Of the many routes to solo stardom open to a Spice Girl, being a rock chick is not one of them. Just ask Mel C. A year ago she unveiled her new "indie-rock" direction with loud guitars and a ghastly cover of Anarchy in the UK ("I am a Sporty Spice", indeed). The indie-rock kids were not impressed (she was virtually bottled off at a Staffordshire music festival) but since then Scouse Spice has effortlessly retreated to her group's constituency. Four seamless pop singles have made her a convincing solo chart star and propelled sales of her Northern Star album past platinum. There's only one problem: what does she do with all those hideous sub-Aerosmith/Bryan Adams numbers? For the moment, the poor girl has to play them live, backed by a band of session rockers.

Confusion reigns as hordes of mostly young fans raise their hands for pop only to scratch their heads at the plastic FM rock. Even the older Spice is patently struggling. "I'm not as Sporty as I used to be," she pants at one point.

However, people love Mel for being ordinary, and away from the gloss of the airbrushed photographs and videos she is certainly that. She would not look awkward serving in Tesco, which is probably why she appeals to an audience who give the impression of being no more into music than she is. With her ordinary songs and lines about getting "closer to your dreams", Mel sells that old fantasy of a regular girl made good, but with her mannered voice and theatrical moves veers between the insincere and the positively doolally. One moment she's telling us to buy Mel B's single, the next she's preaching about the homeless. As for lyrics such as "I can't live without my phone/But you don't even have a home", well...

Close your eyes and you could be in the land of Live Aid hamminess and T'Pau. The pop songs fare best, although even they are sullied by the band's urge to rock out. I Turn to You survives its treatment as a Benidorm rave anthem but the guitarist's arms aloft conjure up terrifying images of Black Lace. Never Be the Same Again is an expected highlight, all the more remarkable because she does it without her Left Eye - that's Left Eye Lopez, from TLC, incidentally. As the crowd finally start a singsong, Mel wipes her brow and confesses, "I'm too old for this malarkey." Well, Mel, you could always stop.

Melanie C plays the Royal Court, Liverpool (0151-709 4321), tonight, then tours.