Well, dear readers, a Bluesbunny girl never stays in on a Saturday night. It would just not be the done thing. As I am rather enjoying being back in the saddle again (as a music reviewer and fashion critic, that is), I decided to spend my Saturday night out at the Langside Halls in Glasgow casting a critical ear over Butcher Boy, Cats on Fire and the Just Joans. Now, this Langside Halls is a throwback to past times. Flock wallpaper on the walls and a rather musty smell make one wonder if it has ever been redecorated. At least the carpet wasn't sticky. Just to make sure that I don't have to buy a drink, I have summoned Handsome Bluesbunny to accompany me.
Well, what can I say about the first band, the Just Joans? Handsome Bluesbunny tells me they are from Motherwell. Such misfortune has clearly affected their dress sense as lead singer Katie has turned up looking like Daisy Duke gone wrong. Unless I am very much mistaken, she appears to be wearing a gingham dress! Gingham only looks good on rag dolls, darling. The rest of the band looks like a bunch of students and they sound like, well, a badly dressed indie band. Dear Handsome Bluesbunny mutters something about murky sound and the sound guy "needing a slap". He is from Lanarkshire, dear readers, and they do like to use their hands. The band do have some quite amusing songs though like "Bellshill Station" and what they claim to be their biggest hit "Five Beer Bottles" though I did think that they sounded, by that point, like the Proclaimers before they grew up.
Whilst we await the next band Cats on Fire, I survey the crowd. I just love it. Many of them are wearing what looks like second hand clothes but if you look closely, you can spot the designer labels peeking out. Oh, do my eyes deceive me - is that a woman wearing purple and mustard spats? Yes, it is! There won't be any curtains in the ladies' loo either as someone has managed to steal them and quickly turn them into something vaguely resembling a dress. As I recover from this fashion trauma, Cats on Fire take to the stage. Handsome Bluesbunny tells me they are from Finland. Finland must be a very clean country as these boys are spotless. The lead singer is so neat that he looks as if he could advise women on fashion. He is that nicely turned out. Even better, this is a rather good band. They kind of remind me of the Smiths crossed with Cliff & the Shadows with the merest hint of A-Ha. Good clean living boys without a doubt, they play their catchy songs with what could only be described as gusto. "Born Again Christian" even gets me singing along. So polished and so sweet, they are just the thing to make a Bluesbunny Girl buy a CD. Or at least send Handsome Bluesbunny to buy one for me at least.
Butcher Boy are the headline band of the night and are probably the reason most of the audience are here tonight. They certainly fill the stage with lots of musicians. However, right from the start, they are plagued by the most awful sound with that screeching noise that Handsome Bluesbunny calls feedback ruining many songs. Lead singer John Blain Hunt - he has a rather nice voice, by the way - looked clearly disconcerted by the continual technical hitches. Not being familiar with them, I was not sure what to expect but this band were quite like Runrig without the Highland Clearances. Quite smooth and well suited to your more upmarket coffee bars, it was hard to really form an opinion on them as you could hardly make out what was being performed. No doubt, in better circumstances, they would have had the chance to impress me but tonight was not really their night. The crowd were clearly fans however and even demanded an encore.
Well, as Handsome Bluesbunny often reminds me, I have to pick a winner. I think I shall summarise tonight as being like a sandwich. The filling (Cats on Fire) was very satisfying but the bread was, unfortunately, rather bland.