Ever had that “well that is a kick in the chest” feeling? Bowling up to The Espy to see that the Vengaboys start time is at 12:15am was a little like that.
Curiously the promoted support act Twenty4Seven, best known for their Eurodance offering “Slave To The Music” and… well that’s about it, are nowhere to be seen on any of the set time posters.
Perhaps this is an oversight, perhaps things have changed, either way it is not worth waiting three hours to find out for sure. A DJ begins to spin tracks that bring back the old Jump disco days and it is hastily decided that perhaps the next few hours should be spent waiting elsewhere.
Fast forward three hours and not too much has changed. The front bar is packed with big dance moves, cowboy hats, and the occasional mesh singlet thrown in for good measure. One female punter has obviously filled in the long wait by consuming her own body weight in bourbon and is being escorted out of the venue.
She runs over the road and is greeted by police whom are greeted in return by her gyrating arse in their faces. A stumble at the last hurdle if ever there was one.
Finally, it is time to make some noise for the Vengaboys. The foursome bounces onto the stage with “Ho Ho Vengaboys” and the crowd goes completely nuts and will continue to do so for their entire hour long set.
Kim Sasabone (the one who wore camo) and Denise Post-Van Rijswijk (the one who wore everything that wasn’t nailed down) are joined by dancers Robin Pors (the sailor) and JJ Van Zon (the cowboy), getting into “Shalala Lala” with all of the slap dancing and boob squeezing choreography they had in the original video. From the looks of things they have spent their years in obscurity apparently sipping the same youth enhancing Kool-Aid as Aqua (someone should pass it on to S Club 7).
Early on, it becomes clear that there is not going to be a whole mess of live singing. Most of the set bobs along with a backing tape, sometimes just some lip synching, sometimes actual booming vocals from Pors. Despite their lax attitude to singing live, they are solid enough dancers and, surprisingly, very entertaining.
“We’re Going To Ibiza” spurs on a new wave of pandemonium and looking around, the entire room is dancing. Even this writer’s stony faced companion takes the form of Fred Astaire for a shining moment.
“Boom Boom Boom” and “Kiss (When The Sun Don’t Shine)” play with a cheeky appeal that is more camp than a Showgirls re-run and a young man punching high above his weight viciously dry humps his girlfriend in solidarity.
“We are so honoured to be here, you guys are too much- we want you to sing as loud as you can!” squeals Sasabone to the heaving room before introducing their new tune “Montego Bay”, a song which follows the same formula of their previous offerings and slots in easily to the set list.
“Rocket To Uranus” is tongue in cheek, though while performing the choreography it seems as though Post-Van Rijswijk’s straggly Madonna-esque hairpiece is going to make a break for the door at any second.
“We Like To Party (The Vengabus)” is devoured by the shrieking hordes but the Vengaboys’ energy seems to sag a little. Once again they resort to covers, the worst of all being LMFAO’s “Partyrock Anthem” with the lyrics creatively changed to “Vengaboys are in the house tonight”.
Leaving the stage, the Vengaboys are lured back by raucous cheering, stomping and screaming – honestly one of the first genuine pleas for an encore witnessed in a very long time. Bizarrely, the group does not seem to have anticipated this encore and cap off the night with “Boom Boom Boom”, a song so nice they played it twice. Halfway through the song they give up on lip synching and just walk back and forth waving.
It would have been easy to sit and completely savage this show, but the fact is, they gave the masses what they wanted.
People do not go and see the Vengaboys to marvel at their vocal talents, they see the Vengaboys for a mild laugh or perhaps to be reminded of simpler times. Whatever the reason, there is not one person that walks outside without a giant grin on their face.
Seems there is life in the old Vengabus after all.
