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THE sun had its hat on and the expats and local music fans came out in droves for a festival family frolic of sounds, old and new, in a grassy field in Janabiya.
The audience came well-prepared with ground sheets, sun shades, tents and picnic chairs for a full day of music mania.
Middle-aged mums and dads, and a fair few children too, boogied the afternoon and night away to classic tunes and offered full-hearted appreciation, with a large dose of fun and laughter, to a bevy of acts who donned dreadful wigs, wicked attire and delivered despicable dance routines and, on occasions, even worse fake Liverpudlian accents.
This was not an occasion for the music purist but proved to be a rockin’ event full of fun, laughter and high jinks.
A reported 3,000 people flocked to the Bahrain Rugby Football Club and despite a clever plan to encourage people to leave their 4x4s on wasteland near the Dilmun Club and hop on a bus to the arena, many decided to park as close to the venue as possible, creating some off-road entertainment only drivers in Bahrain can provide for passers-by.
The real action was on stage and cleverly captured on two big screens. It was difficult to decide which was the most amusing as the camera often focused on the audience and big cheers have to go to the high-spirited flag-flying gang from Awali who arrive to party like it was 1999 … or 1966, or 1977, or 1985 … take your pick.
To be honest I hadn’t the energy or stamina to take in the whole day, especially after a heavy night of entertaining (see Eating Out on Page 9) and walked across from my home close by to what sounded like a dreadful Irish pub-singer wailing out a number, so headed to a friend’s house opposite for a coffee instead.
We marched over to the club early in the afternoon as soon as the Beatles were announced and wow the John, Paul, George and Ringo look-and-sound-alikes were tremendous despite their crazy mop-top wigs … although I’m unsure who the little chubby one on stage was supposed to be.
When I nipped off back home to take the dogs for a walk, one friend said he was convinced the band popped off for a coffee break and came back as Oasis; hopefully their Mancunian accents were better than their attempts at Scouse.
In the UK they are better known as the FAB Beatles, one of a number of tribute acts making a good living on the club circuit in the UK and beyond.
In fact, tribute acts are in huge demand with many musicians and singers finding a following from looking and sounding like a top act (past or present), a phenomenon that really became established around three decades ago and continues to grow to this day with national competitions and sell-out shows in the West End – ABBA and Queen musicals being prime examples of the genre.
The technological revolution has helped enormously too as backing tracks help deliver a full band sound with orchestral arrangements alongside accompanying vocal performances, all at the touch of a switch.
I felt particularly old when one of the acts started impersonating a star I’d never heard of but the kids thought the lookalike Jesse J was brilliant. I thought she had called herself Jesse James, after the cowboy, but I was quickly made aware of my miserable modern music failings on Facebook messages from my teenage daughter Immy in the UK and Radio Bahrain show host Marie-Claire.
There was a strong performance by Lee Michaels, AKA Robbie Williams, who faced a stage invasion from young fans and had the adults swaying in harmony with his version of the stadium anthem and funeral favourite, Angels.
He had the star’s swagger down to a tee but came unstuck when he asked: “This is one of Robbie’s real moves – have you got it?” to which a wag in the crowd shouted in reply: “You haven’t!”
He said the atmosphere was like ‘being at Butlins’ – for the uninitiated that’s a traditional summer holiday camp ordeal boasting full-on ‘entertainment’ for families which is usually situated on the edge of a grotty UK seaside town and remains popular to this day.
A Cohesion Rihanna and her two dancers got the little boys excited with their dance routines and came back on stage a little later on as Lady Gaga & Co, the wigged-up Amy Winehouse sound-alike had the crowd applauding rapturously and the 1970s Glam Rock duo called SNOG, namely Darryl and Tracey Page, were sweet to say the least.
A great night … and there’s more to come in October. Book me a ticket.
