It wasn't the best start to an evening. Went to the venue (which I shall not name) to do a review as scheduled. There's a band playing. I think it is a sound check. It isn't. The second band appears to be disconnected from reality and each other. Certainly they play like they are all in different bands. Then some Northern skankhound tries to buy drugs off me. The notebook is actually for taking notes, not orders. I try to ignore her but she persists. Eventually she responds to a common variation on "go away". Time to leave before it gets any worse.
I've got a plan B so on to the safety of the Liquid Ship I go. It's busy tonight and Potential Strangers are playing when I arrive. Whilst it is commendable to cover issues like cirrhosis and Alzheimer's in song, I wonder about the sense of turning everything into a - albeit beautifully played - Morrissey does Dylan dirge. Like I said, the place is busy so maybe there is a market for the melancholy.
Fortunately Magic Box Mistress has taken it upon herself to add sparkle to the evening. Never the shy one, she sets about charming the audience. Much as I like her earlier songs, her newer songs are the ones that catch my attention. They're more complex even - as with "Ostrich Boy" - a bit jazzy in feel. Although I am having to fight the urge to fall madly in love with her, Magic Box Mistress is nonetheless clearly on the right musical path.
Traite Walker is on last. Positively gruff and uninviting compared to Magic Box Mistress - and with a savagely funny approach to audience interaction - but he is clearly a talented songwriter and an honest performer. He's not without ability with that left handed guitar of his either. Song writing can often be therapeutic but it doesn't have to be depressing. Traite Walker is a man who knows that.
Bizarrely, he's also got two stalkers, both of whom wear matching "Walker Stalker" t-shirts. They even dance when he plays. It's a wondrous thing to behold.
Even if the night didn't work out as planned, at least there was plenty to write about.