First up was Marc of the Almond variety. Now lets not beat around the bush, or any of the other foliage in Victoria Park, we just wanted to hear 'Tainted Love'. The first few songs were slow to win us over but once this little gem was unleashed, the Lovebox crowd was eating (Almonds presumably) out of the palm of his hand. 'Say Hello, Wave Goodbye' was the other standout with the perfect opening line: "Standing in the door of The Pink Flamingo, crying in the rain".
Beth... Oh Beth.
Beth's set was memorable not for the songs, which seemed to be good enough Disco/Dance/Dunkin' Donut/Punk tunes, but for her renowned stage antics. She started out dressed in what can only be described as a green tent (I am trying to be nice Rigil). Ok... maybe it was a cape. Lets not forget that she does indeed have one fine voice. Her own material went down well despite the absence of the Gossip tunes. Security went into high alert as she strolled out into the crowd and got lost for about 10 minutes. She kept her mic on though so at least we could hear her 'wooooahs' from time to time. On returning to the stage she seemed a little worse for wear but managed a rousing rendition of Madonna's 'Vogue' before stripping down to her undies. The least said about that the better really. Well... if Gaga can do it so can Ditto.
Blondie
In contrast, Blondie were cool, calm and classy and everything else beginning with 'C'. Opening with 'Union City Blue' they had us right from the word go. Debbie may have left a few of the high notes out in the name of audience participation but the gal has still got it. New tracks 'Mother' and 'What I Heard' fitting in effortlessly with the classics... Call Me, Tide is High, Dreaming, Hanging on the Telephone, Atomic. Particular favourites were (of course) 'Heart of Glass' and 'One Way or Another' which seemed to make the Loveboxers go MENTAL. They ended with a cover of 'Fight For Your Right (To Party)' - nice touch.
The Scissor Sisters.
As always The Sisters were on high sex alert. "What I really wanna do tonight is toughen you up" growled Jake as he flexed his bicep. Ana Matronic was looking for "a man that smells like cocoa butter and cash". Neither had a problem with spelling out their desires. Babydaddy and Del Marquis looked cool while Jake and Ana cavorted in neon rubber (Note to A_D_N for Christmas I want a jacket like Jake's silver shiny disco one). The set list was everything we ever wanted including 'Fire With Fire', 'Comfortably Numb', 'Take Your Mama'.
Robyn
'How many beats can we drop in the space of 3 minutes' Robyn must have thought with her opening track. She soon proved to be a model popstar and certainly the most energetic of the day. The girl can dance...HARD. It was difficult to pick a standout from a setlist that included 'Dancing On My Own', 'Call Your Girlfriend', 'Be Mine' and the gem 'Love Kills'. 'With Every Heartbeat' was however, the ultimate crowd pleaser.
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