Thank Crunchie, it's Friday. Needing something to satisfy his sweet tooth, Bluesbunny decided that a visit to the Free Candy Sessions was in order. Alas Bluesbunny is on a diet so the sweet things were to be avoided so he decided to stick to beer instead. Fighting off hunger is never easy but on the menu tonight are Eoghan Colgan, the Last Ones Left and Caragh Nugent.
In something of a Daniel O'Donnell moment, Eoghan Colgan takes to the stage to do a quick number for a fan who cannot stay to enjoy his full set. That is the kind of approach that Bluesbunny approves of. Chase your audience! We had been hoping to review the Dead Beat Club tonight but they unfortunately cancelled possibly due to their urbane Edinburgh sensibilities being offended by the soap dodging Glaswegians. The deightful Caragh Nugent takes their place. In fact, she does overtime tonight doubling as the keyboard player for Eoghan Colgan as well as doing a solo turn. Now, as you all know well by now, Bluesbunny knows class when he hears it and that is what we get from Ms Nugent tonight. Her voice easily wins a place in you heart. It takes but two songs to bring the audience to attention. Tonight we get a particularly passionate, yet curiously reflective version of "Precious Things", a spirited "Motorcycle by the Sea" and she finished with a Bluesbunny favourite (and the subject of recurring vinyl fantasies) "Pink Carnation". A damnably fine start to the evening's entertainment and we have to note, again, that Ms Nugent gets better every time that we hear her.
Next to the stage are the Last Ones Left. Recently seen at MacSorleys, this duo is proving to be a pleasure to the Bluesbunny ears. Despite the Bluesbunny's resistance to all things related to folk music, they are a class act. Jo Anthony's vocals have that haunting, melodic quality that all folk singers must wish that they had. "Last Train" and "Spaces In Between" are sufficiently compelling reasons to track them down. Equally at home with their own compositions and more traditional material, they manage to be easy to listen to yet still be interesting. That is harder to do than you might think. They are generous too and give away some of their limited onstage time to allow a visiting performer, Kate James, to perform a song. The Last Ones Left are playing a number of venues in Glasgow so take the opportunity to check them out. .
Now the Bluesbunny has seen a great many live performers over the last year. We have seen good performers and we have seen bad performers and we have come to the conclusion that real performers are not that common. It is our - and no doubt that of many others as well - that Eoghan Colgan is a performer. He is slick and relaxed on the stage and his songs are undoubtedly commercial. Setting the tone with "That First Time", he seems almost middle of the road in terms of his song writing but, to quote an old saying, cream rises to the top. That slick performance and obvious charm lift the material right up into the very listenable category. He is very "radio-friendly" but you can't help liking the guy. He talks about his songs like they are real rather than creations. It is that natural, unforced stage presence that will see him through. Accompanying him tonight is Caragh Nugent and her keyboards and backing vocals add depth and colour to his sound. By the end of his set (rather aptly with "Going Home"), Bluesbunny and indeed the rest of the audience are sold on him. No doubt that if there were some old women in the audience, they would be going home to bake him a cake. Whilst success in the music business is a lottery, you just know a good bet when you hear one. Mr Colgan is that bet.
So Bluesbunny had a satisfying musical meal tonight. As Bluesbunny skipped (well, hopped) happily into the night, he paused to ponder on a matter that had just occurred to him. Did he have room for chicken pakora? Of course he did.