It’s getting to be a something of a running joke as no matter what route I take through the city centre I always end up with a pocketful of passes for “gentlemen’s clubs”. Tonight I had nearly reached the safety of Pivo Pivo when a pretty blonde popped out from underneath an umbrella and ambushed me with another offer of free entry. Maybe God is sending me a sign as Platinum Lace does sound like it should be the name of an album by Stevie Nicks…
Onwards and downwards to Jeremy Mason. One man and a guitar - you’ll not be surprised by that fact – and you’ll be equally unsurprised by his barely strong enough to stand up stage act. A decent guitarist of folk flavoured variety, his voice made little impact on his tortured acoustic twee pop songs. Angst without any venom, if you like.
A much stronger performer was Kevin Kennie. A little box of electronic tricks kept his acoustic guitar company for most of his set and that allowed him to stretch out his songs to near prog-rock dimensions. That’s not actually the insult it sounds like as there was no doubt that Mr Kennie could both sing and play and I can see him having a lot of appeal to chilled out rock fans.
Cookie Dalcroy, however, just wouldn’t be mistaken for a real band being more of a loose musical association. A bit of a shame as individually they were decent musicians and Robin McKinven had a voice of soulful distinction that just begged to be properly utilised.
Last on were the Blind Watchmakers and they made a much better attempt at being a band through showing some real grit and delivering a convincing take on the classic rock style. Although they started a lot better than they finished, it has to be remembered that it is early days for this band and, as the saying goes, practice makes perfect. If you are looking for music to wash down your bourbon then the Blind Watchmakers will do the job nicely.
Fried food time, methinks.
Photography by Conrad Gross