June 16, 2011
Majestic Movin’ Melvin took me and the small but hugely appreciative audience on a journey, not only through America’s black music history, but also his personal experiences, leading us from his youth in Cincinnati, right up to his appearance at Oxfringe this week.
He arrived from out of the darkness, dressed in sharp red, natty waistcoat, braces and tails, slowly making his way on stage, crooning a soul classic, his metal-soled tap shoes gently creating a rhythmic accompaniment to an otherwise a cappella performance.
Thus was our introduction to an evening of gospel, soul, blues, doo-wap, rock and roll, jazz, pop and funk favourites, delivered like accents and embellishments to define the sounds of an era, and the highlights and some of the lows of the storyteller’s life, spanning over 65 years.
Right from that first song it was clear that the voice and the moves would keep us smiling from start to finish, and hot on its heels Melvin launched into one of the Gospel songs he had cut his singing teeth on as a child, forced to church every Sunday. With each song, showcasing the best talents around at the time, Melvin did a superb job of recreating the mood of the era, and in most cases, a pretty fine imitation of the original performer. However, he never overplayed or pushed the vocal inflections and those quirks that make so many of the voices of the past so unique. The artist’s style was immediately recogniseable, the renditions had an authentic quality, but Melvin’s own undeniably soulful sound was always there too - and pleasingly so.
Singing isn’t Melvin’s only talent by any means. We were treated to some fantastic footwork, and more, from this nimble sixty-six year old! Late on in the show we were informed that Melvin’s tap prowess was developed only very late in his career, but it was easy to see that, despite his exclamations that teaching yourself to tap dance in six months is no picnic, the man has such rhythm in his soul that getting the feet to follow suit, to move just that bit faster and adapt to a particular dance discipline, would have come pretty naturally. Technically? Who knows how good he really is – but to watch – pure joy. Full of surprises too. It’s not often you see a man old enough to be your grandfather, perform a perfect swan dive and then pop back up to moonwalk, body pop and hot shoe shuffle across the floor. As with the singing, Melvin’s ability to adapt to any genre was impressive – but more importantly, hugely entertaining.
Speaking of surprises – I bet no one watching that night had expected to see our Melvin strip down to his bright red G string, to demonstrate just how he made his living in the good old days of performing in a male dance group, singing, moving and removing clothes for sell out audiences of admiring ladies! I never thought I would hear myself (almost) audibly utter the words ‘Nice buns’, about, well, anyone!...but I bet I wasn’t the only one there who thought it!
Admittedly, the show Melvin delivers is so carefully honed and scripted, that it could seem trite to the less generous of spirit, but I was enchanted by the storytelling, loved the cheesy jokes – which really were quite funny, and laughed along with his slow ‘hee hee hee’ that punctuated all his amusing anecdotes. I, and all gathered were so swept up in the warm fuzzy feel of the evening, that despite our small number, we happily and unselfconsciously sang along, stood and clapped when encouraged to so, cheered delightedly as he began old favourites, and applauded each and every song and dance.
The one man show was indeed magic, but I spent the evening wishing that Melvin had the band or the backing singers, or the dance troupe there to support him. Not because he needed them in any way to enhance his performance – but because I felt he deserved them!
I’m not quite old enough for the night to have been one of nostalgia, but as I listened to so many iconic songs, and watched Melvin’s shadow, dancing against the backdrop of the stage, unidentifiable in its uniformity, I was momentarily transported, back to wherever Melvin wanted to take me.
He arrived from out of the darkness, dressed in sharp red, natty waistcoat, braces and tails, slowly making his way on stage, crooning a soul classic, his metal-soled tap shoes gently creating a rhythmic accompaniment to an otherwise a cappella performance.
Thus was our introduction to an evening of gospel, soul, blues, doo-wap, rock and roll, jazz, pop and funk favourites, delivered like accents and embellishments to define the sounds of an era, and the highlights and some of the lows of the storyteller’s life, spanning over 65 years.
Right from that first song it was clear that the voice and the moves would keep us smiling from start to finish, and hot on its heels Melvin launched into one of the Gospel songs he had cut his singing teeth on as a child, forced to church every Sunday. With each song, showcasing the best talents around at the time, Melvin did a superb job of recreating the mood of the era, and in most cases, a pretty fine imitation of the original performer. However, he never overplayed or pushed the vocal inflections and those quirks that make so many of the voices of the past so unique. The artist’s style was immediately recogniseable, the renditions had an authentic quality, but Melvin’s own undeniably soulful sound was always there too - and pleasingly so.
Singing isn’t Melvin’s only talent by any means. We were treated to some fantastic footwork, and more, from this nimble sixty-six year old! Late on in the show we were informed that Melvin’s tap prowess was developed only very late in his career, but it was easy to see that, despite his exclamations that teaching yourself to tap dance in six months is no picnic, the man has such rhythm in his soul that getting the feet to follow suit, to move just that bit faster and adapt to a particular dance discipline, would have come pretty naturally. Technically? Who knows how good he really is – but to watch – pure joy. Full of surprises too. It’s not often you see a man old enough to be your grandfather, perform a perfect swan dive and then pop back up to moonwalk, body pop and hot shoe shuffle across the floor. As with the singing, Melvin’s ability to adapt to any genre was impressive – but more importantly, hugely entertaining.
Speaking of surprises – I bet no one watching that night had expected to see our Melvin strip down to his bright red G string, to demonstrate just how he made his living in the good old days of performing in a male dance group, singing, moving and removing clothes for sell out audiences of admiring ladies! I never thought I would hear myself (almost) audibly utter the words ‘Nice buns’, about, well, anyone!...but I bet I wasn’t the only one there who thought it!
Admittedly, the show Melvin delivers is so carefully honed and scripted, that it could seem trite to the less generous of spirit, but I was enchanted by the storytelling, loved the cheesy jokes – which really were quite funny, and laughed along with his slow ‘hee hee hee’ that punctuated all his amusing anecdotes. I, and all gathered were so swept up in the warm fuzzy feel of the evening, that despite our small number, we happily and unselfconsciously sang along, stood and clapped when encouraged to so, cheered delightedly as he began old favourites, and applauded each and every song and dance.
The one man show was indeed magic, but I spent the evening wishing that Melvin had the band or the backing singers, or the dance troupe there to support him. Not because he needed them in any way to enhance his performance – but because I felt he deserved them!
I’m not quite old enough for the night to have been one of nostalgia, but as I listened to so many iconic songs, and watched Melvin’s shadow, dancing against the backdrop of the stage, unidentifiable in its uniformity, I was momentarily transported, back to wherever Melvin wanted to take me.