All that can be heard is the quiet chatter of people talking as they wait for a show that promises to be nothing like any other. The air is filled with clouds from a smoke machine and a variety of old 90’s tunes mixed with new hip hop music. The room slowly starts to fill with people, all with their own sense of style. A group of people wearing heavy metal jewelry and dark makeup laugh with a group of girls wearing short skirts and long hair.
Time ticks by slowly, and you can hear people making remarks of anger as the band is already a half hour late. Platform boots echo as they hit the stage, causing everyone to rush forward. The British accents don’t lie as the performers belt out the first bar of a classic hit. Everyone already knows the words, as well as the dance moves.
Wannabe, a Spice Girls cover band, took over the Toronto music scene in 2012 and just finished their first Canadian tour. They have sold out venues such as The Great Hall, Studio Event Theatre, and SOHO House. They have also played a number of music festivals like Burlington’s Sound of Music, Pride, Saviour Stratford, and Pop Montreal. The act took the stage at DSTRCT in downtown Guelph on Nov. 14 2015 to a crowd of over 80 people.
The original Spice Girls were a popular band from the ‘90s. They played upbeat music that promoted “girl power”; they were a legendary movement that empowered women and young girls to be true to themselves.
The show was short, only around 45 minutes, and people were there an hour before the set’s start time. The audience was told that the girls would hit the stage at around 10 p.m., but they didn’t end up going on until shortly after 11 p.m. Before the show, the girls wandered throughout the crowd with their jackets over their costumes and their hoods up, not wanting to be noticed. The band apologized for being late, even though they were hanging out backstage since 9 p.m.
The crowd was full of die-hard Spice Girls fans. They all continued to dance and sing to the music that was being played throughout the club. Although you would have thought that after almost two decades the band would be forgotten, they still have a large group of dedicated fans.
“I was born in ‘94. I grew up listening to their music,” said Erin Bonner. “I found out about this from the Cannon at the University [of Guelph].”
When the girls started playing, the crowd rushed the stage, and no one was hanging out at the back trying not to be seen. The vibrations of dancing feet shook the whole room, and the dance moves were straight out of the ‘90’s.
“They [the Spice Girls] were the first CD I owned,” said Mackenzie Quartermain. “They [Wannabe] are the closest thing to seeing the real thing.”
The outfits were copied straight from the original bands’ look, complete with glitter and platform heels. The sound of cheering and Spice Girls tunes brought you back to the ‘90s, when the band was big. They played the big hits, including “Wanna Be,” the tune after which the cover band was named. Only speaking in British accents and referring to themselves as Ginger, Baby, Scary, Sporty, and Posh Spice, they never broke character once—they almost seemed like the real thing.
Halfway through the performance, the band announced that it was an audience member’s birthday. They then proceeded to bring a man on stage and sing “happy birthday” to him. The look on his face was of pure joy—he was just as excited as all the girls in the audience. The performers kissed his cheeks and returned him to his friends. Wannabe played covers of other ‘90s hits and finished off their show, but the audience demanded more. Shouts for an encore were so loud that they could be heard throughout the four levels of the building. The band eventually came back on and shut down the desperate cries for more as they played one last hit song. They officially ended with the song “Spice Up Your Life.” then took a bow and left.
The band has yet to announce their next show dates, but if they play like they did at DSTRCT and “Never Give Up the Good Times,” people will surely come.