GIG REVIEW: Jordan Luke Gage via Leave A Light On

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE? Livestreaming via Leave A Light On courtesy the Theatre Cafe

WHEN: 31/3/20

We first saw Gage in Bat Out Of Hell  and he was starring as Romeo in & Juliet  before the lockdown and so we leapt at the chance to catch him in a more intimate gig.

  • Read on for reasons including what Gage’s dream role in a musical would be

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GIG REVIEW: Nathaniel Morrison via Leave A Light On

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE? Livestreaming via Leave A Light On courtesy the Theatre Cafe

WHEN: (matinee) 30/3/20

What do you do when you can’t go to the West End? Stay home, switch on your wifi and let it find you.

  • Read on for reasons including details of performances by stars including Cassidy Janson and Layton Williams

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GIG REVIEW: The Orielles at Chalk, Brighton

BY: Carron Stacey

WHERE? Chalk, Brighton (touring in the US through March)

WHEN? 2/3/20

We were eagerly awaiting the trip along the south coast to watch this cosmic pop outfit from Halifax as we’d missed them at Victorious Festival two years ago.

  • Read on for reasons including why The Orielles are the love child of Orange Juice and Altered Images

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GIG REVIEW: David Baddiel Trolls: Not the Dolls at Portsmouth Guildhall

By Carron Stacey

WHERE?: Portsmouth Guildhall 22/2/20

Never, to my shame, having seen David Baddiel live, this was a Christmas present for Mr Humdrum which, on the morning of the show, almost didn’t transpire when he claimed I’d only bought one ticket. He had, in fact, failed to turn over the print-out.

  • Read on for reasons including why we need more comedy in our lives

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GIG REVIEW: Dubioza Kolektiv at Wedgwood Rooms, Portsmouth

By Carron Stacey

WHERE? Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth

WHEN? 13/2/20

This seemingly crazed swarm of football strip-attired Bosnian bees pumped out a stunning set of rap, rock, ska and funk, pollenating the slightly small (but perfectly formed) audience with their nectar of positivity in a hive of energy.

  • Read on for reasons including how an early incarnation had to practise in the dark due to a lack of electricity during the Bosnian War

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LAST NIGHT: GIG REVIEW: Sigrid at the Eventim Apollo

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE? Eventim Apollo

WHEN? 4/12/19

SETLIST: Mine Right Now; In Vain; Schedules; Plot Twist; Raw; Sight Of You; Don’t Kill My Vibe; Level Up; High Five; Fake Friends; Business Dinners; Sucker Punch; Dynamite; Home To You; Basic: Never Mine; Strangers; Don’t Feel Like Crying

It’s the last night of Sigrid’s tour, she’s a second album to write and she leaves us with a truly memorable show and wanting more.
* Read on for reasons including how ballad Dynamite wins prolonged applause here

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THEATRE REVIEW: & Juliet at the Shaftesbury Theatre starring Miriam-Teak Lee, Cassidy Janson, Oliver Tompsett & David Bedella

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE? Shaftesbury Theatre

WHEN? 9/11, opens 20/11, runs to 30/5/20

Swede Max Martin is the third most successful songwriter in US chart history with credits on 22 number 1 singles behind only Beatles Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

  • Read on for reasons including how two unexpected love stories challenge stereotypes here

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GIG REVIEW: Ella Henderson at Hoxton Hall

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHERE? Hoxton Hall

WHEN? 9/11/19

SETLIST: Glow; Glorious; We Got Love; Yours: Bones; Young; Glitterball; This Is Real; Friends; Brave; Ghost

Ella Henderson is at the piano introducing new song Bones reflecting on seeing a large backside in a magazine and realising it was her own.

  • Read on for reasons including how Jax Jones appeared here as a surprise guest

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GIG REVIEW: Marina at Eventim Apollo

WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2

WHERE? Eventim Apollo

WHEN? 4/11, tour runs to 18/11/19

SETLIST: Handmade Heaven; Hollywood; Primadonna; Enjoy Your Life; I Am Not A Robot; To Be Human; Superstar; From; Orange Trees; Teen Idle; Believe In Love; Bubblegum Bitch; Emotional Machine; I’m Not Hungry Anymore; No More Suckers; Karma; Oh No; Baby: End Of the Earth; How To Be A Heartbreaker

We last saw Marina at a Q&A in London in April where she talked about her artistic freedom and so we’re not entirely surprised when at the close of tonight’s gig she drops a bombshell.

  • Read on for reasons including why this was Marina’s ‘perfect last show for me for a while’

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GIG REVIEW: Shakespears Sister at the Palladium

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

WHERE? London Palladium

WHEN? 5/11, tour runs to 20/11/19

SETLIST: Goodbye Cruel World; Heroine; Dangerous Game; Dirty Mind; My 16th Apology; Heaven Is In Your Arms; The Trouble With Andre; Emotional Thing; C U Next Tuesday; Time To Say Goodbye; All The Queen’s Horses; When She Finds You; Black Sky; Stay; Are We In Love Yet?: I Don’t Care; You’re History; Catwoman; Hello (Turn Your Radio On)

Shakespears Sister are a band of extraordinary peculiarities not least, as lead singer Siobhan Fahey points out, that their final song tonight is titled Hello (while the opener was Goodbye Cruel World).

  • Read on for reasons including a surprise appearance by Richard Hawley

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