Peel Talent Showcase
Concorde club, Eastleigh
17th October 2016
Reviewer – Johnny Tait
Jack Applebaum of Peel Talent welcomed his guests with his usual hospitality and the show began with London based vocal group, The 4 Tune Tellers. These four well turned out, good looking lads opened with a number originally by The Weather Girls entitled, It’s Raining Men. They are vocally powerful with well thought out well timed choreography.
Girl duo The Sirens totally understand the importance of appearance. Their dress sense, hair and make-up were faultless. Opening with the old classic In the Mood, they won the audience over within the first few seconds. Their arrangement of the Judy Garland hit Over the Rainbow, in my view was an improvement on a song that I did not think could be bettered.
Bruce Parker took to the stage with infectious enthusiasm and gusto as he opened with a real toe-tapping, shake your bum number, Dancing on the Ceiling. It did not take long before Bruce had the audience partying in their seats. He followed with the well-known Righteous Brothers ballad Unchained Melody It was a treat to witness a strong vocalist with a powerful personality to match.
Mind reader Aaron Calvert included members of the audience in his act, as he randomly asked them to think of various things, for example, the name of a street on the monopoly board and many other subjects which required detail. He came across really well, with all but one of his predictions correct.
Guitar/Vocalist Steve Grant mixed classical music from some of the world’s best known composers with modern day pop. He managed to take Swan Lake and merge it into Somewhere, from West Side Story. I loved his stage wear, I think he was going for the Mozart look. His whole act was original and highly entertaining. I could watch him all night.
I don’t know how to describe four-piece male vocal group Andante. Their vocal range was wide, and pitch perfect. The version they performed of the Moody Blues classic song, Knights in White Satin, absolutely blew the audience away. If these lads do not have a full date sheet for 2017, I will look for another profession.
Solo vocalist Ben Moss opened up with a superb rendition of the old classic I Who Have Nothing, followed by a modern-day Ed Sheeran number in which he also played the acoustic guitar. I thought how brave he was dropping the excellent eight-piece band, in order to play Bring Him Home, from Les Miserable and perform with just himself backing acoustic guitar. Did he pull it off? Too right he did!
Husband and wife couple Braximusic are individual in their appearance, as they presented some of the well-known classical numbers, in a faultless way, that absolutely thrilled the entire audience.
Comedy/Magician Max Francis is extremely funny and entertaining from start to finish. His comic timing and delivery was spot-on, whilst the magic he performed was outstanding. If you are ever looking for a comic/magician look no further.
Something completely different took to the stage with 4 piece acappella group The M4gnets.They very cleverly mixed swing numbers and popular music songs, with virtuoso beat-boxing. A new revelation in artistic stage craft. When they first appeared I thought, this is an act for a younger audience. I was wrong, the majority of the audience were in the fifty-plus age group and they totally enjoyed the performance.
I would not think it possible to perform a good stage magic show using a standard sized packet of cards. Robust Comedy/Magician Craig Stephenson proved that you can. He was both funny and mindboggling at the same time.
Bringing the showcase to a close were the extremely energetic and powerful vocal three-piece male act Soul Inspiration. loved their choreography. These lads would be the heart and soul of any party. If you want a packed dance floor, book these guys!
Compere Dave Payne kept the show running smoothly, although I would like to see him lose the I-Pad. Many of us have compered numerous shows without ever using a cue card.
A baby won’t know he doesn’t need a dummy until you take the dummy away from him.
Probably the best showcase that I have ever witnessed, with every musical act backed by an eight-piece band, which included a brass section as well as strings, percussion and piano. No backing tracks whatsoever. Stand by the phones at the offices of Peel talent, I predict they will be ringing Santa Clauses sleigh bells.
