So the curtain went up on the final session of Keeping it Live! – Blackpool 2009 and the Merseybeat Legends were an extremely fitting start to the last evening of this fantastic showcase. This band of course are a tribute the highly acclaimed Mersey Beats and their harmonies where prefect. Having supported the original Mersey Beats I can say that these lads are extremely authentic and their musicianship is fantastic. What a pleasure to see and listen to.

Next onstage was female songstress Amy Metcalf who has a lovely vocal and sang some very popular songs. It was again nice to hear the band being used, the only criticism is that please pay a little more attention to what you wear on stage - the dress was lovely but bare legs are a no no. This is not taking anything away from this young lady who is obviously a very talented and very bubbly performer. Amy is able to use tracks as well as live backing.

Jason Stardust is a one-man tribute to the 70s, which of course was a fantastic era of music. Jason made an effort to dress for the occasion including huge platform shoes. Opening number Under The Moon Of Love was of course a massive hit and it was here tonight with the crowd and was swiftly followed by Tiger Feet. Great numbers and this show could really benefit from a bigger cast with some dancers - even so I really enjoyed Jason’s spot.

The next act onto The Horseshoe stage was the very young and bubbly boy/girl duo Skye, who opened their set with “Dancing in the Street”. It somewhat confuses me that if you are a harmony duo why are you using tracks that appear to have additional backing vocals on. Skye’s vocals were good as were their harmonies and these two young people two would fit well into most clubs and venues or holiday parks.

Fior is not only a fabulous singer but she is also a fire-eater, and of course she opened her show with some fire eating, Fior has lots of energy but sometimes her vocal can be quite nasally. Her first song of the evening was an Irish number so we were treated to some Irish dancing to and from then Fior switched into the popular Lulu number “Shout”. Fior is a great, energetic act that would fit into any venue. Earlier in the evening as the bookers assembled for the show Fior was performing her Meet and Greet act in the foyer showing not only her fire skills but also that she can perform this on stilts!

A huge hit with the Keeping it Live! audience were Topping & Butch, a fantastic comedy duo that put all comedy duos to shame. They are two very camp guys togged out in what appeared to be red bondage gear who have put together a brilliant musical show that is very different and very unique. Maybe not for the faint hearted, they are definitely only for an all-adult audience but they are fantastic. Go and catch their show - you won't be disappointed.

What a refreshing change to hear a class act with the wonderful tones of Karen Carpenter. Gayle Adams presented her Close To Karen tribute and it was a nice spot delivered well.

Elvis Alive is really good looking young lad who really puts his heart and soul into his tribute to The King. I had the pleasure of working as a backing vocalist for the Elvis Presley Convention that is held at the Winter Gardens and I have to say that this Elvis was better. It would have been nice to hear him use the live backing tonight but nevertheless he is probably one of the best Elvis tributes I have ever seen.

Claire is a multi-talented young lady who is a musician, vocalist and dancer and it was nice to see her use her ten minute spot to show as much as she could. A well-presented act with great vocal sand immaculate dress sense, Claire even managed to get Stage Manager Pete Lovekin (forever to be known now as Peter Flatfoot - Marcus) to do some Irish dancing Michael Flatly style. An excellent set.

The four immaculately dressed and very good looking lads of Ti Amero are a class act almost as good as Il Divo themselves. This is my kind of music and again was just a pure pleasure to watch. They breathe at the same time making their renditions of the songs performed timed to perfection. These boys are a top class act and a definite for the higher end of the market.

7-piece band Bluejaks were next on stage and showed themselves to be a very talented outfit. I think the choice of song Valerie was not for me but that is because we have heard it many times on this showcase, but in fairness to them they would not have known this. The music seemed to drown out the vocals at certain times but this band of excellent musicians would again suit most high corporate venues.

Now this is what I call a country singer! Dolly Parton – a tribute show from Katie Marie has obviously spent the time to work on the vocals so that they sound exactly like Dolly herself, even the vibrato in the voice is uncanny. An excellent tribute.

Comedian Herbie Higgin has a look of Doctor Chris Steele from GMTV but I am sorry to say that Herbie just did not cut it on this occasion. Bookers and agents are traditionally a very hard audience for comics and, although they were quiet and listening, Herbie had trouble raising the laughs. I can’t quite understand what went wrong on this showing as Herbie is a very well known comedian and has done some excellent work in the past.

This the second time I have seen young male vocalist VJK recently and I certainly feel that on this showcase performance he was more impressive than the last one. Again he is a performer who oozes confidence and he has a tremendous stage presence and dress sense. Vijay again delivered a fabulous set of songs and it was obvious that everyone enjoyed him.

The song “Mercy” seems to have been yet another popular song on this showcase and using the Keeping it Live! band female vocalist KT Star delivered the song really well with Mickey joining in with some backing vocals. “Somewhere over the Rainbow” was another highlight of her set. Smartly dressed in black trousers and black top I feel her look was somewhat spoiled by not wearing the correct footwear but apart from this minor criticism it was a nice spot well delivered.

Vocalist Pete Carson has a great personality and is definitely a ladies man!. His swing version of “My Girl” was very refreshing and different and it worked for me and everyone else in the room. He had a great showcase and used the live backing for the whole of his performance. Pete has charm and wit and is obviously an act that would be well suited to the higher end of the market. A superb showcase set.

The opening number “Rock Star” by vocalist Maria Jordan did not seem to impact on the audience, which was odd as Maria has a great voice and is not W.M.C. material. The younger end of the market would definitely suit this lady and surely recording with the right material Maria could be in a different place somewhere down the line soon. Maria also does a Shania Twain tribute and ended her enjoyable spot with Man I Feel Like A Woman.

I was really looking forward to hearing the multi-instrumental Bluegrass music of the Jill Fielding Band but alas on this showing I was quite disappointed. If a band is to be professional on our circuit then not using sheet music on stage is a must. I don’t that this act appeared quite ready for this kind of showcase but as a folk band or for a specialist folk night they would probably fit right in.

After a rousing closing number from the Mickey, Paul, Jerry and Andy Keeping it Live! – Blackpool 09 came to an end. Both Marcus, John and the whole team once again worked their magic and the three-day event was a massive success. Roll on the autumn and the next Keeping it Live! national showcase.

My acts of the session: Elvis Alive & the Merseybeat Legends