Subterranean pleasures. Bluesbunny likes that phrase. It certainly has a better ring to it than music in basements which is what we are actually writing about. The basement in question is in O'Henrys Bar in Glasgow and the music is by Thomas Carrigan, Becci Jane, The Colts and Louise Against the Elements. All brought together by promoter Break Out The Jams.
First on is Thomas Carrigan. He fights that age old fight of winning over the attention of the audience armed only with an acoustic guitar. Tonight he has an easier job than you might expect as a fair chunk of the audience seem to be familiar with him and they even join in on the chorus as he runs through his set. Driven on by this, he gives a spirited performance with "Get Out of Here" coming across best although slower songs like "Expectation" were also well received.
Next on is Becci Jane. New to the Bluesbunny, she makes a good impression with her subtle and intelligent lyrics catching our ears. Maybe because Bluesbunny has recently been rummaging through a pile of late sixties/early seventies LPs but her songs seem to throw back to that time period. A bit of poetic social commentary like, say, Janis Ian bound up with a fairly solid rock/blues feel like Mama Lion to make an entertaining sonic package. Perhaps of more import is that you could see her confidence growing as she worked through her set and by the end she was showing all the signs of developing into the charismatic lead singer of a band. She already had two capable sidekicks on stage with her so it would not be a big step.
The Colts are next on stage. Their reputation is known to the Bluesbunny even if this is the first time that we have seen them perform live. On their MySpace page they describe themselves as "rock n roll + blues" and that is a very fair assertion. They waste little time in settling into a demon groove. Mightily impressive given that there are only two of them here tonight. Confidence comes with practice and these gentlemen have surely been practising a lot as it takes a lot of effort to make that easy going sound work and they manage to induce a bit of audience participation - that's clapping along in Glasgow terms - as well without even trying. These two fine gentlemen are what you would imagine that Robbie Robertson and Rick Danko having a jam session in the company of Mr Jack Daniels would sound like. The Colts are an ideal accompaniment to strong drink.
Last on tonight are Bluesbunny Favourites Louise Against The Elements. Unfortunately, time constraints rob us of the opportunity to enjoy their full set. Having said that, the band are in good form and it is hard not to be impressed by the über stylish "Baby Blue" or the powerpop musings of "W.I.S.H.I.N.G". If only there had been time for the exquisite "Sinful"…
Subterranean pleasures. This first night of Break Out The Jams at O'Henrys was well attended with standing room only as they say. That bodes well as word of mouth will no doubt keep it that way. In case you were wondering, there is no Guinness in the basement bar so Bluesbunny had to drink bottles of that girl's fizzy drink better known as lager. Not even upset about that so a good time must have been had.