The band drove up from Leeds with 6,000 fans in their wake - sadly, they were football fans heading for St. James Park. None of them dropped off at the Lit and Phil. Nor, for that matter, did the scores of aspiring jazz singers from the north east drop in either. I'm not going to call them "Wannabees" because, if they really do want to be they should have been here tonight.
It was a masterclass in singing and if Leeds United had played as well as this band and singer did they wouldn't have lost 2-0!
However, maybe those aspirants had better things to do than listen to a superb singer bewitching us with Beautiful Love, You and the Night and the Music, Nature Boy or You Made me Love You. This latter tune was written 100 years ago and Beverley sang it with no little movement of her hips. I swear the gentleman in the portrait on the wall behind her had a gleam in his eye - I know I did!
Something Good, Squeeze Me, Trouble is a Man - just voice and piano - was merely sensational. Cheek to Cheek was sensational plus. On drums, Ronnie Bottomley restricted himself to brushes and yet managed to swing more than a lot of the stickmen I've heard recently. For Mancini's Slow Hot Winds he proved equally adept on mallets.
A knockout opening to the second set. Totally unaccompanied, Bev gave us a medley of When Your Smiling/Smile and Make Someone Happy with ne'er a quarter tone gang awry. Some singers can't even manage it with a band behind them!
The trio returned for a swinging Them There Eyes, Inchworm - a tune I can live without (apologies to Bev, Danny Kaye and Frank Loesser) I Didn't Know What Time it Was, Devil May Care, Walk On By, You're Looking at Me - a tune Bev picked up from Cleo - and I Only Have Eyes For You. I only caught a few bars of this as the 27 was due and it was imperative I beat the footy fans out of town.
It was a great gig - apologies for not mentioning piano and bass but they were absolutely the tops - the Eiffel Tower no less!
Lance.
3 comments :
Thank you so much Lance Liddle for coming along to the gig tonight and for this fabulous live review! I'm really grateful and it was so lovely to meet you and what a superb venue and the folks there were so attentive. Hope to see you again sometime soon!
Lance from Ann Alex,
Sorry Sir but as an aspiring singer I had a good reason not to be at this gig. We singers have very wide tastes, and I for one was at the Sage to see a dramatic version of the folk ballad 'Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard'. I'd like to bet that Ms Beirne woiuld understand and it was unlucky that the 2 gigs clashed. I'll take the next chance I get to hear Ms Beirne.
Sorry I missed that one Ann!
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