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Show Review -
Rock Me Amadeus |
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| Ratings: ***** Excellent **** Very Good *** Good ** Average * Poor Rock Me Amadeus Venue: The Barnyard Theatre, Alberton (Wednesday to Sunday) Time 8:00 P.M. to 10:30 P.M. Bassist: Kerry Hiles Taking Kerry up on her offer of complimentary tickets for a Thursday evening show, I went along with my eldest daughter and her school chum not really knowing what to expect. Should we dress up smart or go casual? – we opted for smart / casual – a good decision. The Barnyard Theatre is exactly as it’s name describes – it’s done up to look just like a Barnyard with tables that comfortably seat ten people. The lights dimmed and the show began around 8:10 P.M. with the original Rock Me Amadeus by Falco coming out of the sound system. The band launched into Hocus Pocus (the old 70’s instrumental by Focus) and proceeded to cover songs by The Eagles (Hotel California, of course) The Monkees (Daydream Believer), Wacko Jacko, Free (Alright Now), The Police (I’ll Be Watching You), Bon Jovi (Livin’ On Prayer), E.L.O., Shania Twain, Lee Anne Rimes, Freddy Mercury (Barcelona, of course), Queen (We Will Rock You, of Course) & Celine Deon (not in this particular order though – hope I didn’t miss anyone out). Notable moments in the show include Kerry putting her five string bass down and doing a duet with the lead female vocalist, covering James Taylor’s ‘You’ve got a friend’, a cover of duelling banjos which is actually done with a guitar and a violin, a cover of Harlem Nocturn (great sax), Kerry doing the Can Can whilst playing bass (I’d love to see Guns ‘n’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan try that!) and a bit of 12 bar rock’n’roll towards the end. The show is split in two with a fifteen minute interval (and costume change) after the first hour of music to allow you to get refreshments. The tunes are separated by cleverly witty narrative moments by the late Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (I loved the de-composing joke and the twinkle twinkle little star bit) who ventures out into the audience from time to time (as does the lead female vocalist). This show is a must see production and is very polished. Kerry’s bass playing is absolutely faultless which is just as well because the saxophonist and violinist who are also females, are absolutely monster players but our Kerry, never-the-less, manages to hold her own and manages to do backing vocals at times as well. I was pleasently surprised that the band didn’t cover material by such notables as the Spice Girls, The Beatles, Abba and Ace of Base – they even avoided covering the, by now, very very tired, ‘Smoke On The Water’ But I would have loved to see them cover Europe’s ‘The Final Countdown’ (the lead solo isn’t that difficult) or Paul McCartney’s ‘Live & Let Die’ – a very good choice of songs overall though, especially Hocus Pocus (I hadn’t heard that tune for ages). The show runs until the end of the year, try to catch it if possible. My daughter who’s only 17 loved every minute of it and was up on her feet at every opportunity - even though some of the songs were from an era way before she was born. Kerry’s deps include Graeme Currie, Glenn Veale and Fred Hayward – I Have to admit to having a nightmare about Graeme doing the James Taylor duet (just joking) but never-the-less, I’ll definitely be back to see the show again before its run ends. Anyone wanting to see the show on a Wednesday or Thursday can get complimentary tickets from Kerry – just phone her up and she’ll organise them for you. |
