A plan implodes as the Scotrail train set develops a level one malfunction. If I had had a plan B then all would have been well but I didn't. Come to think of it, I never do and, despite needing another drink like a deer needs a hunter, a coin was therefore tossed. The 13th Note lost but, as it turned out, God had a spare plan tonight and that plan was wrapped up in a top hat and poetry. And The Indelicates, Dave Hughes and the Renegade Folk Punk Band and Anna Madeleine too.
Whilst not generally fond of bedsit electronica, I have to admit that there was something endearing about Anna Madeleine's songs of urban misanthropy and obsession that were held together with sellotape, simple loops and – again at odds with her tormented words – a genuine warmth.
It turned out that Dave Hughes and the Renegade Folk Punk Band – unlike the other bands on tonight's bill – were of local origin. Unfazed by the kind of technical problems that would have caused many a less committed entertainer to retire to his dressing room, he instead took it all in his stride and, with his musical cohorts, stomped his way through an Irish folk flavoured set of post punk songs that would surely have won the approval of Joe Strummer. Probably the highest compliment that I can pay them is to state that Dave Hughes and the Renegade Folk Punk Band looked like they belonged on a stage.
Headlining were The Indelicates. A duo from the south of England, Simon and Julia did not disappoint with a selection of songs from their new album "David Koresh Superstar" being consumed with near religious fervour by an adoring audience. Wait a moment. David Koresh? Yes, that one. The Indelicates have gone and done a Waco inspired concept album (and it's a safe bet that you won't therefore be able to buy a copy in Tesco!). Mixing intelligence, black humour and the theatrical is not any easy task but The Indelicates proved themselves well up to the task. Even I could not overcome the urge to applaud and demand more.
So, God had a spare plan and – as usual for Her – it turned out to be a good one. With my religious zeal now recharged, I set off to save the soul of yet another lap dancer. It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it.