Concert - High Wycombe Town Hall - 16th April 2007
Review by Tony White
Had the privilige of experiencing Beverley and her band's pure talent, from the front row at Wycombe town hall. The hall is only small and the official word was that 250 tickets were sold, but it looked like capacity of 400 on the evening itself.
Arrived early and caught a glimpse of rehearsals through a side door.
Comparing back to hammersmith on her last large concert tour, I found the evening far more enjoyable, as more of the nuances of the instruments were evident. Beverley's vocal range was excellent (other than perhaps the very top piece in Promise Me) and keyboard skills faultless. BC's personality came across far more than in 92, with the alternative song title to "Love Scenes" being a surprise (the word B**TARD came up!) and her distaste at drummers (or at least drum machines).
It was great to see the original band from the Memories VHS video and accompanying tour. Ian has more facial hair, Felix is twice as rude, and Frank tries to break down the stage with his foot-tapping!
Talking of foot-tapping, I did wonder where a certain tapping was coming from in a couple of numbers, only to find it was Beverley's own high-heeled black shoes.
Beverley with Tony White. Photo by Andrea White.
I was surprised to be one of a handful of people looking for a photo/autograph, and BC was kind enough to sign my Love Scenes CD cover. I wanted to share with her an old nickname that a mate of mine and I used to quote whenever she came on the radio back in the 90s "Baberly Craven", but chickened out! It's not often you're given the opportunity to smalltalk with a celebrity. One of us would have probably gone as red as Frank does when playing the sax!!
My wife and I do hope that Beverley and her family agree to further touring (we heard that this tour was a taster to confirm whether BC still has the time/energy for the large scale tour lifestyle), that we beat the eBay scallywags who snap up the best tickets, and we are afforded to enjoy more intimate nights in the company of Beverley Craven's ensemble.
