Moments Of Pleasure: The Ultimate Tribute to Kate Bush

Last Friday I was forced ( not really ) to break my "no tribute bands" rule ( more of a guideline than a rule, I suppose ) and make my first gig of the year ( what have I been doing? ) a tribute band gig. And that's enough ( parentheses ) for now. ( Or is it? )

Some friends of ours had tickets for Moments Of Pleasure ( "The Ultimate Tribute to Kate Bush", it says here ) at the Cheltenham Playhouse, but had gone down with the flu and didn't want to waste them, so asked if we'd like to go instead. I was instantly dubious ( "Tribute bands? Grrr!" ) but Sarah wanted to go and, hey, free tickets! ( Thanks Mick & Deb! ) This was all a last-minute.com rush as I was still at work when Sarah rang and we had to be at the gig two hours later. After a race home, a quick change, another race to Cheltenham, and a very brisk walk through the town, we got to the Playhouse with literally seconds to spare before the band came on.

( This is the part where I eat humble pie yet again. ) ( In parentheses. ) MOP, as they shall be known, were very entertaining, very professional, and probably the next best thing to actually seeing Ms Bush play live. And there seems to be little chance of that these days. Singer Lisa-Marie ( not *that* one, obviously ) had an amazing voice and certainly managed to evoke the spirit of Kate right there on the stage. At first, I wasn't too sure if she could pull off that unique style but, a couple of songs into the set, I was totally convinced. Her voice leapt up and down the octaves, soaring and descending, playful and earnest. Lisa-Marie, although wearing some very KB-inspired costumes, isn't an impersonator as such but has all the moves and actions of La Bush, and you can tell she's completely passionate about what she does.

The band were playing three nights at the Playhouse, each night focussing on a particular era of KB's career, with an extra helping of hits. Purely by chance, the Hounds Of Love album was in the spotlight on Friday. This was great for me, because it's the KB album I'm most familiar with ( must try harder ).

MOP did stellar versions of all the big hitters from that album: Running Up That Hill, Cloudbusting, The Big Sky and, of course, the title track  -  "It's in the trees! It's coming!" They also tackled some of the "Ninth Wave" material from the album's second, more experimental side and managed to make songs like And Dream Of Sheep fit in perfectly with the Stranger Things-boosted radio hits.

For a couple of songs, Lisa-Marie sang accompanied only by the keyboard player, which really highlighted her beautiful vocals and made the evening feel very intimate. On the other hand, the hard prog/rock of James & The Cold Gun, and the "bonkers" Sat In Your Lap showed what a kick-ass band MOP are when necessary. After more hits ( Hammer Horror, Wow!, Rubberband Girl ) and an encore of Babooshka and Wuthering Heights ( of course ), the band left the stage to rapturous applause - especially from the two ladies next to us, who had driven up from Portsmouth for this gig and were ( more than ) slightly sozzled.

So, yeah, a great gig. To quote Steve Martin or Kate Bush: "Wow!" ( Wow. )