March is here. Time for this Bluesbunny to end his period of contemplation and sobriety and get back on the ale. Knowing there was a pint of Guinness with my name on it waiting in the Liquid Ship, it was full speed ahead to the bar. So you don't think that all Bluesbunnies are inveterate drinkers, the actual reason for our visit was a Free Candy Session featuring Clair Tierney, John Deery, Jack in the Green and Colin McEwan.
Guinness in hand, it was time to do a bit of reviewing. Sitting but a few feet away was John Deery who had the pleasure of starting the evening's proceedings. He tells us that he is feeling a bit under the weather due to a chest infection and his voice might not be up to scratch. Bluesbunny has heard him before and the gravelly edge that his illness added actually added to our enjoyment with "Stars" and "Liar's Tongue" sounding altogether harsher and emotional this time around. He is a busy boy too and has started an acoustic night called Quiet Riot to complement his performing activities. Polished and professional is a good description of our Mr Deery and his ill health did not affect that one bit.
Next up was Clair Tierney. Again no stranger to the Bluesbunny pen, she appears tonight solo. She looks a bit worried - come to think of it she looked a bit worried the last time the Bluesbunny encountered her as well - and avoids the gaze of the audience. Not that she should worry of course for her voice would charm the meanest of spirits. "Stop the Clocks" was wistful and heart warming, for example. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on the part of the Bluesbunny but sometime during "Mister D'Arcy", she actually seemed to want to be swept away by a big handsome man. If it were not for the appeal of a second pint of Guinness then this Bluesbunny would surely have volunteered for the task.
Jack in the Green take to the stage next. Two guys this time - Dan Luck doing the singing and Phil Tonner doing the guitar thing - and they do some of that country folk stuff. Mr Tonner looks like a truck driving man but actually plays the guitar with considerable skill and subtlety and Mr Luck's voice is a pleasure to listen to. A distinctive voice it is too although it suits the purer folk songs a lot better than their less inspired Californian country rock ones. Bluesbunny looks forward to hearing more from Jack in the Green.
Last on tonight is Colin McEwan. Billed as a solo act, he has brought along some pals to fill the Liquid Ship stage tonight. Now Mr McEwan is a bit of a raconteur and starts his set with a joke before delivering some Jonathan Richman style songs. You know the kind of things - intelligent, quirky and witty with the occasional touch of sarcasm. There is a serious side to him as well as he imparts his opinions on war in "Radio". On a lighter note, "Pretty Girl" stood out from the crowd with an unexpected (at least for an acoustic night) appearance of a trumpet player. To end his set, he veers off into Mike Harding territory with a witty tale of men who work for the local council called "Ballad of Numptyville" that provokes a sing-along with the chorus from the audience. That might have been a beer related occurrence but it gave me a laugh.
That's all for tonight and Bluesbunny headed off in search of a portion of chicken pakora. A different vendor had been suggested (we like to experiment…) but even the large portion could not compensate for the hard batter. Pakora batter should be crisp not hard. If I had wanted a bag of chicken flavoured stones then I would have asked for one.