VILLAGE PEOPLE

@ Crown Theatre, WA 21/05/17 (Live Review)

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In pop culture there aren’t too many groups who are so widely imitated or referenced for their music and style as the Village People, and the crowd that descended onto Crown Theatre stretched from the young, but mostly to the older. Not too many dress-ups as one would hope, but I’ll put that down to the concert being on a Sunday night and the dreary weather.

Touted as “one of the most entertaining rock shows in history”, Bjorn Again, the only ABBA endorsed group came out to a rousing warm welcome. Having performed on that very stage only several months ago, it appeared there is always a demand to roll out the dance moves and sink into the familiar strains of Waterloo, Super Trouper and Mamma Mia.

The foursome of Agnetha Falstart, Benny Anderwear, Frida Longstokin, and Bjorn Volvo have more than likely played more gigs than ABBA themselves creating a show that is locked down in its delivery, banter and arrangement. They’ve done this with a mixture of sticking to the ABBA lane, embracing daggy Swenglish jokes and punctuating songs with mashup breakdowns as it was for SOS vs The Police’s Message In A Bottle.

By the second song, the ladies with their rendition of the indulgent disco anthem of Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! had many in the packed theatre on their feet. In fact by halfway through the set if you weren’t standing up shaking those hips or sitting down waving your arms through Fernando, one would need to check the vitals on your Fitbit.

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It’s hard to believe the Village People have been around for 40 years, still with two of its original members Alex Briley (Soldier) and Felipe Rose (Native American), and accompanying recent members. They were all there; the construction worker Bill Whitefield, the cowboy Jim Newman, the biker Eric Anzalone, and lead vocal policeman Ray Simpson. With much fanfare before their arrival, including the 20th Century-Fox intro, the disco act from Greenwich Village, New York came out to relive old memories.

The only issue was, which became glaringly obvious after Bjorn Again’s engaging and charming show, was that the Village People paled against the tribute group. Rather than throwing themselves into the music that was so beloved or creating a ‘show’, the Village People came out to give you the hits and fanfare but not much more.

Admittedly hearing Macho Man in all its boastful bravado was a hoot, as was the whimsical grandeur of Go West, even an unexpected club version of the Doobie Brothers’ Listen To The Music got the foot tapping but overall bums remained on seats. The Village People would have probably been better suited in a club venue where the lack of production wouldn’t matter so much for the heavy house-disco setlist. And whilst Simpson’s voice rang like a bell through Milkshake and You Can’t Stop The Music, the chorus singers were left to mime to a backing track. In all, it drifted into an entertaining pantomime that lacked vitality, leaving many to wait until Simpson came out in the naval whites for In The Navy and YMCA before jumping to their feet.

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Coming away from the concert it was a show of contrasts; one group unashamedly embracing what works for their fans and making the homage more credible with a live musicians, the other adhering to a show that whilst energetic, seemed content to perform on the back of past glories. Nevertheless for an audience that got to do the YMCA with the actual group, it may not have mattered in the end.

2.5 stars