Panic. Bar not open. Must be early. What to do? Stand about looking desperate until the Free Candy Sessions featuring First Tiger, Kat Healy, Mister Mark Rafferty and Some Boy kicks off. Hope it is soon.
Bar open, music starts so let us consider First Tiger. Over the course of the set, they actually lapse into the French language. Hey, one Scotland, one culture so let's get with the whole arthouse program here. Well it would be arthouse if there was not some serious musical talent on show. This duo started off awkwardly but by only their second song, "Not Worth The Rent", they have hit their stride. Their harmonies are offbeat yet effective and the vocals generally have a laidback, super cool feel to them. Add some bogging French cigarettes and they could become the new darlings of the west end of Glasgow. No, they are better than that. Much better.
And then there was Kat Healy. Singer, songwriter and all things sweet. It's her birthday too. "Frozen Smile" shows off her abilities nicely with a rather theatrical delivery. She decides that going it alone is not that much fun so she invites a chap called Graeme Anderson to join her. Smart move there as he does a nice line in echoey electric guitar that enhances her sound. There is a good degree of emotional intensity in her work that - she claims - makes her songs depressing. Bluesbunny does not doubt that she sings from the heart and there is never anything depressing about that. However she is from Edinburgh and that must be truly depressing.
Now we have Mister Mark Rafferty. Something of a local legend, this was billed as his solo outing. Only he has brought his sister, Claire, with him. Mr Rafferty has been seen before (with the Metro Gnomes) by the Bluesbunny and this time he also impressed. Warming up the audience with some dubious humour was a smart move but the real good stuff was about to happen. Let's take his songs - they are sharper than the Bluesbunny pencil. The real one not the wax one that we use for colouring in. Then he threw those sibling harmonies in. His sister's voice just complements his voice so well. From "Baby Blue" to the standard "Mary Skeffington", this was class in a glass. Very clever, very BBC2 but there is magic in there and no more so than when he was playing it straight.
Rounding things off is Some Boy. Bluesbunny has been waiting a while for their new album and they announce that it is due for release in June. Good news indeed. Probably the best thing about Some Boy is that they don't do triviality. They may make music that Frankie Miller would approve of but their lyrics are pointed even political. Al Wright's vocals show a rock roughness but remain 100% local at all times. Nothing transatlantic here. You know where he comes from with every word. "The Wasted" - about the wasted talent that is everywhere around us - makes it point loud and clear whilst remaining within the confines of a well constructed song. Looking forward to that album a lot now.
Another day over. Another Free Candy Session. Another chicken pakora. Another review done. I am not a number, I am a free man.