Voice Male - Hit Hit Hoera
January 12th 2008 - De Tamboer, Hoogeveen
This new theater show of Voice Male contains many well-known songs. Last year, people could send in their requests for songs Voice Male should sing. This causes this show to be very diverse. Most of the songs are very familiar which often makes you want to sing along. Although it's very personal whether you like a song or not, and because of the wide variety of songs tonight, it's impossible to like them all and therefore I found the choice of songs sometimes great and sometimes pretty awful. I was surprised to hear Ironic and I liked it (although hearing a man sing "It's meeting the man of my dreams, and then meeting his beautiful wife" does sound pretty odd haha). Another great song was Forca and even better: Another brick in the wall! Those songs make me love a cappella so much: Songs which are in my opinion not the kind of songs for which an a cappella arrangement is easy to write, songs that surprise me to hear a cappella and often make me realize I prefer the a cappella version above the original version. This love is also a good example of such a song. I realize I miss vocal percussion in a lot of songs tonight. The vocal percussion in This love gives the song more energy and I love that.
Songs that impress me less are Lady Madonna, Wake me up before you go go
and You're the voice. Although they are sung well, I think these songs and the arrangements are a bit standard.
During Crush, there are some spotlights from the back of the stage shining into the audience. We're totally
blinded by them and it's really annoying. I can't remember the song anymore, because the irritating lights are all I remember.
And unfortunately it's not the only time we're blinded by the spotlights.
There are three different medleys in this show and I like them, even though they are pretty predictable. The Boyband Medley of course has songs from Take That, Boyzone and the Backstreet Boys and also in the Disco Medley one after another familiar song passes by. But this recognition is fun and because a medley contains only small parts of the songs I don't get bored. The Dutch K3/Luv Medley, which they sing at the end of the show, is very funny and I love to hear it again. But wait a second... Hear it again? I thought Harald welcomed us tonight to a "brand new show"? But it's not as brand new as he has said. The two French songs tonight, Femme libérée and Les divas du dancing and the other Dutch song Iedereen is van de wereld are also songs from the previous show. "Hit Hit Hoera" is not as brand new as promised and that's a little disappointment. I don't mind hearing the Dutch songs again, because I really like it when Voice Male sings Dutch. I don't speak French so well and I think Voice Male doesn't speak English very well (the pronunciation could be better in my opinion) so they do best in Dutch ;)
When Mad World is announced, which is pretty remarkable in the first place, because most of the songs are just sung without introduction, I'm really curious and I suddenly get a bit nervous. Ever since the Wise Guys sing this song I'm convinced there can't be a better a cappella version. Voice Male sings it with only three voices and we're asked not to think about what the other three might be doing backstage during the song. The sound technician adds a lot of reverb and I miss some modesty and quietness in the performance, but I do like the little echoes during the chorus. After the show, Martin tells me he had to hold himself back a little bit, because he was almost adding a bass voice. Opinion confirmed.
Am I spoiled or am I getting too critical? Somehow I am not really enthusiastic about Voice Male tonight. I'm having a good time, but it's not fantastic and it depends from song to song whether I'm having a good time or a great time. It's not about the men, they are nice and funny and I love the unrestrained and spontaneous way they move on stage. The six singers look great in their new suits, which is an improvement compared to the previous show. The jumpstyle act causes a lot of applause and laughter and it's not the only time we laugh out loud. I think I'd expected a little more creativity and originality, but maybe my expectations were too high or simply incorrect. "Hit Hit Hoera" gives the visitor a lot of hits, no matter how standard some of them might be. So if you expect to hear a lot of well-known hit songs, you won't be disappointed.
Setlist:
|
Lady Madonna (The Beatles) Ironic (Alanis Morissette) Boyband Medley Crush (Jennifer Paige) You can't hurry love (The Supremes) Coming around again (Simon Webbe) Femme libérée (Cookie Dingler) Eye in the sky (The Alan Parsons Project) You're the voice (John Farnham) Dreadlock holiday (10CC) [Break] Forca (Nelly Furtado) Weather with you (Crowded House) They stood up for love (Live) Another brick in the wall (Pink Floyd) Disco Medley Mad world (Tears for fears) This love (Maroon5) Les divas du dancing (Philippe Cataldo) Jumpstyle act Wake me up before you go go (Wham!) Centerfold (The J. Geils Band) [Extra songs] K3/Luv Medley Iedereen is van de wereld (Scene) Down to the river to pray (Alison Krauss) |
 |