HEAVEN IN THE MARQUEE
ROMEO'S DAUGHTER don't have a lot of luck at this venue. A couple of shows have been either cancelled or poorly attended because they coincided with this summer's many transport strikes. So, when I heard a manic mechanical digger had cut off the electricity supply to half of the West End, I truly expected to arrive and find a Marquee in darkness and another show written off. How good it is to be wrong.
The house lights go down and the familiar intro to "Heaven in the Backseat" comes over the PA. Not surprisingly, the loudest cheer greets Leigh, but the other members aren't ignored. As I've said before, this is a band. They have just finished supporting FM all over Britain and the benefit of that experience is starting to show. I first saw Romeo's daughter at their debut Marquee gig back in May. In just six months, their stagecraft has come a long, long way. Craig Joiner takes such obvious delight in all he does, rushing all over the stage, jumping, spinning, a natural showman with the emphasis on natural. No choreographed posing here, thank you. And he's no slouch in the playing department either. Tasteful solos that complement a song show a guitarists' talent much better than 101 notes completely out of context.
"Velvet Tongue," "Cry Myself to Sleep," "Inside Out," all hunks of radio-friendly rock. I do hope we don't lose this band to America. Help me to make sure that doesn't happen. Buy the record now and write to radio stations demanding they play it.
Sound tonight is spot on, showing off the strength of the songs and musicianship. Drums and bass, tight and powerful, providing a solid foundation for Craig and Tony (Tony Mitman, keys) to lay their layers of melody on, the whole being the perfect accompaniment for the perfect vocals of Leigh Matty. She has range, power, soul, and these days the confidence and sass to do whatever she wants. With the possible exception of Robin Beck (only possible, I've yet to see Robin Beck sing live), Leigh Matty is the best female rock vocalist around and probably the only one with a fully mobile tattoo. Those of you who have seen the band a few times will know what I mean. She also bears a striking resemblance to Dennis Potter's "Blackeyes," but back to the music.
The show closes with "Wild Child" and "Don't Break My Heart," the latter, to my ears, a potential hit single on both sides of the Atlantic. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't I see a video for this on the legendary Casey Kasem's America's Top Ten, long before the album was out in the UK? Perhaps it was a dream.
There, I finished the whole review and I didn't mention once how attractive Lee Matty is. The wife will be pleased.
Simon Robinson
Riff Raff
January 1990
Sound tonight is spot on, showing off the strength of the songs and musicianship. Drums and bass, tight and powerful, providing a solid foundation for Craig and Tony (Tony Mitman, keys) to lay their layers of melody on, the whole being the perfect accompaniment for the perfect vocals of Leigh Matty. She has range, power, soul, and these days the confidence and sass to do whatever she wants. With the possible exception of Robin Beck (only possible, I've yet to see Robin Beck sing live), Leigh Matty is the best female rock vocalist around and probably the only one with a fully mobile tattoo. Those of you who have seen the band a few times will know what I mean. She also bears a striking resemblance to Dennis Potter's "Blackeyes," but back to the music.
"Turn It Up" has the crowd jumping and clapping while the band cruise on overdrive. Some criticism has been aimed at Romeo's Daughter, unfairly in my opinion, for sounding like DEF LEPPARD. Okay, so Mutt Lange produced their album. So what? He stamped his identity far more heavily on the work he did with the Leps than Romeo's daughter. I don't think it would be the end of their world if he couldn't do the next one, but that's no reason why he shouldn't either.
The show closes with "Wild Child" and "Don't Break My Heart," the latter, to my ears, a potential hit single on both sides of the Atlantic. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't I see a video for this on the legendary Casey Kasem's America's Top Ten, long before the album was out in the UK? Perhaps it was a dream.
The first encore is my favourite Romeo's Daughter song, "Hymn," a song that touches all the parts that JUDIE TZUKE's "For You" does, and many more. A song of fragile beauty that I can't say enough about. One of those special songs.
The evening is rounded off with a blast through BILLY IDOL's "Rebel Yell" and a single again. Let's make sure it's the massive hit the band deserve this time.
A great gig, a truly wonderful rock n' roll band. Go and see them. Buy the single, buy the album. You'll fall in love with them.
There, I finished the whole review and I didn't mention once how attractive Lee Matty is. The wife will be pleased.
Simon Robinson
Riff Raff
January 1990
0 comments:
Post a Comment