Grace Solero @ The Bull and Gate

I will be the first to admit that when a woman takes the stage as the lead singer in a rock band, I become very sceptical. Things will go one of two ways: either she will triumph over all the odds and be an outstanding front-woman in a male-dominated music scene, or she will crash down into the dangerous world of cliché performance techniques.
Sadly, Grace Solero seemed to fall into the latter of the possibilities.



Vocally, I instantly drew comparisons of Alanis Morissette meeting Nightwish, which is a disturbing combination to say the least. The lead singer, known only as “Grace,” moved about pretentiously on the stage, relying on her long blonde locks as a prop to add interest to her performance. She could very obviously sing, and quite well at that, however, she was trying so hard to perform with a large degree of intensity that it sounded as though her voice was about to snap like a brittle twig. She was no doubt an attractive woman who uses her sexuality as part of her show, but like so many female performers on the music scene, her sexuality became the focus of the set, instead of the music.



Having said that, Grace was the only performer on stage, it seemed. I got the impression that her melodramatic movements were a clever ruse to make up for the band’s complacency while on stage.



They had an average sound for an alternative rock band, but it was certainly nothing outstanding. However, they did have some catchy riffs, and the crowd that came to see them certainly seemed to enjoy the show.



If anything, Grace Solero was mildly entertaining but truly and unfortunately average.