Sgt. Pepper's Only Dart Board Band review. The Prom 8th Sept 2007

"Sgt Pepper's Only Dart Board Band Make Sure We All Enjoy Their Show".

(The Prom, Bristol. Saturday 8th September 2007)

The opening song to Saturday night's show was "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and the second line in the chorus is 'We hope you will enjoy the show'. With the venue packed I hoped the answer would be yes, after all if we didn't would they have a riot on their hands? And if there was would Sgt Pepper playing the keyboards that night be able to manoeuvre his troops out safely without anyone being harmed after all this was "Sgt Pepper's Only Dart Board Band" who had been sent along to The Prom to entertain us all.

The band name alone is great tongue in cheek humour but the muscianship is highly professional, you couldn't fault it even if George Hare Singh-Song had a slight mishap with his guitar about fifteen minutes or so into the show. It turned out to be a faulty guitar lead and John Legend with his Liverpudlian accent kept the troops entertained with corny jokes and anecdotal stories whilst this minor hiccup was being sorted. It only goes to prove that these guys never panic and know how to entertain and get the audience eating out of their hands. I've seen bands fall apart with lesser incidents.

Being called 'Sgt Pepper's Only Dart Board Band' and wearing similar costumes to the album sleeve, eight of the songs performed in the first half of the show came from "Sgt Pepper" and that was fitting tribute to a great album. We also learn that 'extra' band member Sgt Pepper is also a traffic warden in his spare time and had booked and clamped all the cars in the street that night! This led into the song "Lovely Rita". There was plenty of banter between Paul, Ringo, George and John, oh not forgetting Sgt Pepper too and dry sense of humour was the order of the evening.

There was a great performance of "Drive My Car" and "Penny Lane" was always one of my favourites. Again one of the many highlights of the night and included the Liverpudlian pronunciation by Paul McCoatoff of 'customer' in the song, that's how authentic they can be with the music and lyrics. The audience were singing along without any encouragement from the band and it all seemed rather natural and fun!

The second half of the performance opened with "I Am The Walrus" and the audience joined in with the 'Woo' parts of the song whilst Sgt Pepper played some rocking piano for "Lady Madonna".

One song threw me at the time because it was referred to as "Finale". It was only a minute or so into it I realised what they were doing. They were playing a series of songs that was sometimes referred as a medley from the "Abbey Road" album. As I attend the Beatles weekend in Liverpool on a regular basis I have only heard this played live once during the 'Album Performances' at the event a few years ago. It is a collection of album tracks loosely brought together featuring songs from "You Never Give Me Your Money" through to the track entitled "The End". "Mean Mr Mustard" has a great beat to it and "Golden Slumbers" adds a lovely touch to the whole proceedings, by the time they reached "Carry That Weight" the audience were back to full volume singing along. Many connoisseurs were obviously in the audience that night and welcomed it's addition to the set. Of course there was massive cheers and applause for Ringo Stallin's drum solo during this performance and it is well known the Beatles didn't go for these in a big way, the medley was the exception to the rule.

"Hey Jude" meant another sing along before launching into the rock 'n' roll section of the show with songs such as "Get Back", "Hard Days Night", "Back In The USSR" and "Twist And Shout". It didn't end there and the crowd wanted to continue to dance the night away so an encore of "Can't Buy Me Love" and "She Loves You" went down a storm. "If you loved us we are Sgt Pepper's Only Dart Board Band and if you hated us we we're the Bootleg Beatles!" shouts John as they all left the stage.

Of course we all loved them. It was great fun. Alan and Lizzie whom I met the previous night at The Prom came back to see "Sgt Pepper's Only Dart Board Band" just for the band name alone. They summed up the evening with just one word "Fantastic!" and they'll be back in December to see you guys again. Another two to add to your fan base and even more to follow I'm sure!

Kathryn Courtney-O'Neill

Copyright: Kacey-O'Neill (c) 2007. All written work and photos not to be used without my permission.

Roxy Magic review. The Prom. 7th Sept 2007

"Roxy Magic cast their spell for a perfect evening".

(The Prom, Bristol. Friday 7th September 2007)

In case you haven't guessed already "Roxy Magic" is a tribute to 'Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music'. They are also my first review for "Tribute Heaven" and ideal choice to get things underway in positive light.

Everybody expects a tribute band to perform the 'Greatest Hits' on a night like this, after all most people know the hit singles, unless you are a fan in which case you do expect to hear more. And it is here that some bands and artistes can under estimate their audience. There are only so many times they will return to your 'Greatest Hits' show before boredom sets in and you loose them forever. Which is why you should revise and refresh your performances on a regular basis and not just stick to the well known songs. Some of the best tribute performances I have been to have included lesser known songs that weren't big hits at the time and album tracks and I have to say "Roxy Magic" belong in this category.

By nine o'clock 'The Prom' was packed and I have to say the venue has a friendly atmosphere. I'd made four new friends that night who'd come along just to see what "Roxy Magic" were like. By the end of the evening they were saying what a great night they had.

"Roxy Magic" took to the stage, all smartly dressed, an image 'Roxy Music' has. Kevin Hackett who is Bryan Ferry wore trademark black leather trousers, white shirt and white dinner jacket and looking at him Kevin bears a strong resemblance to the man himself. As the show progresses you begin to realise that Kevin has worked hard on the looks, mannerisms and voice that is Bryan Ferry and has captured that whole package. He certainly gets you doing a double take and some of the pictures I took that night catch the image overall and what a voice!

The first half opened with "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", a Bryan Ferry single from 1974. Unfortunately the smoke machine during the song was a little over enthusiastic but that didn't stray away from the quality of the sound and performance. Throughout, you are treated to Roxy Music songs and Bryan Ferry songs, with his solo career just as successful as the group. Sometimes it can be confusing, mixing the two together. And there were songs I didn't recognise such as 'If There Is Something', 'Ladytron', 'Re-Make/Re-Model' which showcased some of the greatest musicianship of the evening, 'Out Of The Blue' a great second half foot stomping opener, and 'Editions Of You' all album tracks taken from Roxy Music's first three album releases. That makes a refreshing change and in my opinion a major plus point for "Roxy Magic" as they are also thinking of the fans. They are not sticking with the tried and tested formula most do and certainly know their subject well. Both sets of the show were very well balanced indeed with rock, mid tempo and ballads. I don't think anyone left disappointed.

"Roxy Magic" work closely together as a team and on stage you could see they were also enjoying the evening. The performance of "Oh Yeah (On The Radio)" was frighteningly close to the real thing, "Slave To Love" was a superb performance all round and "Dance Away" was one of my favourites of the night. "Both Ends Burning" was full of enthusiasm and had a wonderful ending instrumentally that was met with loud applause from the audience. Throughout almost two hours John on guitar gave out the rock guitarist aurora. Bob on bass was at the back of the stage but you could hear his professionalism even though he wasn't that visible. Simon showed off his drumming skills in a couple of drum solos that goes to show the drummer has one of the most important roles in the band (yes I've heard about the drummer jokes!) and Paul became the easily missed maestro who was barely visible that night due to the size of stage. However, Sean who was on sax that night was enthusiasm itself and it was some of the best sax playing I had heard in ages!

Throughout the second half of the show people were dancing. "Virginia Plain" had the crowd joining in and "Jealous Guy" had some singing along. With two songs in the encore, because the audience wouldn't let "Roxy Magic" leave that easily, I would say the final song, "Let's Stick Together" was the song of the night. Everyone joined in and new friends I met that night, Jenny and Lucy, were up on stage with the band, Kevin giving gentle encouragement to sing the song. It was get fun and met with professionalism. How many bands could do an impromptu audience participation that was unplanned? Not many. A couple more took to the stage before "Roxy Magic" brought an end to the show which was met with loud applause and cheers of appreciation. A perfect evening of entertainment with real musicians and if you closed your eyes you could be easily convinced it was the real thing.

I have to say I would love to see this band at a bigger venue because vocally and musically I feel they have a lot more power in their performance to give. The Prom gives intimacy and approachability to anyone that performs at the venue and it keeps performers in touch with their audience, but it is not always possible to give your all in smaller venues where bands have to adapt their sound levels. Which begs the question: 'Would I see them again?' The simple answer is .... yes!

Kathryn Courtney-O'Neill

Copyright: Kacey-O'Neill (c) 2007. All written work and photos not to be used without my permission.