Tuesday 20th April 2010 @ Academy 2, Bristol
With Support From: Nadine Shah

On Tuesday night I shuffled upstairs to the Academy 2, not quite knowing what I was letting myself in for. In the 80s, Siobhan Fahey was one third of Bananarama and left to join the slightly crazy but ludicrously popular Shakespears Sister. It was the latter I had come to see tonight. I wondered how this band that I had loved in my youth had stood the test of time and how the songs would translate well over a decade later.

Before the headline act, we were treated to a set from the tour support in the shape of the beautiful Nadine Shah. With only the help of an electric piano and what can only be described as a spellbindingly powerful voice, Nadine began to wow us all from the get go. Nadine’s charisma shone between songs with a typically northern self-deprecating wit. I can only describe her voice as a great cross between Amy Lee and Alison Moyet.

Soon after the piano was moved and the venue fell into darkness as thunder and quotes from films such as Wizard Of Oz bellowed over our head. When the lights went up, the band that stood before us looked like a mixture of Wizard and Hedwig and The Angry Inch. Siobhan sauntered onto the stage looking like she had just come from an audition for Storm from X-Men, complete with silver cat-suit and head-dress. Shakespears Sister burst into Heroine and all of a sudden all the memories of why I loved this band came flooding back. Siobhan’s limitless energy and frightening glances had the packed venue captivated! The audience was filled with lads and lasses in black sequins and eyeliner, dancing and singing along to almost every song and the stage show was ultra camp but in a dark Rocky Horror way.

The band blasted through old and new songs with the same energy and grace with Siobhan growling though each, never taking her eyes off the audience. This seemed to make the gig so much more special for all the fans as it was so intimate and she was so close. Songs like My 16th Apology and I Don’t Care were always going to be crowd pleasers but the much needed second encore gave us a thrashy glam rock version of the Bananarama classic Really Saying Something which ended the night on a high for everyone with smiles all round.

I realised that Siobhan as an icon had lasted all these years with her band because they were so tongue-in-cheek. They appealed to everyone and have strong pop songs to back up tours almost two decades later. If you ever get a chance to see Shakespears Sister on tour, I implore you to do so it will be the most entertaining night for you even if you don’t know all the songs!

www.shakespearssister.co.uk

Stu Freeman