VENGABOYS

Metropolis Fremantle
Friday, January 20, 2012

Maybe our childhood ‘worshipping’ perceptions of the Vengaboys weren’t all that accurate. Sure, the Netherlands foursome are renowned for being one of the most – if not the most – influential Euro-pop group of the ‘90s but, considering they have only taken two years off between ’07 and ’09 (yes, they only quit for two years despite the fact you didn’t hear of them), this show was mighty average.
But, that didn’t stop crazy punters lapping it up – cowgirls, sailors, sexy outfits, trashy outfits and even a young lad wearing a native Indian-American head-dress were amongst the sold-out crowd squashed against the melting walls of Metro Freo.
Resident DJ DTuck was the star of the night. He played an absolute cracker of a set filled with classic ‘90s tunes and no one was afraid to show they enjoyed every single minute of it. Every male in the big house turned into Justin Bieber when a communal war-cry sing-a-long to Backstreet Boys’ Everybody pumped through the speakers. Either that; or they were unashamedly showcasing their ‘groovy’ moves to potential mates across the room. The Spice Girls’ Wannabe and Wigfield’s Sexy Eyes went off but there was nothing like a bit of boot-scootin’ action during Steps’ 5678 and Rednex’s Cotton Eye Joe.
It was such a ridiculously mad build up to the Vengaboys’ entrance that when the foursome, dressed in glittering plastic costumes, tassels, cowboy hats and pink stockings (Denise van Rijswijk, I feel for you), graced the stage, it was a bit of a let down. This was made even more so by the fact that the group lip-synced for the majority of their average set. Although most fans present were obviously in attendance for novelty or nostalgic value, it was still disappointing to see that the group didn’t sing and dance to their full energetic possibilities.
A six year old could’ve choreographed their dance routines and would’ve done a better job. The routines and their songs were slowed down which resulted in a few crazy punters singing out of time – or was it the group themselves? No one looked sure. Cowboy dressed gentleman Donny Latupeirissa did opt out of the routine at one point just to casually have a glass of water so that may have taken them by surprise.
They ran through all their hits – including We Like To Party which received the biggest reception and We’re Going To Ibiza which also resulted in crowd mayhem but there were more confused faces in the crowd when Uncle John From Jamaica and fresh tune Rocket To Uranus hit the speakers. Surprisingly, there weren’t even more confused faces when the group decided to perform Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom! not only during their set but also as their encore. Maybe it’s worth another decade before the group tour again down under so they can get some new material under their belt. But, then again, who cares.

_ANNABEL MACLEAN