Saturday July 10, 1999

Moffat Mania

EDMONTON -- The only way to do justice to a review of a Moffatts concert is to write though the eyes of a 14-year-old female fan of this squeaky-clean B.C. boy band.

So ... ohmigod ohmigod ohmigod! That was soooo awesome ohmigod Scott is so cute ohmigod Clint is so awesome ohmigod I loved that song ohmigod ohmigod! I LOVE THEM SO MUCH OHMIGOD!!!

There. Needless to say, the 3,000 or so mostly teenaged female fans who screamed their way through last night's show at Skyreach Centre got their money's worth, if the decibel level of the shrieking was any indication.

The Moffatts - 15-year-old triplets Clint (bass), Dave (keyboards), Bob (drums) and 16-year-old brother Scott (guitar) - have been labelled Canada's answer to Hanson, although they're far less annoying than that makes them sound.

In fact, the infectious bubble-gum tunes from their debut pop album Chapter One: A New Beginning dished out for the crowd were of a musical calibre that belied the fresh faces behind the instruments.

Yes, the Moffatts can actually sing and play, as evidenced on songs like Girl of My Dreams, Life Is So Short and Until You Loved Me from the Never Been Kissed soundtrack. And while their stage presence still needs a little work, the boys did a fine job of cranking up the already sky-high energy level with their sweet attempts at showmanship.

The lads dished out some new material as well, and even dipped into the odd cover tune, like crowd-pleasing renditions of Blur's Song 2 and Lenny Kravitz's Fly Away. It was a wee bit odd, maybe, but they get points for stretching.

But heck, these guys could have drawn rabid screams from the crowd by playing nothing more than, say, O Canada. And they did, kicking off their encore with the national anthem, complete with a giant flag draped behind them.

Opening act Prozzak, the animated (literally) duo responsible for radio hits like Sucks To Be You, had to cancel before the show. But you can bet there were no demands for refunds among the devoted Moffatteers in attendance.

In other words: Ohmigod ohmigod ohmigod!

Set List