Wednesday 25/10/06 The Puppini Sisters @ The Roadhouse, Manchester

October 28, 2006 by Gill Ripley

The Roadhouse has been transformed from a piss-sodden broom cupboard into an alluring boudoir, courtesy of The Puppini Sisters. With a free glass of fizz down our necks, the room seems to twinkle very cosily with red lights, gramophone music of the 40’s on the low and rows of seats for the audience. The crowd ranges in severity of their commitment to the 40’s theme. From the jolly couples who titter in their attire like they are at a fetish night, to the arrogant lads with their razored Jack White moustaches and a poor impersonation of Dita Von Teese dangling vacuously off their arm.

Looking every inch delectable, the svelte tones of Stephanie O’Brien cast the men into a flurry and the women green with envy as she struts and serenades us all. Joined by her ‘sisters’, the trio are a gift-wrapped set of fondants in their cinched cocktail dresses, and they begin as elegantly as anticipated.

You would be hard pushed to differentiate their live harmonising from that of their debut album, ‘Betcha Bottom Dollar’. As streamlined as their hourglass figures, the girls ‘shoop’ their way through imaginative versions of ‘Wuthering Heights’, ‘Heart of Glass’ and ‘Panic’. Marcella Puppini leads the way in traditional tongue for a ballsy rendition of 'Tu Vuo' Fa L'Americano'. Tiny, twinkling and sassy, she also gives the vibe that she would be great at smacking a forthright man with a rolling pin should she need to.

The act has an interlude that lasts hours. Reappearing, we realise that it is due to a costume change in respectable ‘Diva’ fashion. Kate Mullins steps up above the crowd, wiggling in burlesque fashion and crooning an introduction their comical, dramatised version of Red Stick Ramblers’ ‘Right Key, Wrong Keyhole’. The only time we felt slightly weird about the whole show was being invited to click our fingers for audience participation for ‘In The Mood’. But the crowd loved it and the girls were cheered onto encore with ‘I Will Survive’.

Although the endless ‘Doo-Wop’ leaves you sleepy, The Puppini Sisters were entertaining, glamorous and fantastic entertainers. Brilliant singers, gorgeous looking and unique, their focus lies more with acting and interpretation than showcasing their own offerings of songwriting. Maybe it’s not everyone’s favourite slice, but we’re not afraid to say it was a grand evening out.

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