DT: MARCH 21, 2014
FM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/MARCEE RONDAN/MIKE GOWEN
DAVE STEWART AND LUCHA VAVOOM
BROUGHT THE “MAYHEM!…MUSIC!…THRILLS!”
AT THEIR FIRST-EVER COLLABORATIVE PERFORMANCE,
“VAVOOM–A ROCK ‘N ROLL CIRCUS”
EVENT HELD AT THE FAMED EL REY THEATRE IN LOS ANGELES
WITH SPECIAL GUEST VOCALISTS
GRACE POTTER, VANESSA AMOROSI, RITA D’ALBERT AND KAYA STEWART
(Pictured left to right: Rita D’Albert and Dave Stewart)
Photo credit: Kristin Burns
It was a night where anything went…a true extravagonzo!!!
The first-ever performance of DAVE STEWART’s “VaVoom—A Rock ‘N Roll Circus”–a unique collaborative show by British singer, songwriter and musician and the colorful characters from Lucha VaVoom featuring Rita D’Albert, co-founder (with Liz Fairbairn) of the famed Los Angeles troupe–came alive last Friday, March 14 in front of an exuberant, packed crowd at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. “He’s reinvented a rock show as a dynamic, multi-dimensional circus of rock, roll, rhythm and soul, with goodly portions of burlesque and vaudeville, verve, whimsy and joy,” raved Paul Zollo of AMERICAN SONGWRITER magazine (3/17/14). And plans are in the works for “VaVoom—A Rock ‘N Roll Circus” to return. You can watch a video recap of the night here: https://vimeo.com/user7196708/review/89651755/2dbcdc090d.
The show’s wildly diverse set list encompassed material from STEWART’s solo catalog and Eurythmics’ vault of hits–along with covers of songs by the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. The performances achieved an exciting new dimension with intertwined circus elements featuring aerial acrobats, burlesque dancers, pole queens, contortionists, clowns and other button-pushing characters. Reveling in the festivities were such luminaries as Ringo Starr and Joe Walsh.
The night included special guests such as, Grace Potter (of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals) on a powerhouse rendition of Eurythmics’ 1984 hit “Here Comes The Rain Again,” STEWART’syoungdaughter, Kaya Stewart on a vivid and vocally skillful version ofthe Beatles’ “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” and Eurythmics classic “Missionary Man,” along with Australlia’s multi-award winning, Vanessa Amorosi providing larger-than-life vocals on the Eurythmics’ “Would I Lie To You” and the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.” Literally putting the cherry on top of the show in the finale, Rita D’Albert vocally dug her heels into the Runaways’ rebellious classic “Cherry Bomb.”
(Pictured left to right: Dave Stewart and Grace Potter)
Photo credit: Kristin Burns
STEWART says, “I always dreamt of having a circus, not the pop star type circus variety shows of today, nor the animals in cages type of circus. I mean the downright dirty, sweating, sexy burlesque circus of surreal clowns, little devils and high-flying angels with drugged out eroticism. I think I now have it all covered!”
“It was a true blast—we’re all still recovering from it,” says Rita D’Albert about the launch of “VaVoom–A Rock ‘N Roll Circus.” “Mixing up Lucha VaVoom theatrics with Dave’s rock ‘n’ roll gave us all the opportunity to create some really electric and unforgettable moments. We knew from the get-gothat it would be amazing, and it was. From Kristina Nekyia coming out of a giant pill, to Leigh Acosta on a velvet swing, shooting off confetti cannons, and ultimately Karis and I performing together for the first time on ‘I Need a Man’ [the Eurythmics classic], it was an epic evening for us!”
A standout song was STEWARTS’ “Drugs Taught Me A Lesson,” from his current solo album Lucky Numbers. “This is a deeply personal song for Stewart as he struggled with addiction in the past, and while one might think this tune has the possibility of being preachy, it is far from that,” noted Brenda Camberos of LIVING OUT LOUD–LA.COM. “It’s more of a celebratory tune which, in this case came, accompanied by the notorious luchadores of Lucha VaVoom, Poubelle Twins-Chickens, who carried a giant pill onstage. Kristina Nekyia came out of the pill to perform an erotic striptease with glowing green neon pasties and a skin colored thong with single leaf, which covered her girly bits.”
About DAVE STEWART:
“An explosive musician, deft guitar player, innately recognizes the genius in other people and puts it into play without being manipulative.”–Bob Dylan
“Jack of All Trades Master of All of Them”–The Sunday Times
“He’s the musician’s musician.”–Rolling Stone
For a full bio on STEWART, click here http://weaponsofme.com/employee/19/
http://davestewart.com/
http://www.facebook.com/davestewart
http://twitter.com/davestewart
http://www.youtube.com/user/DaveStewartOfficial
