Bluesbunny has the blues. Better do something about that.
Barely half way through the first pint of Czech brewed pain killer, someone started pounding the electric piano on the stage. That somebody was Aciddica and, in but a few minutes, I was the proud owner of a stupid grin. Quite how that was achieved is not entirely clear. His songs are not really songs. They stumble in to being, thrash about wildly and then suddenly stop but they certainly get your attention. I've got it. Aciddica is entertainment. It's that simple.
It's time for another man to sit at the piano. This guy is a lot more conventional. He's got real songs for a start and he's got a very fine band with him to get those songs across to the audience. His name is Jonathan Carr. Now, I don't really have mainstream musical tastes - it's an occupational hazard - but I, like the audience, was convinced that they we seeing something special. One to watch out for.
Then a woman sat at the piano. She looks familiar. Two songs into her set and I figure it out. Penny Black is a reinvention of Colette McKendrick. A very glamorous reinvention at that. I'm a big fan of Ms McKendrick - her "Etheria" album is one of my all time favourites - so was I happy at that? You bet I was! She played songs from the aforementioned album while new songs like "Belong" showed that she is still a musical force to be reckoned with. An artist of class and distinction without a doubt.
We're back to a piano man as The Dirty Demographic take to the stage. Steering a stylish path somewhere between show tunes and jazz funk, this band showed that ease that a well practised band have and a nice line in damnably catch songs. Sharing the vocal duties with Angus Munro was the most wondrous Stefanie Lawrence and that - given my fondness for female vocalists - was just icing on the cake. Yes folks, we have another winner.
Bluesbunny no longer has the blues. Sorted.