An unpretentious, good-natured and captivating show. (Review
by Keith Millar)
If you are in the mood for some good live music from the
90s,Tina’s Hotel in Kloof is the place to be this weekend.
Fearless Productions have put together a dynamic band of six
musicians to perform an eclectic mix of music from this era in a spirited rock
tribute show entitled The Story Behind
the Story.
And the story? Well, the premise is that songs in themselves
are nearly always little stories - usually about love and loss. The show sets
out to investigate the background that motivated and inspired the songwriters
to pen these stories.
To achieve this, they have sourced a wonderful collection of
video clips which feature many of the great artists of the 90s chatting about
what influenced them to write a particular song. The band then replicates that
particular song.
Included in the wide-ranging selection are ACDC’s Thunderstruck, Four Non-Blondes’ What’s Up, Pulp’s Common People, Sinead O’Conner’s Nothing Compares to You, Michael Jackson’s Black or White, Roxette’s Joyride,
The Cranberries’ Zombie, Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit, Meredith
Brook’s Bitch, Red Hot Chilli
Peppers’ Otherside, plus many more in
the two-hour long programme.
The band, which was only assembled for the production,
display considerable synergy and flair considering the short time they have
played together. They gave an energetic and enthusiastic performance which was
most enjoyable.
Fronting the group on vocals is the man behind Fearless
Productions, Noel Johnson. He is a charismatic character who interacts well
with the audience. Joining him on vocals as well as playing the keyboard, and
providing considerable glamour to the group, is the captivating Sarah-Leigh
McFarland. Displaying fine guitar skills are the baby of the group Jason
Bottomly, and the dexterous Adam Fanner. Jon Scoop Randall, bass and Marius
Botha on drums provided a rock-solid backbone for the group.
The sound and lighting provided by NJM Management is of a
high standard and the technical operators certainly play an important and
integral role in the show. However, I would suggest a
little more lighting on the singers and other musicians when they do solo bits,
as I felt the band was left in the gloom of low lighting and stage smoke a
little too often.
The Story Behind the
Story is an unpretentious, good-natured and captivating show which provides
an entertaining and interesting night out.
The outing, however, would be enhanced if the management of
Tina’s Hotel did not, for some inexplicable reason, have a ban on food being
consumed in the function room. The suggestion that one eats in their restaurant
before the show also does not work as past experience has shown that, while
their food is very pleasant, their service is so abysmal that one has to bolt
their food down to be in time for the show.
A show such as The
Story Behind the Story is essentially supper theatre and the experience can
only be enriched if it were treated as such.
The Story Behind the
Story can be seen at Tina’s Hotel, Beryldene Road, Kloof on June 10 and 11
at 20h00 and on June 12 at 14h00. Tickets R100 pp available from webtickets.co.za
or at any Pick ‘n Pay outlet. – Keith Millar
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