Roxy Magic and Jean Genie - Double Bill Tribute

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Website/s

Jean Genie Official Website
Roxy Magic Official Website

Date/Fri 16 March, 2007
Reviewed by/Denis Hill

Two titans of rock music from the modern era battled it out head to head at Plinston on 16th March in a blistering double-header tribute showcasing the music of Bryan Ferry and David Bowie.The sell-out crowd, uncharacteristically animated right from the start, seemed happy to be caught up in the ‘friendly fire’.

Roxy Magic took first slot and opened with a tantalising keyboard medley of Ferry “faves”. I spotted More Than This and Slave to Love, along with several others in this mouthwatering hors-d’oeuvre – an unusual and creative way to at least pay homage to those classics which couldn’t make it into the band’s 90 minute set.

And what a set it was! The persona and voice inflections of front man Kevin Hackett were so completely Ferry-esque as to border on the mesmeric.

From the opening track Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (surely one of the most covered pop songs of all time), through Remake/Remodel and Over You, this band created and maintained a fluent authenticity which drew admiring gasps from the audience.

During Ladytron, another triumph which had dozens of dancers on their feet, I couldn’t help wondering why Bryan Ferry always dressed like he was ready for a day in the office! Kevin, an equal epitome of cool, delivered vocal near-perfection track after track, ably supported by Lee Sullivan’s sexy sax plus Simon Atkins’ tremendous drumming talent.

John Ozoroff on lead guitar especially stood out on All I Want is You, as another musician of outstanding virtuosity. Bob Hackett the band’s bassist and Paul Woolley on keys (he is also MD for Roxy Magic) completed a sound which came straight out of rock music’s very select top drawer.

For me, the best of a dazzling set were Love Is The Drug and Virginia Plain. Captivating stuff!

The break was over quickly and more than a few were wondering whether Jean Genie could rise to the mountainous challenge. Cometh the moment, cometh the man so they say and the man equal to this moment was unquestionably Bowie look-and sound-alike John Mainwaring who proceeded to blow our socks off with his opening trio of Five Years, Queen Bitch and I’m Only Dancing.

The delicious acoustic guitar sound was in evidence on the iconic Space Oddity delivered with sensitivity and aplomb and the years rolled back even further on the next offering, to Sorrow, a later addition to the Bowie discography, but belonging to The Merseys (wasn’t it?) in the mid-sixties.

Although this was another outfit with a frontman who personified his mentor with amazing accuracy, Jean Genie were by no means a one man band and so, a richly deserved mention to the others:

Jon Murray - Guitar; supremely assured
Paul Pryor - Bass; right on the money
Mike Atak - Drums; perfectionist at work

The classics thundered past relentlessly (Oh Lordy!) with the invitation “Lets Dance” being accepted with alacrity. You could really choose any highlight from a sparkling set, but I will mention Heroes, Starman and the closing number Is There Life on Mars, each of which provided further evidence of faithfulness to the showmanship, invention and musicianship of the Thin White Duke himself.

We had witnessed an evening of stunning entertainment and faultless artistry at Plinston tonight. Listening to a rapt audience as the lights went up served only to confirm that fact.

Roxy Magic were:

Kevin Hackett - Lead Vocals
Lee Sullivan - Saxophone
Simon Atkins - Drums
John Ozoroff - Lead guitar
Bob Hackett - Bass guitar
Paul Woolley - Keyboards

Jean Genie were:

John Mainwaring - Lead vocals; guitar
John Murray - Lead guitar
Paul Pryor - Bass Guitar
Mike Atak - Drums