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It's weird: Sugababes produce exciting, interesting shiny pop gems on record, but I hated them live, while Westlife's albums are some of the dullest things known to man, yet their live show is pretty good. Never thought I'd end up becoming an expert in stadium pop shows... ;-)
3rd July at Echo Arena, Liverpool
After they're made to wait until 9:40 on a school night to see their heroes take to the stage, the mostly pre-teen audience can be forgiven for getting a bit restless. Some of the older members of the half-full Arena's crowd have taken to booing the band before they even come on, such is their lateness.
When they've allowed their fans to get that upset, Sugababes are going to have to put on a show more crowd pleasing than a Beatles reunion to make up for it. The show they do put on, however, is more akin to a school assembly performance than a triumphant production by a girl band who've sold more records than The Supremes, Banarama and even Destiny's Child.
From the opening four-on-the-floor club mix of 'Hole In The Head', the 3 'babes are upstaged both by their dancers and fantastic backing band. They give the same rehearsed sultry looks and pull the same wannabe-sexy moves for the show's duration. They look bored, quite frankly. The musicians, meanwhile, are having a great time, keeping themselves entertained by dropping elements of The Who's 'Baba O'Reilly' into 'Push the Button' and wigging out with some guitar histrionics on 'Freak Like Me'.
Despite having some genuine pop classics in their repertoire, the trio manage to put on one of the most lacklustre and unnecessarily low key stadium show that can have ever been. Let's hope it doesn't put the younger audience members off gig-going forever though. Quality pop can be so much better than this.