Live Review: The Soap Girls (Live Stream)
Gigs are starting to feel like a life time ago now. The pandemic has robbed us not only of something that gave us pleasure but also something that kept us sane. It’s taken away so many livelihoods too. Many wonderful artists have been adapting by putting on virtual shows via the internet. Thankfully it seems that when creativity gets taken creatives find a way to get it out there anyway. There are many acts that have ‘found a way’ from full blown shows to solo covers of songs shot in front rooms.
One of the bands that have been active non-stop online filling our screens with gorgeous colour and fun are The Soap Girls. For 43 weeks and counting, several times a week the South Africans have performed themed shows based on a virtual tour of the globe. Fans have posted online dressed up ‘in theme’ with the kind of passion normally associated with The Rocky Horror Show. Everything is upbeat and fun with Millie and Mie rocking out in dazzling costume after dazzling costume.
There’s a serious side to all the glitz too of course. A sense of belonging and that we will see artists in person again one day soon. It would be obvious to say these streams are uplifting but to some they’re much more important, they’re a mental health necessity. So yeah! One of the craziest bands going are literally stopping some people from going insane. And this isn’t a review of just one show but an overview of what these amazing people are putting out, week after week.
Add into the mix the girls gift for attracting chaos and frequent electricity blackouts in their home country and every live stream takes on a realness that you can almost touch. You can play in your head what’s happening pre-show. Bedlam! It’s that connection that makes them so special. Then when you watch you get Millie’s familiar intensity and Mie’s glorious smile and just for that moment in time everything is right with the world.
As The Soap Girls perform, around the world people watch, laugh, cry a little and dance. One day soon we’ll be able to do that in person. One day soon that virtual world tour will be a real one. That time can’t come soon enough.
Review by Gary Trueman
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