Robert Post kicked off proceedings with an earnest performance. ‘Can you guys in Manchester clap?’ he taunted. Briefly covering Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Post’s performance culminated in him standing by the drum kit, arms aloft, promising a drum solo. It felt more like a threat. Natalie Imbruglia came on to a kind of high-pitched Gregorian chant, which sounded vaguely like the Chipmunks (should that be Chipmonks?) covering Enya. Imbruglia’s band, however, are rock personified, sporting long barnets and some dubious facial hair.Ìý The opener, oldie Wishing I Was There, was delivered with bile over a solid riff, while Left Of The Middle zipped along nicely despite the odd title. Imbruglia is relative small fry in comparison to the doyenne of the Neighbours musical shoal. Lacking the sass of Kylie, she exists mostly on the fame of her first single, Torn, which is delivered with gusto and has the crowd in raptures. The finale too has vim, as I’m Impressed shifts from rock to electronica via funk. Overall, Nat sings strongly, with heart. However, the general tempo was derailed by a dull acoustic segment. Her followers seem happy – they ought to be at 20 quid a ticket – but to the layman, value for money is thin on the ground. Despite the occasional shout out, banter is lacking, and the short encore break is presumably because the band are scared we’ll all disappear. Her humbleness is grating too. She introduces her band twice, and youÌý wish she’d rely on her own presence more. After Natalie ran off stage at the end, the Big Book of Rock Clichés was heartily plundered. Axe held above head, anyone? She really shouldn’t leave those boys unattended. Natalie isn’t likely to woo a new audience this way, but the old one seemed happy enough. |
