The Children Of The Revolution Grew Up!

T.Rextasy

Theatre Severn

31st March 2018

There was an excited air of anticipation as the full house of old T.rex-onians waited patiently for the curtain to rise and for them all to relive a little bit of their youth. Were they to be disappointed?

The curtain rose and… is that a ghost we see before us? Has the real Marc Bolan and his band T.Rex turned up to whisk us to planet nostalgia? It sure looked likely and in all truth there was a feel of reality as the ghost before us proved to be the spit of Bolan and had a sound to boot. This was the first introduction to T.Rextasy.

Voted number one tribute Band and number one live act it is no surprise. These guys are hot.

With very little chat and wasted time Danielz and the boys turned the big TRex generator on and created an instant good time. With a sound just so remarkably similar with eyes shut one could be sixteen again, the wrong side of  O’Levels and the sound track to your life is being wheeled out before you in fantastic authenticity.

It is always interesting to note the average age of the audience, working that out can contextualise the whole gig. We were all the same age together, then and now. Although there were a few younger people there it seems that they were speaking a language that we all understood. The sound, the gesture, the look and the feel of this night was almost akin to the the real thing.

As a child one didn’t tend to notice the phraseology of T.Rex or the little musical nuances that they bled in. Marc Bolan must have been frustrated to have been solidly screamed at and the meaning of his song lost. Screaming fans then weren’t too bothered what was being said they just wanted to see their idol.

These songs stand up to the scrutiny of time, and it’s no wonder, after all strip down the glam veneer and you have a rock solid music machine; so energetic pacey and so strong. Although his lyricism is questionable, no I will go further, although his words tend not to mean much at all, the vehicle that carries them, i.e. the music is powerful and uplifting.

This band are an amazingly close clone of the real thing. As Marc can no longer be with us to elaborate on his musical point, these guys have picked up the mantel and run with it. They have kept his name and his music real and brought his time back to life. The audience love it.

This was their time. This was a time when the Quarry or The Abbey Gardens were ours as we sneaked out of school to hang out and listen to the charts. All that mattered was who was number one. We thought then times were hard. Little did we know.

However to be returned there, so skilfully and so musically is a great experience and this band are just that, a great experience. They play with respect for the great man, they play with the Bolan family fully endorsing them and no wonder. They are great. There is no blurring of the lines. They don’t claim to be the Trex; but they do play their music with such a regard that we all end up respecting the great man and the musicians before us. They are an experience and not a bad one.

 If you love that Jitterbug Boogie sound or that solid Rhythm and Blues, allow this reviewer to tell you this is the band for you.

T.Rextasy are just T. riffic!

This is a Four Star Review.