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OOTB 58
(23.1.03)
There was a distinctly cheery atmosphere in the Waverley last Thursday,
a lot of friendliness seeping out of the music-infused infrastructure.
Ol' Hairy Legs and myself got the ball rolling with what I thought
was not our best attempt at "Sister's Vision". I startled some
members of the audience with some unsought-for guitar harmonics, and Jim
did a bit of impromptu scatting, due to uncharacteristically forgetting
some of the words. It did achieve a certain atmosphere though, and despite
our lack of practice (my fault, due to my University exams), it was generously
received by the crowd.
Moving smartly along, silver-throated siren Jill Hepburn kicked
off with a new song, called I think "Hold these words", which
she sang she "wrote in the morning rain". Was it a gentle lament
for words left unsaid? Either way, it had the trademark beauty, fragility
and lightness of touch one associates with JH. Moving to feel good mode,
Jill's performance of "Groovy Enough For Two" would bring a
smile to the face of a lemon, such was it's laid-back jazzy warmth and
humour, enjoining someone to "Let's get together/'Cos you're groovy
enough for two". Ending with "Don't Turn Your Face From The
Morning Light", it featured much improved, more confident guitar
playing, the lonely country bounce and hammer-ons executed with aplomb.
Needless to say, the vocal was exquisite, plus Jill wore her candy-pink
striped shirt too, so the whole thing was perfect.
Colin Donati, once a frequent traveller in these parts, has recently
started a very welcome renaissance at The Waverley. Opening with a nice,
rippled descending figure on his classical guitar, this song ("mysterious
in sleep"?) seemed to me to capture the wonder of nature, and life
itself. "Various Moons" was a late night poetic strut through
the back streets, a nice held vocal "ooh" over a beautiful "snaky"
riff, it grabbed my attention with some lovely note production going on
with his guitar too. "Daniel", for those who don't know, is
a song which just has to be sung along to, and a damned fine song it is
too, popularising in song the exploits of the aforenamed biblical character.
But I think Colin now plays it as a sociological experiment, to see if
the audience can come in at the right time, stay in tune, and also stay
in time over the changing time signature of his guitar playing. He does
it on purpose I tell you! But it was great fun nonetheless, and the audience
was pronounced "Tuneful!" at the end. Experiment on, Mr Donati!
Freeloadin' Frank was in crackling good "fun" mode,
and opened with one of my favourites, "Sometimes", which somehow
seemed extra cheeky tonight, causing me to guffaw in a most undignified
manner a number of times. "The Magic Cornflake" had Frank in
very good voice, and had the room listening intently, if in appreciative
bemusement, to what can happen when you're "riding on the magic cornflake".
Although his last song was blasted out with his prodigious lung-power,
as it was a cover (albeit a very individual one) I can't review it. The
whole performance reminded me though, just how original and compelling
the fellow can be, not to mention downright fun. The sooner his talent
is recognised by the whole country, the better.
Newcomer Luke Westendarp has visited the hallowed halls of Castle
Waverley before, but only played this week. An art student, Luke's songs
certainly weren't the sonic equivalent of nude body-painting, rather they
were well-crafted little Dutch masterpieces. "Things That Rhyme With
Pain" was a very mellow song, a good crooned vocal and a splendidly
ringing strummed guitar sound combining very effectively. His second could
be said (if I were a lazy journalist) to be "painting word pictures",
seeing as he's an art student. So, I'm glad I avoided that. Lines like
"Another drive by through the six-pack nightlife" certainly
gave rise to images in my mind, which gave way to a different set when
he tore in to a vicious middle eight on the guitar. Cracking. Ending with
a gentler, picked number, Luke again sang his poetic lyrics, with lines
like "Street Life, half Life/Don't hold tight/I will catch you if
you fall tonight". Lovely guitar sounds, and another superbly mellow
vocal made me wish that Luke will return very soon indeed.
Someone who has thankfully returned after his debut a while ago, is gravel-voiced
gutster Graham McRobbie, newly be-hatted in a splendid piece of
black headgear. Not only was he sporting this piece of magnificent millinery,
he also wore a neck-brace with which to play harmonica, and very fitting
it sounded for his songs, too. Played a little in the "Bob Dylan"
style of harmonica playing, it merged seamlessly with Graham's tales of
ramblin' on the railroad, moonshine, honky-tonks, and hard livin', to
punctuate his singing perfectly. Graham's distinctive style of deep south
Americana via Scotland is also due to his "lived in", honest-yet-gravelly
voice, a surprising sound for one who looks so young, but he carries it
off well. His landscapes are often peopled with lonely figures, losers
and slightly desperate people, but you get the feeling that there's a
chance of redemption for them there somewhere. Stirring stuff.
The Electric White Boy has been as regular as some of the old
fellows downstairs of late, but I don't think they could match the impressive
riffery of "Borderline", his opening shot at guitar dronery
in the delta mould. "Sing For My Supper", his next, had a funky
intro and rhythmic verse and chorus, in which he sang "I will sing
for my supper, and sing my love of you", which had a good ring to
it, I thought. His last song upon the sacred red cube was the eponymous
"Electric White Boy" - would it stand up to the billing and
be a distillation of all things electric, white and boyish? We need not
have feared, as the great spidery riffing at the start gave way into the
more meaty riffage and hoarse, gutsy rock vocal of the verses and choruses.
There was also an amazing fast and frenzied middle eight, which had the
EWB's fingers flying around all over the fret board, in a consummate display
of lead-guitar-manship. Surely a band somewhere must want this fellow?
Tony Lovat then took control after the break, and delivered a
set of fine, wistful, laid back pop, opening with a song that posed the
question "Are you teasing, are you teasing me"? I liked the
first line of Tony's next, which stated simply "Why did I write this
song?", then went on to proclaim "I won't sing if you're not
singing too". Tony's friendly, personable stage presence was also
a pleasant factor in the performance, and he closed with the effortless
cool of "I can do better than that", a song that required a
finger click rhythm if ever I heard one. Nice guy, nice pop. Can't ask
for more.
Gingergreen will be known to regular OOTB-goers, but they bedazzled
with THREE new songs on Thursday, which shows that they've been hard at
work practising. "Hole In Your Head" gave me the feeling of
watching a huge, brightly painted Ferris wheel turning majestically in
the sun, and had a very dramatic middle eight which verged upon the flamenco
at times, I thought. Was the vocal yearning for better times, now long
gone? "Coraline", their second, had a lovely, dreamy vocal,
Katherine and Andy exchanging vocal duties nicely throughout the song,
and an unusual timing to boot. Their last had me in mind of 1920's prohibition
America for some reason, I could imagine gangsters in suits lounging in
the sun. A swinging, picked number, featuring some lovely "doo-dooh's"
from Katherine, and a slide part from Andy using a small glass. Andy,
in true rock and roll fashion, had drained the glass whilst playing, only
seconds before, prompting OOTB poet Bill Philip to remark "I'd have
liked to see him try that with a pint!" So, shall we try that next
time Andy? Despite the odd rough edge, it's clear that the trademark ingredients
of guitar and vocal interplay, the well crafted arrangements, and the
occasional use of unusual timing are all still there, and that Gingergreen
have not lost their ear for a good tune. Look forward to hearing the new
stuff again soon.
Phil has been carving his own musical niche in the great seamed
oak of OOTB recently, his awareness of song dynamics ensuring that interest
levels remain high throughout his songs. "My Answer" had him
using a capo on the third fret, and strumming to the fray whilst singing
"You are the answer", then dropping down to a gentle, picked
interlude before returning to the strum-fest. Asking the audience to vote
on a song with or without capo was a novel way of song selection, but
it resulted in a rousing song with a chorus of "This is all I have
to give". Ending on a rhythmic, yet heartfelt number, it's clear
that Phil has got a definite style going, and a fine singing voice too.
Phil remained on stage to accompany Juliet on her first song,
but despite some fine singing, as it was a cover, I can't talk about that.
Juliet then continued solo, and employed a Bm/F#m figure to give a dark
texture to her next, a protest song against senseless killing. Her final
song, a strummed piece where Juliet implored "speak them out",
it showed how much Juliet had improved over the last few weeks since her
last performance. If she carries on at this rate, then she'll be at the
Albert Hall next year. A highly commendable performance.
Aussie Chris is no stranger to the rousing chorus, which featured
prominently in his "Alive", which had the belting chorus of
"I'm alive/I'm alive/I'm alive with you", and got the crowd
singing. You could have knocked me into a cocked hat after Chris' stunning
second "Orange Peel", which despite the ordinary sounding title,
was a bejewelled piece of brilliance. Highly charged and atmospheric,
Chris drew you into the beautiful walled garden of the song's world, sadly
intoning "I don't know if the flowers will ever grow again".
His "Volunteer Arms" drew a great set to a close, Chris' vocal
containing bags of warmth and character as he sang "I will fall into
your arms again". A nice droned intro to the song, too. A rather
fine set from Chris, who also played a mean daraburka drum at other points
in the evening, too.
Due to Ol' Hairy Legs' exceptionally economical compering style, there
was space for two songs at the end, and the first performer of these was
Nobody Jones, wielding his Guild guitar, singing "a song about
death". Like Chris, NJ creates not just a sonic landscape but a whole
world for his songs, complemented by his nicely "woody" sounding
Guild, and a very clear, powerful vocal, he sang "she makes me feel
like a four leaf clover", which I thought was a very interesting
line. Nice song, Mr Jones, and I'd recommend his well recorded CD, priced
at a very reasonable £5.
Jess Bryant has been a regular OOTB audience-goer over the last
few weeks, but had not performed on the fuzzy red stage of music before.
She was persuaded however, and she proceeded to unleash an extremely beautiful
vocal onto the hushed room, backed with slow, deliberate strums, that
conjured images of a warm summer night in Spain. The whole sound was so
individual and extraordinary that I can't remember now if Jess actually
sang any words or not, (and neither can Jim) it was so mesmerising, but
I do remember a vocal rich with body and warmth. If pushed to make a comparison
for descriptive purposes, I would say that it sounded a little like a
female Tim Buckley. I hope Jess will come back and play again soon, hopefully
next time Jim and I will remember if she sings words or sounds.
The Mystery Prize, freshly plucked from the Silver Bag of Dreams,
was won by Graham McRobbie's friend Ben, despite being in the toilet
at the time of the draw. Boy, was he embarrased when came back up the
stairs and everyone cheered him. That'll teach him. Ben won a font-of-creativity-spouting
pocket Spiro graph.
Watch out for the OOTB CD which is due out soon, Ol' Hairy Legs has been
working like a Trojan on it for weeks.
So, as you can see, a very varied and interesting night was had at the
Waverley, which was downright FUN, in my book. If you fancy some more,
then you're welcome to come down this Thursday. Fun starts at 9pm, come
down beforehand if you want a slot.
Nelson
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