Montenegro
As an opener this was always going to be a bit of an oddity,
but I’m surprised – and disappointed – we aren’t seeing anything wackier on
stage. I mean, OK, there’s a Trojan donkey and some lissom youths parading
about but Mr Amadeus appears to be just standing giving a rather deadpan delivery.
Said youths unfurl banners with various lyrics from the song, a bit like a
cheap version of the Ceefax subtitles and then appear to just stand around the
donkey looking for a bit of passing trade. I’m in the minority of actually
quite liking Rambo’s swipe at the mainstream, but you need a bolder visual to
make the statement. This was never going through, but I was hoping for
something more eye-catching and memorable from the performance.
Iceland
Whilst Montenegro has not delivered what I expected Iceland
certainly has with a performance similar to the national final. It’s vocally
strong and already polished, with Greta in her final frock. Or should I say
semi-final not to jinx it? It’s got an awful draw, but this looks and sounds
great already and it’s only really coming so early on that might not see it
through. The backdrop of blues and frozen rugged terrain shows the stage and
the set are already looking very versatile if not quite as impressive as the
enormous backdrop in Germany last year. Jonsi looks strapping and Greta’s fiddling
is captured in full 360° glory. Ooh it’s good!
Greece
If the Greek song is Greek-Eurovision-by-numbers and you
like that kind of thing then you’re not going to be disappointed by the performance,
which ticks all the same boxes. Elefteheria is flanked by 4 dancers with a
backing singer positioned over yonder, much like Dana International in 1998 or
the Balkan Girls in Moscow. The dancers are 2 male and 2 female, and Eleftheria
has gone for a more wholesome look rather than some of the very fine swarthy
looking specimens we have enjoyed in the past, which is frankly a bit of a
shame. In keeping with the domestic situation it all seems a bit low-budget and
lacking in a bit of energy, but it is just the first run-through. I’m left a
bit cold by the Greek entry to be honest, as we really have heard it so many
times before, but give me a beer and I’ll be jumping along and waving my hands
in the air in the EuroClub next weekend.
Latvia
Four songs in and it looks like the more outré and bizarre
elements of this year are being played down. Latvia’s delightfully tongue in
cheek playfulness is looking vaguely like she’s now taking the beauty of her
song all seriously. Gone is the jaunty titfer, the gossipy presentation with
her girlfriends, and the galumphing dance moves in the chorus. And it doesn’t
look like we’re getting a frock change mid-way as we did in the national final.
Toning some of that down is a blessing, of course, but eradicating it entirely
might be a curse. Vocally Anmary is very strong indeed, and perhaps she’ll
still have that slightly deranged look about her close up on the telly, but
from a static point of view at the moment this isn’t really working as you’d
like it to.
Monty x
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