SunnyboysMuch like the red wine his surname suggests, Ron S Peno & The Superstitions are an acquired taste. Here he, and his proficient band, hold the reverent, attentive and largely over-40 crowd in his thrall. Moving like a flamenco dancer demonstrating ineffective swimming strokes, Peno is a galvanising presence, but it's not until the last third of the show that his voice opens up and we can hear what he's feeling. Then, it's captivating. Call Your Name (To Say Goodbye) is the turning point of the set and by the closing Myself In Thee the sound is huge and their game is won.
After a brief video comprising live and promotional footage from their early days and a scene-setting interview, Sunnyboys stride out, accept the euphoric applause and launch into a thorough overview of their three albums. After opening with As I Walk, early song Love To Rule and Tunnel Of My Love, guitarist Richard Burgman (a man who doesn't stop grinning all night) says, “It's been a long time, boys and girls, and we're very glad to be here.” Singer-songwriter Jeremy Oxley and his bassist brother Peter are joined by yet another brother, Jim, for an exuberant take on Happy Man, and Alastair Spence jumps in on keyboards for Let You Go. “How does it sound?” Burgman asks his bandmates, rhetorically, after a section of thrilling guitar-pop that takes in What You Need, It's Not Me, You Need A Friend and a lot of inter-band smiling. “I think they like it, boys!” he laughs.
The first set closes with a Nuggets-worthy I'm Shakin', before Sunnyboys return with Trouble In My Brain, the immortal Alone With You and a rugged Show Me Some Discipline. Howled back out for a third encore – the victory lap of early single The Seeker introduced as, “A song we haven't played in 20 years” – fills the room with joy. A stunning show, and not just to those who were lucky enough to grow up with the catchy musings of Jeremy Oxley on their Walkman.
