Music
The Puppini Sisters @ Shepherds Bush Empire, Oct 3
Published Wednesday, Oct 10 2007, 11:47 BST | By Nick Levine
The Puppini Sisters are as glamorous as Sophia Loren in full-on vamp mode, as knowing as a double entendre from Dame Edna Everage and as anachronistic as choosing to wash the frilly lace panties you wore yesterday using a mangle. A trio of forties-style close harmony singers, hailing from Bologna, Harrow and Herefordshire respectively, their debut album Betcha Bottom Dollar recently went gold. Tonight's crowd is filled with Cath Kidston-clad kitsch lovers, the most flamboyant of gentlemen and beaming grannies who look like they took the wrong turn on the way to The Paul O'Grady Show.
The Puppinis start strongly, offering a merry rendition of The Chordettes' 'Mr Sandman', a sprightly, scat-infused cover of 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' and a good-natured romp through 'Wuthering Heights' that brings out the song's otherworldly melody. The Sisters themselves – all cherry red lipstick, hourglass figures and gutsy vocals – are tremendous fun, while their coquettish, slinky routines are every bit as choreographed as anything Girls Aloud bring to the stage.
Sadly, the pace soon drops and the trio's appeal diminishes like a bicycle tyre with a painfully slow puncture. A mournful, woozy rendition of 'Could It Be Magic' is ill-advised – Marcella Puppini notes that "Take That wouldn't like this," but the Shepherds Bush Empire audience doesn't seem too impressed, either - while a swing cover of 'Crazy In Love', which replaces the original's blistering horn samples with a jaunty accordion riff, falls flat. The Puppini Sisters' great dilemma? Too many knowing covers of contemporary(ish) tunes soon becomes wearing, but their original songs – the irony-drenched 'I Can't Believe I'm Not a Millionaire' in particular - tend to be watery exercises in swing pastiche.
When the Puppinis end the gig by turning the Bangles' 'Walk Like An Egyptian' into a rollicking audience participation number – "Aaay-ooh-waaay-oooh" and the rest – it's a neat reminder of how entertaining this flirtatious trio can be. Sadly, over the course of a 75-minute gig, their act suffers from an over-reliance on forties gimmickry, a dearth of musical ideas and an overload of knowingness. It's hard to resist the conclusion that, as live performers, these swingin' Sisters make a great support act.
The Puppinis start strongly, offering a merry rendition of The Chordettes' 'Mr Sandman', a sprightly, scat-infused cover of 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' and a good-natured romp through 'Wuthering Heights' that brings out the song's otherworldly melody. The Sisters themselves – all cherry red lipstick, hourglass figures and gutsy vocals – are tremendous fun, while their coquettish, slinky routines are every bit as choreographed as anything Girls Aloud bring to the stage.
Sadly, the pace soon drops and the trio's appeal diminishes like a bicycle tyre with a painfully slow puncture. A mournful, woozy rendition of 'Could It Be Magic' is ill-advised – Marcella Puppini notes that "Take That wouldn't like this," but the Shepherds Bush Empire audience doesn't seem too impressed, either - while a swing cover of 'Crazy In Love', which replaces the original's blistering horn samples with a jaunty accordion riff, falls flat. The Puppini Sisters' great dilemma? Too many knowing covers of contemporary(ish) tunes soon becomes wearing, but their original songs – the irony-drenched 'I Can't Believe I'm Not a Millionaire' in particular - tend to be watery exercises in swing pastiche.
When the Puppinis end the gig by turning the Bangles' 'Walk Like An Egyptian' into a rollicking audience participation number – "Aaay-ooh-waaay-oooh" and the rest – it's a neat reminder of how entertaining this flirtatious trio can be. Sadly, over the course of a 75-minute gig, their act suffers from an over-reliance on forties gimmickry, a dearth of musical ideas and an overload of knowingness. It's hard to resist the conclusion that, as live performers, these swingin' Sisters make a great support act.
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