GIG REVIEW

GIG REVIEW: Janelle Monae & Grace Carter at SSE Wembley Arena

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHERE? SSE Wembley Arena

WHEN? 2/7/19

SETLIST: Dirty Computer; Crazy, Classic Life; Take A Byte; Screwed; Django Jane; QUEEN; Electric Lady; Prime Time; Pynk; Yoga; I Like That; Don’t Judge Me; Make Me Feel; I Got The Juice; Cold War; Tightrope; Come Alive

We are standing towards the back of this 12,500-capacity venue by the mixing desk when we see Lupita Nyong’o wearing sunglasses flanked by security guards rush by.

  • Read on for reasons including what part Star Wars actress Nyong’o played at this gig

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GIG REVIEW: P!nk at Wembley Stadium

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE? Wembley Stadium

WHEN? 30/6, tour runs to 2/11/19

SETLIST: Get The Party Started; Beautiful Trauma; Just Like A Pill; Who Knew; Funhouse; Hustle; Secrets; Forest; Try; Just Give Me A Reason; River; Just Like A Fire; What About Us; For Now; 90 Days; Time After Time; Walk Me Home: I Am Here; F**kin’ Perfect; Raise Your Glass; Blow Me (One Last Kiss); Can We Pretend; So What; Glitter In The Air

We marvelled at the acrobatics of the cast in the Bridge Theatre’s production of `A Midsummer Night’s Dream recently but US pop star P!nk takes those skills to the next level here (see picture above).

  • Read on for reasons including which Cyndi Lauper song she covers to great effect here

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THEATRE REVIEW: Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat starring Sheridan Smith & Jason Donovan at the Palladium

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

65755422_10157401425065600_8792737424389177344_o.jpgWORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHERE? London Palladium RUNTIME: 120 minutes (including 20-minute interval)

WHEN? 29/6, opens 11/7, booking to 8/9/19

We know we’re in safe hands when the always reliable Sheridan Smith channels Eric Morecambe from behind a fake moustache, confiding to the audience: ‘It’s still me.’

  • Read on for reasons including why Yarrow gets the biggest applause here

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GIG REVIEW: Alphabeat at Oslo, Hackney

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE? Oslo, Hackney

WHEN? 28/6/19

SETLIST: 10,000 Nights; Fantastic Six; Vacation; Love Sea; Always Up; Boyfriend; What’s Happening; Goldmine; Shadows; Go Go; The Spell; DJ; TMTU; Sing A Song; Heat Wave; Fascination

The afternoon on the day before this gig we discover that its venue has changed from the Borderline in Soho to this upstairs venue at a Scandinavian-named site miles across town in east London.

  • Read on for reasons including what the future holds for Alphabeat

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GIG REVIEW: Christine and the Queens and Metronomy at All Points East

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHERE? Victoria Park

WHEN? 26/5 and runs to 2/6/19 (Christine and the Queens tour until 31/8/19)

We 1st saw Christine and The Queens the morning after the Brexit vote and here the French act take to the stage as the results of the unexpected 2019 European elections are announced.

  • Read on for reasons including whether the sound had improved since criticism on Saturday night

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GIG REVIEW: An Evening With Bananarama at Omeara

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

58622791_10157491570611929_4722802349997817856_oWORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

WHERE? Omeara

WHEN? 27/4, tour runs until 2/5 (and then regular gigs continue until 25/8/19)

SETLIST: Love Don’t Live Here; I’m On Fire; Love In Stereo; Every Shade Of Blue; Summer Night City; Movin’ On; Dance Music; Feel For You; Tonight; Look On The Floor; On Your Own; Cruel Summer; Love Comes; Move In My Direction; Venus; Looking For Someone; Love In The First Degree; Stuff Like That

You can never have enough Bananarama in your life and, as if to prove it, the band take audience questions for 45 minutes in what would normally be the support slot before headlining for more than 80 minutes.

  • Read on for reasons including how the Q&A proves just how Ab Fab funny Keren and Sara are

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GIG REVIEW: Robyn at Alexandra Palace

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHERE? Alexandra Palace

WHEN? 12/4, tour runs until 17/8

SETLIST: Send To Robin Immediately; Honey; Indestructible; Hang With Me; Beach 2k20; Ever Again; Be Mine; Because It’s In The Music; Love Is Free; Between The Lines; Dancing On My Own; Missing U; Call Your Girlfriend; Trust Me; Stars 4 Ever; With Every Heartbeat; Human Being; Who Do You Love?

Fellow blogger A Humdrum Mum makes clear exactly what sort of fan she is when she reviews a gig and, in tribute, we’d explain here that we think Robyn’s 2010 Body Talk is 1 of our favourite ever albums but that the 8-year wait for follow up Honey meant it could never live up to the heightened expectation.

  • Read on for reasons including whether the 8-year wait for the Honey Tour was worth it Read More

GIG REVIEW: Dub Pistols at Wedgewood Rooms, Southsea

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Carron Stacey

WHERE? Wedgewood Rooms, Southsea

WHEN: 28/3/19

I have to start every review by saying what sort of fan I am of the band’s music. Well, I’m not actually. This is not my kind of music really, but I’ve gone with Mr Humdrum.

  • Read on for reasons including Terry Hall and Ranking Roger

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GIG REVIEW: Tears For Fears & Alison Moyet at The O2

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE?: The O2

WHEN?: 6/2/19, European tour continues until 21/7/19

SETLIST:  Everybody Wants to Rule the World; Secret World; Sowing the Seeds of Love; Falling Down; Pale Shelter; Break It Down Again; Everybody Loves a Happy Ending; Change; Mad World; Memories Fade; Suffer The Children; Woman In Chains;Advice For The Young At Heart; Badman’s Song; Head Over Heels/Broken;  Shout

Alison Moyet setlist: I Germinate; Nobody’s Diary; Do You Ever Wonder?; Beautiful Gun; All Cried Out; The Rarest Birds; The Sharpest Corner (Hollow); Situation; Only You; Love Resurrection; Don’t Go

Good things come to those who wait and, almost 36 years to the day after we bought Tears For Fears’ debut album The Hurting on cassette, we see them live for the 1st time.

  • Read on for reasons including how this was the debut bow of both acts at this prestigious venue

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FILM REVIEW: Mary Poppins Returns starring Emily Blunt, Lin Manuel-Miranda, Ben Whishaw & Julie Walters

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Released in cinemas in the UK 21/12/18

We’re killing time between a Q&A and performance at Sloane Square’s Royal Court Theatre when we chance upon the 50 Smith Street home in Chelsea where Mary Poppins‘ author P.L.Travers lived and used as inspiration for the Cherry Tree Lane home of the Banks family in this.

  • Read on for reasons including why we shed a tear more than once during the film

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