25 March 1998
Diversity
was the name of the game at the first gig of this tour. Diversity of fans,
diversity of dancing and, worst of all, a performance in which Finley
diversified from the sound we know and love. Okay, this man may be a real
musician who can get on stage and enjoy jamming with his band -but shouldn't he
judge the crowd and play according to the mood? In Finley's opinion, obviously
not.
When he first appeared on stage in tracksuit bottoms and vest, his chilled
veneer was so sub-zero he had to leave for five minutes to get a jacket -
temperature control planning is a good idea, Finley!
A crowd that was obviously well up for it seemed to be disappointed by the
unexpected move from his funkier numbers to a more reggae dominated set. Bobbing
heads and swaying bodies testified to the will to get into the vibe - but what
if there's no vibe to get into?
Maybe the Barrowlands is just too big a venue for the type of atmosphere he was
trying to create. Or maybe he didn't care about creating an atmosphere - Finley
seemed to be enjoying himself more than anyone else as he made flying motions
across the stage.
But it could be that those who came did so on the back of his more jazzed-up
chart numbers and were shocked to hear his more mellow music.
However, Finley and his band were technically impressive. The sax player and his
two trombone playing friends, joined by the drummer, and the man on the massive
bongos, created a fabulous sound. At a jazz, funk or reggae festival they would
have been heroes, but here they didn't ignite. But a special mention must go to
the three on wind instruments whose swishing and swaying would have put the
Supremes to shame.
At points, glimpses of what could have been made the whole experience
infuriating. The hits brought highs and the live rendition of It's Great When
We're Together was a moment of musical magic - but the rest we could have done
without.
Jacqueline
O'Sullivan
This
Review by Jacqueline
O'Sullivan was Originally on
at
http://www.vibes.co.uk/details.cfm?type=6&rev_id=489
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