theSpace @ Surgeons Hall
Aug 12th, 2024
Night Owl at the Edinburgh Fringe 2024 hosted the marvellous vocals of Reine Beau as she took to the stage for ‘the Blondie Story’ on a day of good weather and very cool vibes. We were entertained to extravagant levels during a set list of killer Blondie hits. We were set into such a state of sheer festivity making the very most of the great events the Night Owl hosts.
Charged as we were in the Grand Theatre of theSpace’s Surgeons Hall venue we had ahead an evening at hand of merging the enjoyment of two back to back shows, the latter being a heart rending performance from the skills of a band paying their tributes to the 70’s and 80’s star Kate Bush, who is as big now as she ever was, we made the most out of this year’s festival at these two shows.
Much can be made from Blondie’s career fronting her close knit band as her innovative and provocatively delightful influences brought songs and musical genres to light in the 70’s. A pop infusion of punk hit New York with tidal wave performances that have gone down as legendary and very lovable. Reine’s vocals, dress and physicality achieved an impact on the room as the set list included great hits and the genre shaping songs including ‘Sunday Girl, ‘Call me’ and the more recent ‘Maria’ , the energy tight, in a more than dedicated show to this star with blond hair.
In our half hour interlude till ‘the Kate Bush Story’ everyone was buzzing with the life of a Fringe in full glory, excitedly chatting and with all ages being in a state of revelry. The mood broke as a gut wrenchingly beautiful tribute to Kate Bush began.
I was personally very glad to realise that this five piece band included performers from ‘the Fleet wood Mac Story’ from last year’s Fringe, relishing in there sounds again and the sweet vocals reverberated with fresh intake in their performance this year dedicated to Kate, I would highly recommend going to said Fleetwood concert in the famous Space Symposium.
Kate’s influence also stretches into legend as a ledge for massive names in music such as Bowie and Stevie Wonder; there was a hauntingly beautiful reminder of this gloriously special time in the music world. Hannah Richards poured her voice out backed by this band of passions through the great songs that changed so much of life at its time, ‘Wuthering heights’ and ‘Running up that hill’ were given a new spark in a tribute we could actually observe as it was powerfully unleashed.
The pleasure realised was soul defying as a reverberant swell of clear sounds touched the room, raising those passions to thrilling heights, in celebrations of beauty that reached through highs and lows, showcasing just how diverse and inclusive the artist was so able to be, catching something of a zeitgeist in expressing and performing this most swimming music.
Our Top of the Pops memories were but a small part of what she did in life and it was for her music that this show paid an ultimate tribute to her with powerful versions where the very essence landed and created hearts enlarged.
Daniel Donnelly
themumble.uk 