Plan B + Clare Maguire @ Birmingham Academy, 22nd October 2010
Claire Maquire has been causing quite a stir with her AOR, power-ballad vocal stage presence, raven haired beauty and smooth suited band. It was a brief set and she no doubt had the photographers in a lather due to their acute shooting angle and her shimmering azure hued dress and thigh high boots. Tightly crafted, unthreatening, life-affirming, erring at times towards formulaic, songs, gave her ample opportunity to turn her handsome voice up to eleven. Bonnie Tyler/Cher are no mean role models. However, the knee-shuffle across the stage might be worthy of reflection. Nonetheless, this is a young artist brimming with potent talent and focused ambition.
Having, by all accounts, resisted entreaties to sell her soul to the goldfish in a bowl, humiliation of X Factor, her talent and successes are even more commendable and deserved. Might she not be destined for a career defining diva lead role in a West End mega-hit musical/rock-operetta some time soon? Watch this space.
Set list: Ain’t Nobody, I Surrender, Break These Chains, Big Love, Last Dance, Shield and Swords.
At what must have been a sell-out, and at times decidedly uncomfortably (regulation safe?) rammed, Academy, Birmingham’s beautiful youth things came to pay homage to burly, dazzlingly bespoke, lean, mean-cut suited Plan B. Clearly, from mosh pit to crammed balconies, every one was full on for a wild night which duly ensued.
Plan B (aka Ben Drew) began with a sonic montage of beat-box vocal gymnastics that segued into ‘Writing’s On The Wall’ (no, not that one) with the band breaking into a Spandau Ballet reminiscent keyboard motif. It’s evidently clear that all the twitter/chatter and fulsome press Plan B has enjoyed this past year or so is justified. Having established his credentials as a song writer with the decade defining, sweet soul morsel with a razor edge, ‘She Said’ (that closed the main act), he has set himself a very difficult act to follow. Declaiming his proud to be a White Soul boy heartfelt homage to the genre he blazes through a set of dynamic up-beat dancers and mood shifting confessional ballads. The juxtaposition of dub/rap monologues (of which Plan B pays inspirational homage to Eminem/Mike Skinner) seem implausible, but he deftly crafts them with a seamless intensity. Inevitably, his Mowtown/Atlantic/Stax antecedents, show forth. A couple of up-beat chirpy reggae numbers lighten the tempo but for some of us feel a distraction.
Without question other aspects of Plan B’s defining gifts, notwithstanding his intriguing vocal register, are his choice of scorching musicians and an intensely sincere rapport with the audience; the latter reciprocating by effectively taking over principal vocals on any number of rapturously received songs. None more so than with ‘Free’ a self-punishing confessional torch ballad worthy to be included in the Soul cannon of greats. The principal part of the set is taken from his style shifting, soul searching recent concept album (and who does those these days?), ‘The Defamation of Strickland Banks’, Plan B’s tragic, fictitious alter ego whose life is destroyed by authoritarian injustice. The lyrics reveal a narrative of intensity and existential, visceral internal dialogues.
Main set closes, as said, with ‘She Said’. The compulsive, finger-clicking, retro cool romancing, pillow-talk confessional. The band kept it on tight, lean tempo leash but regardless of what they intended the crowd very soon decided they were taking ownership and didn’t they just – with bells on. A shared, special moment that had Plan B visibly touched.
A quick towel wipe-down and it’s the encore, straight in to a dub-step medley of ‘Tracks of my Tears/Lean on Me/My Girl/Stand by Me.’ It has to said that of the many things that can make an adoptive Brummie proud, it’s the knowledge that its youth can sing along word perfect to the iconic soul repertoire. The band are joined by crisp, two piece suit, tailored by laser, beat-boxer extraordinaire, Faith SFX, for some sonic pyrotechnics. Then it was Happy Birthday to Plan B and a naughty over-run much to the annoyance of the Propaganda Night crew anxious to get the stage before it was potentially trashed.
Review – John Kennedy
Photos – Ian Dunn