If you have been to a Night Owl tribute show before, chances are that you will already know that Reine Beau Anderson Dudley is a commanding presence on the stage.
This year Reine Beau has added Debbie Harry to the list of singers she to whom she has has paid tribute, and it is safe to say that this show stretches her vocal range to places that Karen Carpenter or even Amy Winehouse would never have tried to go.
From the outset it was clear that the Night Owl band meant business. Rog Smith on guitar was superb, as were Harry Whitty on keyboards, Gavin Lamont on drums, and their Musical Director, Noah Nelson, on bass. They all played with high energy throughout the set, defying the day’s heat which had built up in The Octagon tent. A special mention should also go to Sam Lynch for ensuring the band’s sound was so clear and dynamic throughout the performance.
Starting the show with ‘Atomic‘ was perhaps the only misstep made as it seemed to take awhile to really lift-off and the band actually drowned out the vocals at times during this song, especially when Reine Beau was reaching for the lower register.
However, the song served its purpose in warming up the band so that the rest of the set was consistently delivered as classy, high-octane pop.
Running through a number of ‘must plays’ had the audience lapping up a supercharged version of ‘One Way Or Another‘, and then marvelling at the impressive vocal gymnastics required to sing ‘Picture This’.
‘Denis‘ had some of the middle-aged crowd winding back the years up and bopping in the aisles, as did an energetic take on ‘Hanging On The Telephone‘.
All the expected hits make an appearance, such as a sweet take on ‘Sunday Girl‘, a driving romp through ‘Call Me‘, and the calmer reggae of ‘The Tide Is High‘. Each hit was well-received and inevitably had everyone singing along.
Most surprising for me, and probably because it is one of my least favourites in the Blondie canon despite its historical importance as the first charting rap song, was ‘Rapture‘. This was the highlight of the set. Reine Beau tackled its delivery with the perfect amount of ‘Harry-esque’ swagger, and she nailed the rap section perfectly. The band really opened up on this number, and Smith’s brilliant guitar solo almost stole the show.
‘Maria‘, and then the obligatory closer, ‘Heart Of Glass‘, wound up a most enjoyable set and everyone genuinely seemed disappointed the show was over so fast.
As usual, as it was a Night Owl ‘story’ show, the performance included some biographical information between songs and the occasional snippet of historical footage from the internet. These video interludes were well-chosen and interesting and would have probably never have been seen before by most in attendance.
Reine Beau Dudley Anderson is actually staying on in Adelaide after the Fringe closes, hoping to play some local gigs around the traps. She is a very versatile singer – she was even selling her live jazz CD at this gig – so who knows what she would put in her setlist outside of the confines of a specific tribute show? Whatever she chooses, one thing is for sure – she will pump out her choices with power and class!
There are still plenty of chances to see this Blondie show during the week ahead, and Reine Beau is still performing her Amy Winehouse tribute as well, so get along before the Fringe winds up for another year.