So I hadn’t originally booked VIP for Alexis’ album launch gig at The Water Rats, but due to an admin error with the crowd funding, Alexis kindly offered me an upgrade and I was hardly going to say no! It basically included early entry and a free drink, but Sexy Lexi (who was looking very sexy indeed this evening) also came round to see us before the show. Naturally he didn’t want to talk too much, but he made sure to say hello to everyone, plus I got an extra cuddle by way of additional apology, so that was very much appreciated too ;). One of my friends was photographing the gig so after Alexis headed backstage, we picked out a spot right in front of the stage and were soon joined by a few other Idiot friends.
The first support was Matt Thorpe and it was such a joy to hear him sing again. Besides which, he’s such a born entertainer and it was a great set. He played a few of his own tunes, including a couple of new ones, and the opening number in particular was brilliant (I think it was called Better Man). He also did an old school RnB medley (apparently Alexis suggested it after seeing an old video of Matt doing it), plus Alexis joined him for an Idiot medley including Holiday, Boulevard, September & Good Riddance. Given that I’ve been back working on old Idiot blogs over the last few days, it hit especially hard, but I loved it so much. Especially hearing Alexis singing lines/songs that he didn’t get to do in the show. Although that said, when he sang his ‘faith and misery’ line in Holiday, we both crossed ourselves and had a bit of a moment over it…! I mean I’d have done it anyway because I always do, I can’t help it, but I didn’t really expect him to as well & locking eyes with him at the same time made me far too giddy! He also looked at me in September and traced a tear track down his cheek with his finger, but I can’t really object, it’s a perfectly fair thing to tease me about :P.
Anyway, after Matt’s set I headed to the bar to redeem my free drink, only I wasn’t really in the mood for a long drink and they had a bottle of Jameson’s behind the bar, so I figured why not (to be clear, I had a single on ice, not the entire bottle). I was so intent on getting my drink, that it took me a second to realise I was standing next to Cellen. I mean, I’d wondered if any other ex-Idiots would turn up, but I’d sorta forgotten about it by that point and wasn’t looking out for them. He was there with a few of the girls, but they were across the room, so I didn’t see them until after. It was so good to see him though and we had a lovely little chat while we were waiting to be served. He and Karina are busy in Club Tropicana rehearsals at the moment, so we talked about that and I assured him we’ll be in to see it later in the run. The new Idiot tour starts next week too, so naturally we chatted about that as well.
By the time my drink came, the second support (Liv Austen) had already started, so I hurried back to my spot as soon as I could. I’d never heard of her before Alexis dueted with her on his album, but she’s got an incredible voice and she played a really nice mix of music. When Alexis tweeted about her yesterday, he asked for a couple of songs one of which was called Detour and she dedicated it to him when she sang it. She said it was a bit rockier and perhaps that’s why I liked it so much, but it was definitely my favourite of the tracks she played. She also shared Alexis’ kick-ass band for the evening, featuring Jon Wright (who produced the album) on guitar, Tiago Dias on bass and Stuart Pringle on drums and I very much enjoyed seeing them play.
Liv Austen
As for the main man; Alexis was amazing, obviously. I’ve really missed seeing him perform and panto just doesn’t quite cut it! It was a really great set too and my only complaint is that I’d have liked to hear even more of his own stuff! Also an extra hour would have been cool too, because I really can’t get enough of that boy. He sounded incredible, he looked incredible and he f***ing rocked that stage. He often picked up the mic stand for extra rock ‘n’ roll effect and I loved how much he moved about too, really owning the space and putting on a show. He belongs up there. I mean I want him back in theatre too, obviously, but if we can have a few more gigs at the same time that would be a whole world of perfection.
So the setlist included a few covers (Shut Up and Dance, Come Together, Hard To Handle and We Will Rock You) plus, what with it being his album launch and all, there were unsurprisingly a fair few of his own tracks off of the album too. Of course he sang Home with Liv, then later he got Landi Oshinowo up to sing Rule The World with him, which was absolutely gorgeous. She sounded awesome – panto didn’t do her justice either!
He sang plenty on his own though, opening with Sweet Angel and closing with an encore of Face The Crowd and No Ordinary Girl with Save Me and Don’t Let It Go holding their own in the middle! On which note, a while back he asked twitter which songs he should play off of the album and though I’ve adored Sweet Angel from the very first time I heard it, I figured he’d play that anyway, so I thought I’d pick something else. In the end I think the song picked me, rather than the other way round, because every time I listened to the album (usually whilst at work, so it was just on in the background), Don’t Let It Go was always the one that caught my attention (and frequently distracted me from whatever it was I was supposed to be doing so I could bop along to it). I always ended up humming it, so I asked him for that one and he assured me it would go on the list. When he reached that point in the set tonight, he shot me a grin, then started to sing and holy f***…! I think it might have been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made requesting that song. I had no idea it would be like that when I asked him for it, I just thought it had a catchy chorus, but f*** me! I mean the way he sang it…! The low smouldering throatiness at the start of the verses over that thrumming bass line… The seductive huskiness of the almost-whispers in the ‘keep on running’ bits… The kick-ass rock of the chorus and the totally f***ing killer note near the end… It was so sexy! I was nearly on the floor by the end and him singing one of the la la la bits at me was just the icing on the cake. I mean I really can’t emphasise this enough; Alexis performing that song live is just pure frickin’ sex. I needed a bloody cigarette by the end of it and I don’t even smoke.
And speaking of sexy… He looked HOT. I mean I’m sure this is news to absolutely no one, but much swooning occurred this evening. Especially when he did a slow hip rotation right in front of me at one point. I’m not sure what prompted it, but I certainly wasn’t complaining! I loved what he was wearing too, and I loved it even more when he stripped out of his jacket halfway through the night! Plus on top of that, his fluff is looking spectacular at the moment. On which note… I GOT TO FLUFFLE! Mid-song too and I certainly didn’t see that one coming. He’d just finished the first chorus of No Ordinary Girl when he headed towards me and reached out for my hand. I had no idea what he was planning, but he’s Alexis, so it kinda didn’t really matter what he was planning, I’d have helplessly followed his every command… (which is probably not something I should admit to :P). What I hadn’t thought about however, was the fact that the second verse begins with the lyric ‘your fingers through my hair’ and as he sang it, he pulled my hand to his head for me to run my fingers through his fluff and I don’t know if I’ve ever loved him quite as much as I did in that exact moment. It made my night and it was a pretty damn good night to begin with.
So after the show, we all descended on Matt en masse and chatted to him for a good while. We talked about him being an emergency cover on the JB tour and, of course, we discussed the new Idiot tour. He also ended up colouring in one of my friend’s tattoos again, although I’m not quite sure where that came from. Later when they went over to Alexis he got in on it too, only rather than just colouring (and doodling rather wonky Simpsons) he copied a picture of Tigger and did a pretty damn good job of it, especially given that the medium of Sharpie on upper-arm isn’t all that easy to work with! Anyway, I joined the conversation just as Alexis was finishing up his artwork and we chatted about my blog. I’m not sure what I said about my memory, but his is certainly up to snuff, because he remembered that I used to write notes. I admitted that even writing notes at the end of the night isn’t really enough to capture everything and I’m sure it’s worse now than it used to be! We also chatted about the new tour, of course, and I admitted it’s prompted me to finally go back and try to finish up the old posts from the end of the London run before the new one opens.
We didn’t keep him too long as he’d been chatting to people since the gig finished and wanted to go and find his wife, but it was lovely to see him. When I hugged him goodbye I made sure to tell him how very much I’d enjoyed the gig and to beg for another one soon! I intended to head off after that, but ran into the other ex-Idiots in the main bar, so stopped to say hello to Emma, Karina and Alice. We chatted about the new tour as well and the fact they’ve got some extra people this time around. Emma mentioned that Declan (originally Dec Bennett on Broadway) was the Josh track, so that’ll be interesting! I also mentioned to them that I’d been working on the old blogs recently and been doing a lot of reminiscing. It was so lovely that so many of them were there and I was rather chuffed I got to see them all too. It’s been far too long! That said I didn’t want to intrude too much on their time, so I hugged the girls and Cellen goodbye, then headed off, humming Alexis’ tunes the whole way home.
So all in all, it was a brilliant evening. Alexis did himself and us proud and I had the best time watching him up on that stage. I gather he’s already working on some new music, so I can’t wait to see what he comes out with next, but in the meantime, I just hope I don’t have to wait until next Christmas to see him on stage again! I mean we’re in desperate need of some new rock shows in the West End, right?!
Peace, love and Lexi,
K xx
So Currently Captivated 