Icons

Icons
Celebrating the Biggest Icons in Music History, featuring Greg Gould and his band 'The Chase'. Iconic Productions. Laycock Street Theatre, Gosford. May 24, 2013

Born and bred on the Central Coast of NSW, Greg Gould has spent virtually half of his 25 years on stage. At 16 he made the Top 40 of Australian Idol and for the past couple of years he's been touring the world on board cruise ships as the headline act – ideal training conditions for the rigours of an ambitious touring show such as this.

The title implies that it might be just another in the relentless line of tribute/impersonation shows – but it's really Gould's personal love letter to his favourite superstars and songwriters.

Gould is an exceptional vocal performer with a cheeky personality (and not a bad mover) and he's surrounded himself with a first class six-piece ensemble, featuring James Callaghan – Drums; Emma Stephenson – Piano/vocals; James Heazlewood Dale - Bass; Michael Anderson - Guitar; Laura Sands - Trumpet/vocals; Chris Higgins- Sax and lovely back-up singers, Carley and Leisi Edmonds.

The first half exploded out of the blocks with a red-hot R&B/soul set including hits by Lionel Ritchie, Stevie Wonder, Sam and Dave, Al Green et al peppered with the occasional ballad. The second half kicked off with a (New-School style) tribute to the jazz greats, meandering through an eclectic mix of pop ballads and really bringing the house down with Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5.

If anything, Gould tries to cram too many artists into the one show. Lighting and sound quality were fab, but there was a bit of unnecessary emphasis on other added 'frills' (extraneous props and costume changes) which disrupted the flow somewhat. I'm nit picking because with music of this calibre, it just felt like overkill. Highlights included his salute to Michael Buble and Harry Connick Jr (New Orleans Funk Mode) and a charming duet performance of Alicia Keys' “If I ain't got you” and pretty much every funky up-tempo number.

This is a highly energetic and musically slick show – with nary an impersonation in sight. Home town advantage notwithstanding – the entire theatre was up dancing by the end. That's no mean feat. This Australian's really got talent!

Rose Cooper

Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.