Early Tour of Life review

[Peter Byrne Manchester <PMANCHESTER@ccmail.sunysb.edu>]

	At the San Jose Katemas, IED did not remember having ever seen the 
review of the London opening of the Tour of Life that appeared in THE GUARDIAN 
next day.  Memory may not have served that afternoon, and the following might 
be redundant, but it's relatively short and an interesting 'take' on Kate from 
the days when nobody knew WHAT was coming at them yet.

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THE GUARDIAN, April 17, 1979

PALLADIUM
Robin Denselow

Kate Bush

IN SO FAR as stardom can ever be instant, Kate Bush is the instant star.  
Others may start at the bottom, slowly gaining confidence and success, but she 
has been launched right in there at the top.

	She may have a string of hit singles and awards behind her, but that's 
still no substitute for live performance.  This was a massive gamble, and it 
almost succeeded magnificently.

	For her first London performance she was given dance and mime lessons, 
lengthy rehearsals and technically inspired special effects to help her, and 
as a piece of musical theatre alone the result was unevenly spectacular.

	She sang for rather too long--well over two hours--and changed her set, 
clothes and image for almost every song.  There were back projections, male 
dancers, clowns and illusionists, and Miss Bush pranced among them all with 
the boundless self-confidence of a very sexy and knowing gamin.

	But the real surprise of the show, apart from her ability to behave as 
an unflappable old trouper, were the innovations in rock choreography and 
microphone design.  She sang while dancing, while being thrown around by male 
dancers, and while acting out an endless series of elaborate cameos that 
included everything from cowboy scene to ancient Egypt, British army 
parachutists to dancing violins.

	Taken in short bursts, most of it was exceptional.  What made the 
overall result less than perfect was the sense that theatrical styles were 
being played around with without enough sense of continuity--she clearly has 
the ability to write and star in a musical, and that could show her off better 
than distracted sketches.

	Then, of course, there's her music.  She has some great songs, but that 
shrill acrobatic voice still becomes a little monotonous after so long, but 
those are minor quibbles.  Kate Bush, live for the first time, was very 
impressive.

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                                                            Peter Manchester
"C'mon, we all sing!"                               pmanches@sbccmail.bitnet
                                               pmanchester@ccmail.sunysb.edu