Last year I saw both Girls Can’t Catch and Mini Viva perform and thought it was time to see how they were both getting on.  I was especially excited about seeing Mini Viva after their near electric set at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen last September (my how time flies).

So first up…

Girls Can’t Catch

Since summer GCC have acquired a few fans; the girl in front of me had even travelled all the way from France for what turned out to be a very short and very underwhelming set.

You gotta give GCC some credit thought because they certainly looked the part though; glamorous and funky, kinda like a mini Girls Aloud.

However, musically they lacked verve or any real swagger.  Last time they were saved by a few acoustic songs mid-set… this time there was not such reprieve just caricature dance routines reminiscent of an 80s kids TV show.

Keep Your Head Up is still passable however the rest of the songs cry out for creativity, differentiation, a tambourine. Something. Anything!

Back in July I had a lot of hope for GCC, they had a spark of something.  Right now, I think that spark might have caught swine flu and it needed some serious Lemsip (Max) on Tuesday night.

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Mini Viva

Let’s be fair, Britt & Frankee had a monumental task if they were going to even get close to my 1^st live Mini Viva experience.  Then, they had just landed 7^th spot in charts and were like kids in candy store on an unrivalled sugar high.  Supported by a very competent band they were just two little bundles of joy.

For the Jazz Cafe though there was no band and no Top 10 chart entry to celebrate…

The girls still do have a cheeky charisma about them which makes them lovable and the tunes are great (with the exception of Do You Want Candy?);  It’s a real shame I Wish struggled in the charts, and I’m Hooked was a catchy and cute little number.  Not having the band made the songs sound a bit hollow in comparison to my memories of Hoxton.

The girls did hold their own though and made the blink and you’d miss it set very enjoyable.

Speaking to some fans (who had driven down from Manchester for a five song set and no encore) informed me Mini Viva playing with a band is more the exception than the rule (apparently you are more likely to see them DJ than rock out).  This is a real shame because they were seriously good at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen.  Without a band they just fall back into the pack becoming just two likeable lasses from “up t’north” with catchy pop tunes.

I have by no means given up on Mini Viva, Hoxton Bar & Kitchen was too darn good, however I really do hope Britt & Frankee find their band again so more people can experience the special live performance I’ve witnessed in them.

Rob