A LIVE STREAM WITH LEE MEAD AT CHRISTMAS (Crazy Coqs/Brasserie Zedel)*****

 

By Louise

Link: https://fane.vhx.tv/products/a-live-stream-with-lee-mead-10-dec-20-30

Available until: 12^th December, probably 8.30pm

Lee Mead did a Crazy Coqs concert a few weeks ago. It was wonderful and I enjoyed it very much so it was a really wonderful surprise to find out he was going to do another one. This concert has a Christmas theme and it’s really lovely. This was my second Christmas concert of the day and I saw another one the night before, but Mr Mead has a way of making every song feel new.

It’s not just that he makes slight alteration to the tunes, although he does do that. He adds some really lovely ornamentations which work brilliantly. It’s also that he seems so happy and excited to perform each song and that happiness and excitement reaches not just every audience member in the venue but to all the livestream audience members like me too.

Mr Mead is a very versatile performer and he sings lots of songs in different styles. He is known for musical theatre, but he can do pop, jazz, swing… there’s even a little bit of classical here, which makes me very happy as the traditional Christmas carols are part of Christmas for me and it always makes me really happy when they’re sung in concerts. Whatever style he is singing in, he is brilliant.

His accompanists are Adam Dennis on the piano and Adam Goldsmith on the guitar. They are great. They are sensitive to Lee’s voice, but the accompaniments allow them to show they are really talented too. There are some lovely virtuosic sections and gorgeous chords which I really enjoyed, as well as lots of brilliant playing. There is banter between Mr Mead, Mr Dennis and Mr Goldsmith too and that is really nice.

As usual, Mr Mead chats to his audience and tells us a bit about what his plans are. I really hope his Sleeping Beauty pantomime goes ahead. I think it is a lovely story (I love the ballet too) and I think a lot of pantomimes are based on stories which could be seen as stories of isolation because the couple are kept apart from each other and often from other people too. I think a lot of people will identify with that even more this year.

Mr Mead opened his concert with Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree which is a great way to start the concert. If anyone is getting tired after a long day or isn’t feeling that excited about Christmas, this is the kind of performance to make you feel much better. This is a really fun song with a jazzy feel.

I won’t tell you all the songs as I don’t want to spoil the surprise for people who haven’t watched it yet, but Mr Mead sang a wide range of Christmas songs including some of my favourites. His second song is romantic and fun and I love all the ornamentation he does.

Mr Mead isn’t afraid to take on the big classics. He sings a very famous song which by a very famous singer and he is brilliant. If you’re singing this song for fun, the temptation is to try to sound exactly like the person who is famous for singing it, but Mr Mead sings it in his own way and creates his own moments of brilliance that show his versatility as a performer. There is light and shade, fun and emotion, and lots of really great musical moments.

Mr Mead also sings something really special and exciting. It has a really beautiful Christmas feel to it and there is a really gorgeous modulation in the chorus. It has a lovely tune and some really romantic lyrics. I really hope it becomes Christmas No. 1. It really does have that special something that makes Christmas songs feel ‘Christmassy’. Mr Dennis wrote it and it’s beautiful.

Mr Mead also sings another really special song which he wrote himself with a friend. It is really inspiring the way Mr Mead has such a varied career and gives so much to his audiences. It can be scary sometimes trying something new, but Mr Mead shows it’s always worth trying. We won’t all be as good as he is, but maybe we can still make people happy.

The closing song is lovely too. It started off as one of my very favourite Christmas songs, then it segued into another song which we all know. I wouldn’t have realised the songs went together so well, but Mr Mead knew. It was really fun and a great end to a great concert.