We know Rob's band are fabulous because he keeps telling us that, pausing for applause breaks whenever one of them does something individual. The night was not without merit, but I struggled to shed my inner Grinch for most of it. Yes, Rob has a fine singing voice. Yes, he can do several impressions (we got to hear them all: Ronnie Corbett, Michael Caine, Tom Jones, Steve Coogan, Man in a Box, young Elvis and older Elvis), but his schtick is getting as old as his audience (he quipped the tour should have been sponsored by Tena Lady, but they let him down). He also joked that it felt like they were playing to care home residents.
Highlights:
His Christmas song after the interval, incorporating all the people he'd spoken to during his crowd work.
Bringing on a ten-strong choir to accompany him at the end. Their voices soared, providing a scale to the performance that was lacking previously.
Gregor Fisher (Scotland's leading campanologist, according to Rob) played his bell on stage for one song.
The expressions and reactions of the audience member in the Christmas jumper Rob brought on stage to play the glockenspiel (xylophone) were priceless. A total ham, but funny with it.
Lowlights:
The spotlight didn't extend to the sides of the stage, so whenever Rob wandered that way to talk to someone in the audience, he fell into shadow.
All the Christmas songs, though, he did his best to inject some humour into some, such as the medley, smashing one song into another via connecting words.
Rob can be funny, but this show leaned too much toward his singing, and while his voice is good, it wasn't that great tonight. I felt he was holding back, possibly struggling with catarrh. And it was primarily a festive evening full of Christmas songs, which gave me the boak.
Video and photography were not allowed during the performance, so here's a couple from the bow.
Ticket Price: £40.00 x2 + £4.40 Service Charge x2 + Handling Fee £1.75 = £90.55 from Ticketmaster
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