Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you. That's an old saying amongst hunters apparently and it seemed strangely relevant at tonight's Free Candy Session featuring The Turning Wire, The Carlton Jug Band and The Viragoes.
The Turning Wire consisted of one man called Graeme Neilson, a guitar and some downbeat songs. Whilst there was certainly lyrical dexterity on show that would translate nicely to a late night listening session, it must also be said that he fell into that old singer songwriter trap of playing the tortured artist to an audience who were looking to be entertained. The bear soon lost interest and went back to eating goats.
Failing to entertain is something that could not be said of the next act, the Carlton Jug Band. Eight strong and blessed with cowboy hats and dodgy shirts, this loose knit country collective - as they describe themselves - rattled through a set that would keep any beer drinking truck driver happy. Just the kind of thing that would make a bear don a check shirt and head off in search of a square dance. Yee-hah!
Last on were The Viragoes. Let's set the scene first. It's the West End Festival so the venue is busy. It's late. Consequently it's hot and it's stuffy. There are plenty of people there who have never heard of The Viragoes. That should have proved something of a challenge to any up and coming band. Not for The Viragoes however. I've seen them before and I've been impressed but tonight they were just so much more focussed. These five musicians packaged up their songs like "Escape From Glasgatraz" and "Sad Boy" and used them as bait, lured the audience into their musical trap and captured them. So much so that they even got called back for an encore! Even the bear fell madly in love with The Viragoes, gave up his carnivorous ways and started a record company.