Review of The Saturdays at The O2 on December 19th 2011
Review: David Dooley
Photos: Sean Smyth
Girl bands are in an unusual place at the moment. Champions of the throne Girls Aloud are on a break from dominating the world of pop. The Pussycat Dolls have essentially broken up and The Sugababes have gone through enough staff changes to make them redundant. Until latest X-Factor winners Little Mix gain enough momentum it’s up to The Saturdays to fill the void. Their current ‘All Fired Up Tour’ is of course their first arena tour so they’re certainly making to the most of the situation.
The production tonight is flawless and is certainly one of The Saturdays strengths. The multi-leved stage plays host to a variety of themes throughout the set – from the sultry 60’s secretary intro of ‘Notorious’ to Times Square time lapse video during ‘Get Ready Get Set’ to the rotating platform for ‘Heart Takes Over’. With ‘Forever is Over’ the microphones shoot from underneath the stage that anyone who didn’t see them come up would question if they were there moments ago.
Vocally The Saturdays are on top form with standout track being the shuffling ‘Issues’. As they belt through the final section each of the girls takes a moment to show their vocal range. The pacing of the show cannot be faulted. The electro pop ‘Notorious’, ‘Work’ and ‘Get Ready Get Set’ get the show off to an electric start. The momentum doesn’t let up save for the handful of acoustic ballads scattered through set. ‘Missing You’ starts with foundation shaking bass, not something you’d associate a ballad with but makes for some spectacular results and makes a change from the acoustic ballads. Even during the breaks for costume changes their athletic dancers keep the crowd entertained with some acrobatic breakdancing.
Tonight is defiantly all about Tipperary native Una Healy. Not only is Dublin the last stop of the ‘All Fired Up’ tour, she is also coming off the tour now heavily pregnant. A feat that puts the diva-like antics of other groups clearly into perspective. Save for The Saturdays giggling about her being pregnant you would never know it from across the room due to a combination of dressing to slim her down and Una having no problem keeping the pace up with the rest of group.
The interaction between the band and the audience is one of their strongest points. From the schoolgirl giggling about Una being pregnant to Rochelle being thrown underwear branded with ‘Una Kiss My Bum’ – to which she obliges. They top it all off by facing the back of the stage and getting a picture in front of the adoring crowd. They end the night by pulling one of the dancers to the front platform for a seemingly embarrassing Happy Birthday sing along .
Less than a week before Christmas it’s not surprise that for the part of the set The Saturdays emerge in full on Christmas mode for their rendition of ‘Walking In A Winter Wonderland’, complete with fake snow and the girls emerging from a giant present.
After being on stage for almost two hours The Saturdays close the set off with ‘Higher’, and there’s no doubt in our mind that with most of the competition gone the next time The Saturdays return to The O2 they will be the reigning queens of pop.
