The Saturdays

The 6^th of July was certainly a notable date, not only were there torrential downpours that turned roads into streaming torrents and rivers, but we were on our way to see Frankie Sandford, Rochelle Wiseman, Vanessa White, Mollie King and Una Healy, The Saturdays, play at the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, where staff were busy trying to bail the basement out! Their return has seen them move from support act for Girls Aloud, to headline act.

And what a gig it was! The atmosphere was incredible, and in amongst the massed ranks of young girls were a small contingent of male fans too. Everybody seemed to be on a buzz and eager to get in their seats to watch the opening of the show. Merchandise was flying off the rails and the young girls walked proudly in their newly acquired T-shirts.

At 8pm the show began, with support band Mini Viva, another from the hugely successful Xenomania stable, opening up the show grabbing the attention of the audience and generating a good crowd atmosphere with the majority of the audience up on their feet dancing in the aisles. And as good as a support band can be, the audience were here of course for the main event.

The Saturdays came to life, with the roar of the crowd becoming almost deafening. They danced and sang themselves down from the high balcony at the back of the stage accompanied by some promo video work showing on the massive screen backdrop. As far as entrances go, it was impressive and well planned. Dressed in black macs which served as short lived stage costumes, the Saturdays kicked off their Nottingham gig.

 For over an hour The Saturdays entertained their fans with a mix of old and new hits from Chasing Lights, If This Is Love to an encore that was predictably going to have, Issues and Up. Perhaps less expected were the cover versions of the instantly recognisable hits of Rihanna's Shut Up and Drive, Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl and an excellent rendition of Madcon's Beggin'. Midway through the audience were “treated” to some “behind the scenes” footage of their antics on video screen, whilst a costume change (beyond that of just taking the macs off) was in progress. The video was a nice distraction for the audience, but some of the footage was perhaps, a bit forced, a bit too “try hard”. Personally I would have much rather have heard the band play some music amongst themselves because I’ve seen the reviews and interviews, I’ve heard the personal accounts of encounters with the band, and they seem to be group of very hard working fun loving individuals, but I’m not entirely sure I need a video to reinforce this. Having said that though, the audience loved it, and I would presume they appreciated the insight.

So are they the new Girls’s Aloud? Not yet, but would they want to be the new Girls Aloud anyway? That’s the real problem. Although you could argue that they’ve been “manufactured” in to “being fit for purpose”, you do occasionally see moments of real individuality shine through, and there’s just enough to suggest that there’s better to come. During the gig, the girls deviate from the normal dance routines that you would typically expect from other girl groups, out come some guitars, and it’s the little differences like these that might just push them beyond their peers.

All in all, a tremendous gig that had some members of the audience clambering onto their seats to get a better view of their idols.

By Splat and Hunter