By Alex Spargo
Mini Viva debuted last September with a song that I wasn’t assure I should admit to liking - I Left My Heart in Tokyo - and made it to number 7 in the charts. Heading to the gig I was hoping to find more slightly quirky pop songs and not to discover that Tokyo was a one-hit wonder.
Headlining the HMV Next Big Thing night, Mini Viva came out to a full-ish Jazz Café and although their entrance and exit can only to be described as under-whelming and slightly shambolic, once they started singing the ladies hit their stride.
In a shorter than expected four song set, they started with the hits the audience knew, I Left My Heart in Tokyo followed by second single I Wish, as well as performing songs from their upcoming album which meant a nice little plug (the album will be out in the summer).
I’m Hooked and Do You Wanna A Candy (the next single) were more of the same upbeat numbers about attracting and getting the boy. Do You Wanna A Candy reminded me of Madonna’s Vogue and I would consider that a compliment. Although their choreography was limited to hand gestures and simultaneously strutting up and down a tiny stage, they had a nice chemistry on stage and seemed really sweet, recommending the entire audience drink water and ginger. They chatted to the crowd and seemed genuinely pleased to be performing and it was their personality as much as the songs that made the 15-minute set entertaining. Although with more experience of performing live, moments such as both turning their backs to the crowds to drink leaving an awkward pause and not signing off the performance properly will disappear.
At the end of the show, I was left with a feeling that I've seen it all before and even with the attention grabbing leggings of Britt, there was nothing original about the performance or songs. I did leave with a head full of poppy beats but apart from I Left My Heart in Tokyo there is not one I could even hum now.
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