To stop me whining about a lack of festive cheer, my friend Gemma took me to the Town Hall on the 10th December to see the Puppini Sisters Christmas Special in an effort to get me in the Christmas Spirit.
Now despite my office being less than 100yrds from the Town Hall I had never, prior to this evening, been further than their little cafe but now I know what I’m missing I can assure you I will be making a nuisance of myself at the Town Hall more often in 2009!!
Re-opened in October 2007, following a £35m renovation, the Town Hall has been lovingly and painstakingly restored to its original neo-classical design which dominates the City’s Victoria and Chamberlain Squares. Inside, the Grand Hall more than lives up to its name, offering a modern music venue in a beautifully historic setting.
So onto the show, and having never heard of the Puppini Sisters before I didn’t really know what to expect, so I Googled them to find out more….. The Puppini Sisters are not a typical pop act, at least not in the 21st Century. Their close, three-part harmonies are reminiscent of the vocal groups of the 1930s and 1940s, and they are flying the flag for the burlesque revival. For their Christmas special we were treated to an evening of stupendous jazz stylee covers of modern pop songs, with a sprinkling of the odd traditional festive favourites such as silent night and jingle bells. The music was infectious to say the least and keeping our feet still proved impossible! Not only do these girls have a talent for singing quite beyond anything you will have heard on X Factor, they each play an instrument from a Violin to an Accordion as well! They also have a small band comprising of 3 guys playing drums guitars and a bass who accompany them on stage.
Between songs the girls chatted to the audience proving they are not only good musicians but also rather funny!! And during the interval everyone was humming the tunes we’d heard as they milled around sipping drinks and eating mince pies!
A well deserved encore over, we were sent out in to the evening with hearts full of yuletide joy and heads full of jazzy songs!
Overall the evening was a great success in no less than three ways… firstly for kick-starting my festive feeling, secondly for introducing me to a wonderful new band and last but by no means least for ensuring I will be visiting to the Town Hall much more in the future!!
