The former Spice Girl hopes to show off some new material, and the classic Russian rockers hope to keep the show alive.
gland; she’s had two solo releases to date (1999’s “Northern Star” and 2003’s “Reason”) and two number one hits in the UK (“Never Be The Same Again” and “I Turn To You”); she’s got numerous tattoos on her body, including two Chinese characters that spell out “Girl Power”; and, well, she’s a former Spice Girl.
Oh – and she’s coming to Kyiv’s Ukraine Palace on Dec. 2.
Mel C was widely considered to be the most talented of all the former Spice Girls, including Geri “How-much-skin-do-I-bare-to-make-me-famous?” Haliwell, and her vocal talents did land her a duet with Canadian rocker Bryan Adams for the 1998 song “When You’re Gone.” Given Adams’ considerable star status, this point shouldn’t go unnoticed. She plays sunny, catchy, skillful pop songs.
Still, this upcoming Mel C date raises questions. Given that the only pop/rock acts that visit Kyiv seem to be washed-up hard-rockers or tour-happy Scandinavians, we ask (to quote a Dutch fan on her Web site): “WHY THE HELL UKRAINE?”
If the history of teenybopper acts playing Ukraine is any indication, this concert is headed for financial doomsday if tour promoters don’t keep the costs way, way down. The Enrique Iglesias concert at Ukraine Palace back in April lost money, we’ve heard, because high ticket prices kept lots of little girls away. Pepsi, the tour’s main sponsor, had a clause in their contract that prevented major local vodka companies from kicking in to keep the prices down, a common industry move. Without that help, it was unlikely that many kids could have afforded the Hr 160 ($30) minimum ticket price.
So what will Mel C do? Good question. So far she has mobile phone provider djuice and that bastion of independent journalism, the 1+1 TV channel, on her side.
According to her official Web site, Mel C “can’t wait to showcase some of her new material and show off her new band.” Ticket stands are open and waiting.
Mel C
Thursday, Dec. 2, 7 p.m.
Ukraine Palace, 103 Chervonoarmiyska.
For tickets, call 432-1973.
Legendary Russian Rockers Mashina Vremeni
Russian rockers Mashina Vremeni are about as legendary as it gets: they’re been around for 35 years, going back deep into the underground era of Soviet rock.
Now they’re going to play Kyiv, rolling into Ukraine Palace on Nov. 26, on an anniversary tour that started on Moscow’s Red Square in May and moved through Minsk, Vladivostok and even New York City, where Mashina Vremeni played Lincoln Center. The New York event was accompanied by an exhibition of art by lead singer Andrey Makarevich. Apparently representations of fish swimming backwards to the past, and forward into uncharted waters, reflect Makarevich’s meditations on the flow of time – time being, as you can imagine, one of the band’s thematic preoccupations.
Mashina Vremeni means “time machine,” and the first name of the band was, in fact, the Time Machines – in English. After a while the band translated its name into Russian.
By now, Mashina Vremeni has been a cult band in Eastern Europe for longer than many rock fans have been alive. And they’re still putting out music, with their new album about to be released this month by Sintez Records. It’s called “Mashinalno” (Automatic), a name that was suggested by a 26-year-old Moscow fan who won the band’s name-our-new-album contest last spring. The album features 12 songs, some of which have already been performed live, and received some radio play over the summer. Meanwhile, other songs from the album appeared on the soundtrack to Dmitriy Svetozarov’s film “Tantsor.”
On the tour that’s bringing them to Kyiv, however, the focus won’t be on the new stuff. Mashina Vremeni will perform 35 songs from different years, plumbing their legendary past.
This is a show not to miss.
Mashina Vremeni
Friday, Nov. 26, 7 p.m.
Ukraine Palace, 103 Chervonoarmiyska.
For tickets, call 234-1168
or 234-9468.
