It’s a small world. There I was reading the credits on one of those compact disc things when I noticed a name – Fraser Spiers – and I thought to myself that there was a name I had heard many times but could not quite place. As if by magic or causal confluence, an hour later there was the redoubtable Fraser Spiers on stage adding his harmonica magic to the music and poetry of Sulidae. Sulidae – aka Bobby Motherwell – had much on his mind with the loss of another friend to eternity providing much of the direction for his words tonight. It’s a small world indeed and reality isn’t always sugar and spice and that is something that Sulidae quite clearly knew.
The main event was also a man powered by the perennially rechargeable battery pack of sentimentality. Blue Rose Code – aka Ross Wilson – also had a sideman well on his way to becoming redoubtable with Conor Smith duly adding the guitar dexterity needed to most adequately support the troubadour intentions of his onstage comrade in arms. Eloquence and elements of social consequence anchored the lyrics and music of these two fine gentlemen in the present and it was never in doubt that Blue Rose Code had mastered the art of telling maudlin tales whilst maintaining the ear appeal necessary for commercial success. It was therefore no surprise that, at the end of an extended set, the audience were moved to their feet in appreciation.
No matter where your musical tastes lie, this was also a reminder of the importance of grass roots promoters like 50 rpm. Music deserves to be experienced in the flesh, as it were, by people who care about more than what is made fashionable by the corporate machine. It might well be a small world but God gave you ears for a reason.