation and the simple choreography was very effective. Again I would have like to have heard a ballad of some description from these girls. Great performance.

Antonio De Lorez is a delightful soulful sounding singer who edged his way onto the stage to “If Tomorrow Never Comes”. As he came into the light I was slightly disappointed with the dress code as baggies and trainers are not for the stage. However this man from Malta is a very talented vocalist who brought a fresh vocal attitude to the show He was very clever with his set arrangement so he managed to show a whole amount of talent in the ten minutes he had on stage. With the right management this vocalist could go far.

Unfortunately vocalist Mark Alexander opened with a song that was out of his vocal range and too big - when I say too big I mean that the head notation was lost. However he came back with two fantastic baritone/tenor songs that really showed what this man was all about. Mark, forget Mika and give us more of what you really do. Nessum Dorma was awesome.

I am not too sure how long vocal trio Stiletto have been together but the dancing and great routines may have blinded some people. They have great voices but they need to be worked on and polished tighter, some singers not breathing at the same time leaves other notes floating around. The key of the first song was slightly too low which meant that some of the vocals were weak and appeared to be dredged through the low chest register. I am glad to say that the rest of the set was more within the vocal ranges of all three singers and on balance Stiletto delivered a great spot to finish the afternoon session.

Personal favourite of the afternoon was Antonio De Lorez.