Keeping it Live!

The evening session was opened by Electric Live Orchestra and what an opening it was. These guys took me way back to my youth and I am sure lots of others in the room too. Their superb rendition of E.L.O. was great with fab musicians and excellent vocals.

Kimberley Dayle is a young lady who has a fabulous voice if it was used the correct way. On this occasion her tribute to Christina Aguilera was not too good at all I am afraid. The Keeping it Live! band were superb and I felt that they appeared to carry the show at times. On the whole the intention of the show was well thought out but unfortunately the final delivery let it down.

Finbarr-Smith is young man from Bolton with two lovely girl dancers. He opened his spot with something very different. Having said that we have heard “You Raise Me Up” so many times over the past year, but when Finbarr-Smith sang it in Italian the whole song took on a complete new style. Really enjoyed the vocals and the dancers made it a little different.

Being a comic must be the hardest of all the entertainment fields particularly when you only have ten minutes to impress your audience. John Lory entertained the Keeping it Live!audience with a well thought out act and showed what a great comic he was - his timing was superb. Well worth booking.

Back II The Future are a three girl vocal/dance group with a very polished act. Good harmonies, slightly aggressive lead vocals but on the whole delivered really well. A very enjoyable spot.

Male vocalist VJK made an impressive start opening with “I Can't Give You Anything” in falsetto. It was nice to see an artist using the Keeping It Live! band. His second song saw the audience joining in. VJK finished his set with “Get Ready” a popular song that went down well with everyone and had them bopping in their seats.

Leanne Disney is delightful female vocalist, who emanates sheer perfection and professionalism. This young lady can stand on her own any day. Fabulous spot delivered brilliantly.

Next up was band C’Est Chic with great vocals from the female lead singer supported by backing vocals. It was nice to see them swap roles with one of the backing vocalist then taking the lead, just showing that each member can really perform vocally and hold their own up front. The female lead could give Leona Lewis a run for her money.

Richy Sampson’s Drifters Revue are four fabulously dressed guys with lovely vocals, Unfortunately my feeling is that that they should be covering soul songs rather than being a specialist Drifters tribute. There was just something missing, especially when the opened with a Four Tops number. Spot delivered well, but in my opinion The Drifters not I'm afraid.

Two very talented and funny guys, Jimmy Carlo and Carl Brent, have recently joined forces to become Carlo & Brent presenting their hilarious tribute to the late Laurel & Hardy. An excellent showcase and very funny. I would have loved to have seen the whole act. Brilliantly entertaining.

Delightful female fire-eater Fior surprised everyone when after entering the stage and consuming flames she then burst into song. Although the vocals where not as strong as others she is definitely different. Vocally she could pass as a Kylie or Madonna soundalike. Not too sure whether Foir is a singer, Irish dancer, fire-eater or a vocal impersonator, but she is definitely talented.

Having had the opportunity to see Ian Jones perform his tribute to Lee Evans before on a couple of occasions, it was a pleasure to watch him again and he has just got funnier. Well worth the wait till 11pm. Super act.

The four well-dressed male vocalists of I’ll Swing 4 You gave us a show of the old time swing era. It seemed a little strange to hear four people sing a duet Me & My Shadow, nevertheless when the harmonies kicked in they were well tuned.

The Soulsonics are a male/female duo only recently formed, and showed good, powerful vocals. It was nice to hear a good mix of songs and the vocals blended well together. Both hold their own as individual acts and I really enjoyed them.

Single male blues/swing style singer Aubrey Parsons is a vocalist with a massive voice. He delivered an excellent rendition of “That's Life” a particular favourite of lots of people in the audience. Aubrey went down well with everyone - well done!

Closing the Monday evening session was three piece 4th Dimension. The group, consisting of two female and one male vocalists, stood on stage with wonderful stage presence and great harmonies. Yet again another spot delivered well. Would have liked to hear the harmonies without some of them already mixed on the backing track.

Personal favourite of the evening: Carlo & Brent