They weren’t my first choice as a band to open up 52weeks, but they’re a well-known and popular group all the same. Movie55 played a good performance at High Flyerz last night.

Having seen them before it wasn’t going to be easy to not be biased, and in fact it probably counts against them in my review, but here’s my take on the band all the same:

They’re all good at what they do, the lead singer is an entertainer, the drummer is awesome, the lead and bass guitarists know their stuff. There’s a reason why Movie55 has been playlisted on (they claim) 5 radio stations in South Africa. They have the fundamental pop-rock thing going and it seems to work for them.

I enjoyed most of their covers and their original songs are well worth listening to. I was surprised to hear one track in particular that was a lot heavier than the rest of their reportoire. Heavy is unexpected when you talk about the pop-rocky radio-friendly Movie55, but as I listened I found myself liking their heavier sound more and more. They should definitely follow up on that possibility.

      

On the downside, the lead singer can sometimes go a little overboard. He constantly reminds the crowd of the band’s name – “This is our new song and we’re Movie55…” “…that song is on our DVD and we’re Movie55…” “…if I didn’t keep repeating it I’d forget we’re Movie55…” and on and on. A little bit boring and irritating after a while. Another mistake by the lead singer which grates me no end is the mangling in of popular dance riffs using his voice. (Think: “woop, woop” or “ole, ole”) The crowd seems to buy into it though, following his lead as requested. Oh well, whatever works best for them.

Quality of sound: 7.5
Rockstar rating: 6.5
Overall rating: 6.5

Tags: rock, music, South African Rock Music, High Flyerz, band, Movie55

Why 52weeks? Cos 53 weeks just seemed wrong.