Keeping it Live!

The final session of Keeping it Live! was again played to an excellent audience in both terms of numbers and quality of bookers and for the final time the compere Steve Walls introduced the excellent Keeping it Live! band to open proceedings. A special mention must go to Steve whose friendly personality made both the audience and acts feel welcome and he certainly pushed the show along extremely well.

First act of this final session was one of the hits of Keeping it Live! in Blackpool earlier this year 1 Stop Boogie. This fun party band takes you back to the good old days of the 70s & 80s. This two girl / two boy band work to partial backing tracks while live instruments are their keyboards, which sat on a stand that is an old frame of a Chopper, and congas. A great visual and lively act that would suit any function or event and a great opening to the last night of the showcase.

Aguilera UK is a Christina Aguilera tribute complete with dancers. This girl has a really great belt voice but unfortunately while the concept of what the act was trying to do was great I feel that on this showing it all needs to be tighter. For example one of the dancers seemed to be lacking the confidence to keep up. Attention to detail would make this a great act, as the vocalist was outstanding.

Mark Allen is a young lad who I believe has just finished for P&O. Opening with Save The Last Dance Me, yet again another song that has been done to death this showcase. You have to say though although it is a popular song it is not the acts fault that everyone is performing the same songs, the only worrying thing about it is that if you book similar acts you are going to end up with practically the same show but done by a different artiste. Putting that aside this young man has a great voice and a pleasant stage presentation along with a cheeky smile, which would charm the pants off any lady. Mark also used the Keeping It Live band to good effect.

Next up was female vocalist Gina Price, a very pretty girl with a reasonable voice. The image of dress just did not seem to go with the songs that were being performed. Lets see more energy from you Gina to go with the obvious talent that you have because you need to make yourself more visual. Gina would be great in clubs/pubs and some small holiday camps. A few more years down the line she will have matured a little more and the confidence will ooze from her. Gina also worked with live backing as well as backing tracks. Well done - I look forward to hearing more of you.

Immaculately dressed Welsh vocalist Richard Beavis opened his set with a brave song from a West End musical using the Keeping It Live band. Richard is a solo artiste but also works with Jack Woods as a duo and we where treated to the talents of Beavis and Woods with a fabulous rendition of the Barbra Streisand number Don’t Rain On My Parade done in a swing manner. Their harmonies were great and these two would be great on a cruise or any corporate event. Very classy.

Samantha has a big voice and opened her spot with the Janis Joplin classic A Little Piece of My Heart. This young girl has an obvious talent for singing and performing but does needs some guidance when it comes to “Dress To Impress”, especially on a showcase like this one. On the whole Samantha has a lovely voice and is eminently suitable for the club circuit.

The three lads comprising well-established comedy act The Mad Hatters really live up to their name but I think that they should be called The Three Nutters! Their experience shines through as they have obviously really thought their act through. Their re-written song about Gordon Brown and their Bohemian Rhapsody parody featuring soap opera characters were absolute class. This has got to be one of the funniest acts I have seen in a long, long time. Excellent!

I am not sure how long Amy C has been on the cabaret circuit but I feel that she still has a bit to learn. Her musical rendition of As Long As He Needs Me from Oliver gave us a clue where her vocals probably lie. She is a pleasant girl but a little help with the vocals to stop an at times slightly nasal vocal might help. On the whole this young lady would be great if these little things were paid attention to. She finished her spot with a wonderful song by the late Dusty Springfield, You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me. I look forward to seeing Amy again and seeing how she develops.

Accompanied by the Keeping it Live! band Alan Michaels as Eric Clapton not only amazingly had a natural look of Eric Clapton but also sounds uncannily like him. Needless to say he also plays the guitar pretty well!! Most of an average audience who like Eric Clapton I am sure would enjoy his show. To me he had an authentic look and sound of Eric Clapton. Well delivered.

Wow - what a sexy looking magician James More is! This lad had me mesmerised not just by his good looks but also especially by his amazing talent. Pulling cards from seemingly everywhere, his quick-handed close-up magic showed quite incredible manual dexterity and was absolutely fantastic. A very modern feel to magic and the ladies will love him, myself included.

Unusually Keeping it Live! had not one but two tributes to Celine Dion. This time it was the turn of Lisa Pearson to perform her tribute to Celine. Lisa had the look of the lady herself but for me the vocals just were not quite there. A lovely girl and power vocals to match but the accent needs some work. Attention to detail is a must if you are going to cover a massive star like this one but nonetheless Lisa certainly had the power and a wonderful singing voice, and with a bit more attention to the finer details this act will be a certain winner.

Young male vocalist Richard Peachy opened with a big number that has been popular this showcase, and for such he needed to get the vocals powered up. A cheeky, lovely looking lad with still a bit to learn but he gave the audience a good set of songs delivered well for his age and experience. Well done.

The three young ladies of Touch Of Innocence gave us their renditions of various cover songs including a cover of a song Chains by Tina Arena. Although these girls are young and vibrant they really need to pay attention to the level of vocal belt that they are producing, maybe take a closer look at the keys they are singing in singing in might help. Obviously I loved what they did and I am sure that in time they can only improve. Well done, I have to say, because these events leave you wide open and I think they all tried very hard.

True Expression - Tribute to the Drifters are a very smartly dressed set of guys with great moves and presence. These kinds of groups are always well received by all venues and this act would fit in at the highest of events. I recently worked with the American tribute The Temptations and if True Expression spent a little more time like they have with the visual aspect of their show these lads will be more than sensational. I loved them anyway. Good looking too!

I have to say the band Hot & Horny were probably one of the best ways to end this showcase. An 12-piece band including five brass players, drummer, keyboards, two guitars and three vocals made up of two females and one male, this band are obviously are dedicated and were outstanding. Fab clothes, fab vocals and musicianship - these were the tops. Wow! Thank you guys for ending this fabulous showcase in style.