Rock Tenors Anthem
Mayfair Theatre
Thursday, July 13
A full house gave a standing ovation to the debut performance of The Rock Tenors Anthem Tour at the Mayfair on Thursday night.
The programme is a finely honed collection of rock anthems with innovative use of lighting and an excellent backing band.
Special mention should be given to the solo performances of guitarists who richly deserve to be part of the promotional material.
Directors and stage managers Doug Kamo, Michael Grant and Che Long have created a winning formula.
The invigorating and demanding performance is notable also for the lack of intermission to break the spell.
The tenors and band are to be congratulated for their stamina, vocal agility, their use of the entire stage and wide-stance swagger. They successfully blend rock leathers and raised fist salutes with the neatly synchronised dance moves of early rock harmonisers.
Changes from the earlier post-Covid performance include some deft arrangements of numbers by an increased lineup of the famous including David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Supertramp, Simon and Garfunkle, Meat Loaf, Red Hot Chili Peppers and, of course, Queen.
Mixes of two works by different bands, for example Sound of Silence and Whole Lotta Love worked surprisingly well and kept the audience guessing.
Highlights included Stairway to Heaven which brought out the audience’s air guitars (rock tennis anyone?) and Rains of Africa which got everyone jiving in their seats. Audience members were happy to be Heroes, just for one day. After all, God did give rock’n’roll to everyone.
While the audience remained reticent about dancing in the aisles, they were only too ready to sway to the beat and raise their phones to light up the domed ceiling of the Mayfair.
A highly enjoyable energy-rich and virtuosic performance by all.
Review by Marian Poole
