Rosie and the Goldbug promised us a show at Porthtown’s Blue Bar, and a show we got...

“YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!” Rosie Vanier shouts before thrashing around encouragingly in front of her keyboard, sleek hair and hot-pants shaking. The bassist, a strange little man dressed all in black walks his pointy-toed boots forwards then backwards, purposefully and with a perfectly straight face. The theatrical drummer pauses for effect before bashing out another awe-inspiring crescendo. This is Rosie and the Goldbug and they promise to give you a show.
Carnivalesque keyboard, fierce drums and rolling bass are first haunted by Rosie’s operatic soprano then taunted by her vigorous shouts. The band switch from high-energy crowd pleasers to melancholy songs about ghosts with ease, bringing on a cellist intermittently to add atmosphere.

The initially hard-to-impress crowd in the Porthtowan Blue Bar are easily won over by the band’s enthusiasm, talent and theatrics, and everyone cheers when Rosie, grinning, plays the keyboard with elbows, toes and arse, before flouncing around unreservedly in an attempt to get the crowd dancing.

Tricks and gimmicks aren’t needed to hold the crowd’s interest, but the stage draped in fairy lights, flowers and butterflies along with the band members’ carefully considered style and presence add to the overall effect of accomplished entertainment.

A strikingly charismatic front woman, Rosie is a cross between Kate Bush and Karen O (without the respective edginess and insanity) and there is something incredibly compelling about the whole band. Their enthusiasm is infectious, and by shouting their high-pitched lyrics over the sound of a purposefully discordant keyboard it is easy to imagine Rosie and the Goldbug captivating audiences a hundred times bigger than this one. (Chelsey Flood)