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The "Sisters" returned to the tiny but suitably decadent stage in London's fashionable Hoxton for their first gig in an age.
Fighting their way through the crowd to get to the stage the band had certainly made an effort with hair and makeup, with Siobhan Fahey looking svelte and well and far younger than her numerical age in a silver outfit. The bizarre matching silver headgear/hat she wore gave the impression of a debauched Princess Leia fighting with Norma Desmond.
Returning to the live arena after an extended hiatus of over a decade, but minus former musical partner Marcella Detroit, the stage belonged to Fahey who performed with confidence, even joking with the crowd about her appearance earlier this week on ITV1's daytime estrogen fest "Loose Women".
The tight band played tracks from new album "The Red Room", their mysterious third album "#3" (finally released on Fahey's own label in 2004 after she regained the masters) as well favourites from their better remembered albums "Sacred Heart" and "Hormonally Yours". Unsurprisingly it was the older, more familiar songs "Goodbye Cruel World", "Hello (Turn Your Radio On)" and "You’re History" which provoked the best crowd reaction.
Only two abortive attempts at starting the new single, with Siobhan unhappy with the mix, particularly the keyboards, betrayed their lack of time onstage together. I actually liked both failed attempts, but then I love the Giorgio Moroder sequencers from Donna Summer's "I feel love" from which the keyboards had clearly drawn their influence.
The apparently acrimonious split between Fahey and Detroit didn't mar the evening with the new "backing" singer providing an excellent reinterpretation of Detroit's trademark soaring vocals. Shakespears Sister's biggest commercial success, the single "Stay" on which Detroit did the majority of the vocal was notably absent from the set list.
Reviewed by Paul Sweeney | Pictures by Tony Bartolo |
