You seek them here, You seek them there, you find them everywhere. Acoustic nights that is. Bluesbunny, in search of knowledge (ok, beer) found another regular acoustic night in Glasgow. Way out in the west end of Glasgow is a converted church called Cottiers that has a bar (so far, so good) and live music (outstanding!) going under the Viva Melodia label. This particular one also has a resident singer called Ally Kerr and tonight features Daniel McGeever and the Porch Song Anthology.
It must be something about being this far out in the west end of Glasgow as the audience appear to be behaving like they are in Edinburgh. So cool, they feign indifference to the acts on stage. First on is our host, Ally Kerr. He has brought along a couple of pals for company and treats us to a nice line in melodic, indie pop songs. "Could Have Been a Contender" is as light and fluffy as the perfect fairy cake and should have been the very thing to lift your spirits as the nights draw in. "Someone's Got A Crush on Me" was also sweet and bouncy. Lightweight and inoffensive, his songs are neatly constructed and catchy but it does not appear that this particular audience cares.
Next up is Daniel McGeever. After some brief investigation, we figure out that this is the singer from up and coming band Alfonzo. Despite being solo, he is a whole lot more forceful on stage. From his songs, you can tell he has absorbed the charts from the last 40 years and he makes a sterling effort to capture the crowd. His voice soars out over the room. "Velicity Von", for example, could have come straight from the golden age of British pop. Whilst his performance occasionally betrayed the fact that he usually sings with a band, he delivers a convincing and entertaining performance.
Last but not least is the Porch Song Anthology. It might well be paraphrasing somebody like Shakespeare - school was a long time ago, after all - but we came not to review the Porch Song Anthology, we came to worship them. As their "Spell of the Trembling Earth" album is an all time Bluesbunny favourite, seeing one of their rare live performances was something special. Although their somewhat nervous performance betrayed the fact that they do not perform live often, you cannot deny the sheer beauty of Rachel Devine's voice. Just to prove a point, Bluesbunny went all the way to the back of the hall. Even at extreme range, her sonorous tones swirled all around and soothed the soul like few others can do. Bluesbunny would love to see them play somewhere more intimate like the Liquid Ship. That would indeed be something to look forward to.
Warmed by the evening's entertainment (and some most acceptable Guinness), Bluesbunny heads off into the night. A short walk down Dumbarton Road leads us into the rather fine Chapati 3 kebab house. Well, everybody likes a happy ending!