A man called Lance is standing on a stage. He's wearing a white jumpsuit. He has a red flashing light strapped to his head, and is waving around, although not using, a megaphone. A near naked man has followed him onto the stage. He's got a dirty face, and is carrying a flute. This is the drummer, a man named The Lord Gibbeth. Not a note has been played yet. It's time to accept that this isn't going to be one of those shows where its all about the music. There may also be an element of theatre. Confirmation of that is when Andy, Mo'Royce, Barry, and their 'adopted brother' Disco Mountain Man, all dressed in spandex and sequins, join their nearly naked drumming 'father' a few moments later and launch into a version of Night Fever the likes of which you've never heard.
New York's Tragedy, you see, are the world's foremost all metal tribute to the Bee Gees. The glam rock look they bring to the show, the glam rock sound they bring to the tunes may sound at odds with the disco source material, but pretty early on, it looks like it might just work. As Night Fever ends, some technical difficulties cause a brief interlude, and the eerie quiet in the hall suggests Hull wasn't turned on by the idea of it though, especially on a Monday night. Fruit has seen busier days. Jive Talkin' gets the party going once more, and to Tragedy's credit, it's easy to forget they're playing to 40 people. They are rocking like this is Donington 1980, Rainbow couldn't make it and they've been drafted in to headline . Lance, a sort of silent hype man, is running around on stage, dousing the front rows with glitter and mopping the brows of the already sweat laden band with his ever present red towel.
The show is bookended by Bee Gees classics, yet the middle section sees the band leave their pure Gibb-inspired template. Their most recent albums, including 2013's Death To False Disco-Metal expand their repertoire into other wedding disco fodder. The Grease soundtrack, Disco Inferno, and Islands in the Stream are all visited tonight. Here and there amongst the tunes, you catch little bits of famous metal riffs you might recognise too. Ooh, was that Sabbath? That was DEFINITELY Raining Blood at the beginning of It's Raining Men. It's the most surreal game of guess the intro you've ever played.
As for the theatrics, they're ever present, yet the joy of them is in their subtlety. Yes, there are some large set pieces, Lance playing his Flying V Ukelele being a particular highlight. It's keeping an eye on what's happening elsewhere that the real belly laughs occur and these little things always involve Lance. He headbangs his way through Disco Inferno, then has to stop and give himself a little neck rub. Mo'Royce and Andy are trying to make their guitars make sweet love, and it all gets a little too much for Disco Mountain Man's little eyes, so Lance kindly shelters his eyes with his trusty towel. Disco Mountain Man himself, a glam rock hermit, is a vocal revelation. He takes a more low key role during the Bee Gees tracks; keyboards and cowbells his limit, yet he takes lead vocals on a fair chunk of the wider set list. He is one hell of a frontman. The wild man character suits the show perfectly. He's here, he's there, he's in the crowd, he's not missed a note doing it.
As the show nears it's conclusion, after an hour of classic hit after classic hit, Barry promises a lesser known Bee Gees number, before launching into Staying Alive, and then the evening's very entertaining entertainment is rounded off by one last little medley of disco hits (including the wittily done We Are Tragedy). The crowd have, for the most part, lapped it up. As they leave Fruit, one man is heard saying 'I've seen all three of the best covers bands on the planet now' but it would be difficult to imagine two more as good as Tragedy. Going right back to the days of the Greeks, tragedy and comedy have gone hand in hand. Tonight, the Comedy was in Tragedy, and the tragedy was that there weren't more people there to share in it.
No comments:
Post a Comment