Ecstasy of celebration
MUSIC REVIEW: Jake Dennis
The Velvet Sting
4 stars
Casa Mondo, The Pleasure Garden
Wander beneath the Chinese lanterns an hour before midnight and melt into the Pleasure Garden's festival nightlife before entering the smoky Casa Mondo where you will find the Velvet Sting: a trio of superbly skilled and superlatively spirited musicians who jam pack their show like gunpowder.
In just one hour they surprise you with more songs and a wider variety of musical styles than most bands play in twice that time.
Donned in sapphire, ruby and onyx-coloured velvet, the trio perform songs as disparate as Ella Fitzgerald's Angel Eyes and Queen's Somebody to Love.
The Velvet Sting's postmodern sampling of cover songs by artists as diverse as Pink Floyd, Doris Day, Nina Simone, The Beatles, Nat King Cole and Madonna make their show a gift for popular music lovers.
When a band gives itself entirely to an audience and the mood and setting are ideal, the audience responds with love in equal measure.
The result is a memorable night of musical ecstasy where both the artist and audience share in an ecstasy of celebration.
That is the experience you are in for when you see The Velvet Sting at Perth Fringe.
Everyone found themselves delightfully laughing, smiling, and singing along throughout the show.
The excitement and anticipation between songs (What song could be next? What musical honey pot will this trio draw from next?) makes this saucy, humour-filled, cabaret one to remember.
With dramatic storyteller Rhoda Lopez on vocals, hilarious comedian Joe Lui on guitar, and svelte costume designer Beth Sheldon on double bass, this classy, witty and talented trio are a pleasure to enjoy.
Look forward to curling red feather boas, Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down), and a performer who is not ashamed to moo during a tale of love.
There is not an ounce of pretension in this show and Perth's musical nightlife is the better for it.
If you are lucky to be treated to an encore, believe me, you will be receiving the coup de grâce of surprises.
The Velvet Sting runs until February 13.
