Monday evening saw a fairly small amount of people travel to a rainy Cardiff city centre for what turned out to be a slightly surreal evening at St David’s Hall – which is currently specialising in comeback tours from artists of bygone decades. Tonight was the turn of Tavares.
A sign outside the building earlier that day, stating “tickets available”, suggested that those under a certain age hadn’t put the music to the name. Purveyors of slow R&B and classic disco hits in the late 70s, when they were comprised of five brothers – they’re down to a trio these days – Tavares are probably best known for their recording of More Than A Woman, which was written by the Bee Gees for Saturday Night Fever. Unsurprisingly, they finished with this hit, followed by Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel, for the encore; both were accompanied by an entire crowd on their feet, dancing and jostling their way towards the stage.
The smaller scale of the audience did have the benefit of allowing more interaction. One of the Tavares brothers – the impressively agile Feliciano Tavares, nicknamed ‘Butch’ – made his way through the auditorium, greeting and kissing people whilst captivating them with his rendition of Killing Me Softly. Butch was joined by his brother Perry Lee, or ‘Tiny’, and a third band member, standing in for another absent sibling: all with powerful voices, creating sumptuous harmonies and dancing with the energy of men half their age. The support act was also different from the billing, Eleazar Alexander appearing rather than Ohio funk stalwarts Heatwave, but he managed to warm up an appreciative audience with his crowdpleasing Motown covers.
Tavares themselves navigated through hits including Don’t Take Away The Music and It Only Takes A Minute, plus lesser-known tracks such as She’s Gone and a favourite of mine, Never Had A Love Like This Before. It’s a shame that more Welsh fans couldn’t experience this entertaining night with Tavares, but perhaps they would be more inclined to see the group alongside a few other acts from the 70s, at one of those throwback festivals.
St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Mon 12 Sept
words ROSANNA LEWIS
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