Did someone say special? Oh yes!! And that's a fact! Apart from Mario's rather lacklustre guitar skills he has all he needs in his head (songwriting) and voice. Only seconds into his twenty minutes or so set the pure power and energy of his voice was apparent. And, Mario didn't just sing, he performed, he lived his songs, he was totally lost in his incredibly strong lyrics. He had such a tremendous vocal range that at times you had to look to see if he was using backing tracks or samples. He wasn't! Frighteningly powerful, almost vicious sounding songs emanated from the controlled and versatile vocal chords. To say he was lost in his songs doesn't really go far enough; his facial contortions were sometimes extreme, especially when he rolled his eyeballs to reveal just the whites of his eyes - scary but somehow apt!!
I'm not sure that Worcester was really ready to experience those vocal acrobatics but those who were there certainly gave Mario every chance. There was an incredible hush throughout his set and he got a good reception after every number.
Perhaps the set did get a little samey after a while. Perhaps Mario needs to throw in some more mellow material if only to give his audiences time to recover from their short nervous breakdowns! Joking apart, I did feel that some less nerve jangling material wouldn't go amiss! Nonetheless, an absorbing debut from this young singer/songwriter from Cheltenham.
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