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An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
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Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Critic rating
Reader rating
Hit: Ronson at the Apollo
Before he even came onstage, it was clear Mark Ronson's live show was going to pull out the stops.
His band, including brass section and a quartet of string players, were all placed on podiums, and kitted out in skinny mod suits for the boys and minidresses for the girls - and they could clearly play like demons too.
From the moment Ronson himself came on, his splendid bowl-cut and transatlantic accent giving him an hilarious Austin Powers air, neither he nor the show stood still for a second.
He called each of the myriad guest vocalists on stage like an old-school variety revue host and during songs belted round the stage playing his vintage guitars, climbing on speakers and throwing some fabulous rock'n'roll shapes.
Everything was pure showbiz in the best sense: even when ex-Jamiroquai bassist Stuart Zender reeled off a list of Ronson's recent Grammy and Brit Award successes as Ronson played mock-coy, the audience roared their approval.
Toxic, Oh My God (minus Lily Allen) and his breakthrough hit Ooh Wee early in the set were a reminder Ronson has hits to spare.
Well-known vocalists like Adele, The Pipettes and Kanye West protégé rapper Rhymefest rocked the crowd, but so did lesser-knowns Tawiah, Alex Greenwald and Daniel Merryweather.
Indeed, so ecstatic was the reception to Greenwald's vocal on Radiohead's Just, that he was able to crowd-surf to the back of the venue.
Any quibbles about the lack of Lily Allen or Amy Winehouse were long since quashed by the time the already-bubbling atmosphere exploded into a near-riot when Tim Burgess of The Charlatans, accompanied by Jamie Klaxon on guitar delivered a faultless The Only One I Know.
Valerie and The Smiths' Stop Me ended the two-hour-plus show with ecstatic singalongs, proving old-style showbiz values are as effective as ever.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
I disagree, with the reviewer rating somewhat. Some of Ronson's guest vocalists, although in possession of good voices, lacked stage presence and the Tim Burgess/Jamie Klaxon song was bland. All in all I appreciate Ronson's efforts to make the show more than just a rendition of his album, and it worked well at times with bits of jazz/soul improv in between songs by him and his Version players band. Also Alex Greenwald's You Do It To Yourself and the encore finale of Stop Me were captivating. However overall, this show was just too much a celebration of anonymous pop songs and showbiz culture to create a real impression. It never quite went here nor there with any musical direction, which is a shame as Ronson has produced some very funky Hip Hop in the past. Perhaps he felt somewhat bound by to the non-existent tastes of a West-London crowd. A good celebration of pop definitely. But not a memorable gig by any means.
- Misha, London, UK
