Su Casa - 19/04/12 (Ayr)

Here I am in Su Casa yet again waiting for Little Fire to introduce the line up for the night and perform a few of his own songs.

As usual words tumble through my head as I consider how best to try and put across how the atmosphere makes me feel, about how the moment is heavy with untold promises of what is to come, but no matter how many descriptive lines come to mind I'm aware that I have written about Su Casa, Little Fire and Alan Frew so many times now that I may be in danger of repeating myself.

Similarly to how I previously mentioned that Little Fire shakes his material up on a weekly basis to freshen the approach I am going to have to do something like that to.

Yet here I am sitting at the keyboard letting words just trip from my head to my hands and onto the screen.

There's no plan, no guideline, no template for me to strictly adhere to.

I keep coming up with one angle after another, but I'm over thinking it.

So instead all I am going to do is let myself go and leave everything that pours out unedited, and in that way I hope I can get across the essence of the night.

I guess the first thing that I should do is just tell you how Little Fire makes me feel.

He makes me feel warm.

His voice has a rawness to it that shouldn't elicit a warm feeling, but there's very little in it that is abrasive so it does the opposite of expected.

There is just enough grit to make it all sound heartfelt.

It's soft warm molasses with crystallized sugar in it.

The rawness could be the grain of sand waiting to become a pearl in the embrace of the oyster.

There's some alchemy at play in how he takes the raw material and melds it into something beautiful.

He only ever sings about one thing.

Love.

Positive tales of love sought, love found and the unknown future of two people in love.

Some may think that this is nothing new, but there's a reason why we have written about, and sung about, love since the dawning of time.

It's because apart from birth, taxes and death it is the one thing that everyone shares.

We all have experience of it in some capacity and Little Fire evokes those feelings and seduces us through the familiarity of what he sings about.

Is it a clever ploy on his part?

Is he even aware of the possibility of an angle on it?

I sincerely doubt it.

Witness one single solitary performance and you can tell in your gut that what he does is just express himself in as heartfelt way as he possibly can.

What more could ever be expected from an artist?

Once Little Fire finishes there's a stitch in time.

We slip through a wormhole and find ourselves in the company of Jiezuberband.

Like aliens from out there on the other side of the universe it sounds like they have been listening to the sounds from earth for centuries and weaved a patchwork quilt of it all together, and now consider themselves very clever for recreating our music.

The reality is that it sounds nothing like what we do.

Bits of jazz wrestles with tribal rhythms, a celtic influence manages to hold some gospel down for the count of three and a submission. The blues keep making an appearance ringside and the audience is made up of snippets of every single genre that has ever managed to get a toe hold in our subconscious.

Often mentioned as psychedelic space rockers it's apparent that they could well be if they were plugged in.

Possibly like a cross between Hawkwind and the Afro Celt Sound System, but acoustically it's a whole different sound, and I suspect that due to the free flow nature of the band that you could see then five times and never really get the same performance repeated.

Within what they do is a flavour of what keeps bringing me back to Su Casa.

It's the eclecticism of the artists that appear.

If someone solely gravitates to one genre then they will often enough find something they like going on, but Su Casa is a haven for real music fans of all ages.

Open minded people who are willing to experience whatever is thrown at them find a home there, and Jiezuberband are the sort of band that fit into that inclusive ethos of experimentation.

So how do you really describe such a multifaceted band?

I guess you don't.

Instead you just throw everything into the mix and then tell someone that they really had to be there to get it.

Time for apologies.

I missed Laura Carswell, but Kel didn't and a review will either be added or put up as a stand alone update.

Steve Dunn was the surprise of the evening.

He looked shell shocked, the rabbit in the headlights as he stood up and strapped his guitar on..........and then he sang.

In that instant he was transformed.

The nerves vanished and in there place was a real performance.

There's two people behind the mic occupying the same body.

It works though. The chemistry of the yin and yang is apparent.

One exists with the other.

It's just that in Steve's case they are very clearly defined.

Songs finish and one Steve reveals himself and then when he closes his eyes to play his doppelgänger takes his place.

Some would say that he could be more relaxed and that would balance how he promotes himself to an audience, but I like both personas and he isn't losing anything by showing some vulnerability.

Taking on the penultimate spot was Chloe Simpson who seemed surprised at the reception she got.

I've no idea why though as she is yet another star in the making.

Her smile illuminates the room and similar to Steve she doesn't seem to be aware of how good she is.

There's a hint of the quirkiness of Kate Nash, but while I've always considered Ms Nash to be a bit of a one trick pony this isn't the case with Chloe.

There's a great deal more going on.

Her one woman show is as accomplished as anyone who is gracing the worlds largest stages and has a whole career behind them.

Su Casa seem to be making a name for themselves in finding precocious talent and propelling them into the consciousness of Ayrshires music fans.

First Anna Sweeney and now Chloe Simpson.

While I was impressed with all the material that she played it was her cover of The Courteeners song Not Nineteen Forever that grabbed me and spun me straight back to seeing the band in a tent in Hyde Park.

It wasn't a straight cover, but the same passion was there and for that it has to be applauded.

Rooftops are made for shouting this girls talents from.

Closing the night was Alan Frew.

He's a musicians musician and while I am not one I often find myself transfixed watching his fingers adding weight to the strings on the fret and picking away at them on the body.

I listen to the sounds and I don't really understand how it is done, but my ignorance isn't a barrier to my enjoyment.

As the night is slowly drawing to a close Alan plays a few songs from his own debut album that spread out and infuse the room with a sense of camaraderie.

It's probably because I have heard them a few times now that I associate them with Su Casa, but when he plays his own material it just seems to fit.

Then just as I was getting comfortable and letting the music wash over me he burst into the Johnny Cash hit Folsom Prison Blues that he then manages to effortlessly morph into Junior Parkers Mystery Train.

It's a move that wouldn't be out of place getting dragged out for the patrons of a juke joint circa 1955.

I suppose you could say if Carlsberg made coffee shops................

Alan Frew, Andy Bargh, Grant Coffield, Kate Cassidy and Ari Ira Pournaras IV - Su Casa - 22/03/12

In Ayr, hiding at the end of an alley of small shops collectively known as the Lorne Arcade, sits a coffee shop called Su Casa.
By day it provides weary shoppers with organic coffees, hot chocolates and a selection of cakes that taste as good as they look.
It's small oasis of relaxed calm in a hurly burly world.
While Costa Coffee and Starbucks efficiently attempt to take over the high streets, and provide the illusion of providing a momentary respite from the trials and tribulations of life, it is Su Casa that provides the real deal.
Yet this is only one string to the establishments bow, as every Thursday evening they also open their doors to the public to showcase the talents of musicians from near and far.
There's no age restrictions, kids are made very welcome, you can bring your own bottle as it's not licensed to sell alcohol, and during breaks of the performances the owner Lucas - an always gracious, smiling and welcoming host – even provides natchos or pizza.
All of this, plus anything from four to eight acts performing, is provided for a recession busting five pounds.
It's the sort of deal that is commonly referred to as a sweet one.
Imagine Dylan in the sixties in a New York city coffee shop.
He's sitting in the corner with his guitar in his hand and the patrons are sitting on the floor, on chairs and settled into couches all around him.
That's the sort of scene that Su Casa sets, but by no means could you claim that Su Casa is a throw back to another era, as instead of a diet of folk musicians warbling away week after week they are on the cutting edge of what is happening.
It's entirely possible that you could witness some rousing Spanish Gypsy Flamenco Swing being played, some traditional blues updated to the twenty first century, some jazzy rock and roll or even a rock band trying out their material unplugged.
As Mr Gump's Mama used to say 'Su Casa is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get'
Okay. She didn't say that, but if she wasn't a fictional character, and was aware of Su Casa, she would have.
Especially if she had been here this week, as the artists on offer were co-host to the weekly entertainment Alan Frew, who was flying solo as master of ceremonies while Little Fire aka Jamie McGeechan is entertaining music lovers in Australia, Andy Bargh, Grand Coffield, Kate Cassidy and Ari Ira Pournaras IV who is also more commonly known as the front man for rising stars Rose Parade.
The evening starts strong with Alan Frew playing a selection of songs from his album 'Go Easy'.
His guitar playing appears effortless, but that's because he possesses a great deal of skill as a musician.
His finger picking is a real joy to behold.
He makes the complex seem easily attainable and there's a bit of magic in being able to do that.
His material sounds rather timeless, but also evokes the spirit of the seventies.
Not the overblown rock of the era, but the more contemplative, blues, country and folk work of those who straddled the sixties and seventies.
There's the English folk of Nick Drake. Some strong Americana and maybe even some tex-mex flavouring the material.
You could pitch Alan between then and what someone like Bonnie Prince Billy (Will Oldham) is doing now.
It's a good position to be in.
Neither old sounding, nor new, just that it is what it is.
Currently he's working on a new album with Mark Rafferty and the fruits of their labour is something that I'm keenly anticipating.
Both are top drawer entertainers and together I fully expect to hear something rather special, and on the subject of music that is rather special Alan then finished his set with a cover of Taj Mahal's Fishing Blues.
Finely executed it confirmed that Alan is indeed a man of many musical talents.
After a short interlude the young Andy Bargh, an eighteen year old solo artists from Troon, introduced himself and kicked off with a song called Atmosphere.
Musically what he does isn't far from what the Goo Goo Dolls do, but that band may not be an influence as here in the UK, as apart from their song Iris they don't really have that much of a high profile.
Especially among those of Andy's tender years.
So instead of the band influencing his work it's more probable that it is simple a happy coincidence.
There's a few little mistakes as he continues with his material, but with a shrug Andy takes them all in his stride, and as Su Casa is a supportive environment for young artists to cut their teeth the audience are happy to focus on the many positives of his performance rather than pick at the very minor slips.
Highlight of what was an impressive introductory set wasn't one of his own songs, but an up-tempo acoustic take on Marvin Gaye's 'Let's get it on'.
For such an iconic song Andy managed to take it down a different route and stamped his own personality all over it.
As he finished there's little doubt that he had won the room over, and I'm pretty sure few will forget his name.
Following Andy Bargh was Grant Coffield.
Friends have waxed lyrically about his talents and a few weeks previously I had seen him play and thoroughly enjoyed his performance, but that one didn't prepare me for just how good this one was to be.
It could be described as my road to Damascus moment in regards to his talent clicking in.
The main draw for me was the combination of his poetic lyricism and his voice.
There's an aspect to what he does that looks like he is lost in the recounting of memories. It can even feel slightly voyeuristic with his performance appearing to be one that is in no need of any sort of audience participation, but that's not to say that it doesn't connect.
Instead it is as if we are on the outside looking through the glass at something rather warm and beautiful.
There so much shading in his vocals that it is difficult to express it. It's as strong as it needs to be and comfortably drops to it being as soft as required dependent on what the songs requirements are.
Jeff Buckley keeps pushing in on my thoughts when I think of Grant, but not the loud screaming Jeff, but instead the softer toned one who could beguile the ear of the listener.
Midway through his performance he was joined by a young French woman who added some sublime harmonies to one of his songs.
The interplay between their voices perfectly dovetailed and it was an eloquent example of how to take something that already seems rather perfect and then improve on it.
To say I was impressed would be to downplay my enthusiast enjoyment of the performance.
It also highlights an issue with Su Casa. Just as you think that it can't get better.......it doesn't.
It cant. Instead it just goes off on a tangent and takes you down another musical path.
In this way it's not that Grant Coffield is better than Kate Cassidy who followed him.
It's more that both are at the top of their game in the genre they feel comfortable in.
In Kate's case this is belting out bluesy rockers with a voice that shouldn't be able to fit within the body of a woman with such a tiny stature.
It's like a welcomed splash of ice cold water in the face when she fires fearlessly into her first song of the night.
Everyone sits up a little straighter and I think Kate herself was a bit surprised at the rapturous applause she deservedly got.
With each song she captivated the room. Most women who go down this route have a rasp to their voice, but Kate's rings out true and strong.
A few times she mentioned that the material was all about a decade old.
Some songs she found in her guitar case, but they don't sound as if they are.
They sound fresh, vibrant and if she had said they had been written that morning and this was there first outing live I would have believed here.
Take an album from ten years ago and listen to it and see if it has dated.
There's a good chance that it has, but Kate's material hasn't.
In a very short conversation later on she commented that she had a few years off and is now looking to reintroduce herself to audiences.
On the basis of this performance that isn't going to be hard to do.
Once seen, never forgotten, and a very nice touch was how she mingled in the room after her set and thanked people for attending.
All things considered she was my favourite act of the evening.
Not because she was better than anyone else, but because she ticked more of the boxes when it comes down to what I personally like.
Closing act of the evening was Ari Ira Pournaras IV who was doing a solo acoustic run through of his band Rose Parades songs.
Along with most of the Grace EP he showcased a few songs from their forthcoming album and played a stripped down version of their current single 'The Sea of Lights'.
It's a rather wonderful experience to see Ari play as it provides fans of the band with the opportunity to hear the bones of the material before they are fleshed out with glockenspiel, banjo, electric guitar and whatever else they add to the mix.
There's an aspect to the music that is very engaging, even in its most minimalistic form.
The song writing is of a very high standard and throughout his performance it is very easy to understand why Ari and his band are drawing plaudits wherever they play, and along with a few other bands and acts like Brown Bear and the Bandits, Mechanical Smile, Little Fire, Matt Scott, Tragic O'Hara, Colin Hunter, Fole, Trusty and the Foe and The Imagineers, who have also all played in Su Casa, it is entirely possible that one or more will break through and garner some national attention in 2012.
Similar to all the acts of the evening Ari has a solid connection with those who have made the effort to seek out something a bit different from the majority who were probably catching up on soap operas or reality television shows.
There's no hint of a barrier between the audience and performer at all, and instead there's a communal spirit of kinship that is probably the very thing that has people coming back to Su Casa week after week regardless of who is playing.
Once again an exceptional night of entertainment.

The Imagineers, Colin Hunter, Mike Nisbet, Anna MacDonald, Rosie Bans, Alan Frew - Su Casa - 08/03/12 (Ayr)

Up until this evening I've heard a great deal about Rosie Bans. All positive and nothing negative.
So why was I left completely cold with the performance.
The jazzy piano work and the vocals are of a high standard. There's no doubt she can play and sing, but I can't warm to her.
The swearing between songs doesn't sound natural and the delivery of the songs are all over the place.
I'm bored by the second song and fervently wishing for the night to fast forward to the next act by the third.
Others are far more appreciative, but when a friend said that she though it sounded like Victoria Wood suffering from PMT I had to agree.
Although at other times it sounded like the noises coming from a maternity ward put to music.
Some swearing, squealing and I fully expected to hear her scream 'get this fuckin out of me' and 'you are never touching me again'.
Music is such a subjective subject that I can understand that for some this would have been entertaining, but not for me.
Mike Nisbet was more to my liking.
Kelly reviewed his last Su Casa appearance and commented that she thought he sounded a bit like Springsteen.
I didn't really get that from the performance, but I was impressed with the lilt to his voice and his guitar work.
As an introduction to him I found his set to be finely paced and I wouldn't mind another opportunity to catch him doing a longer performance to get a better feel for what he's doing.
There's so many talented singer-songwriters around at the moment that it must be quite difficult to make an impact, but Mike did.
Alan Frew did a minimal set and while I've seen him a few times now I was well acquainted with the material, but it was to be short and sweet and personally I would have liked to have heard a few more from him.
However Anna McDonald who replaced him at the microphone was a very welcome addition to the bill.
Traditional folk songs may not have been a natural fit to the flow of the evenings music, but taken as a singular performance it was a highlight.
A very lovely highlight..
Her voice is as so clear and perfectly pitched that the material comes alive.
Beauty is in the ear of the beholder, and my ears were beguiled.
For me it was a case of the power of the music and its delivery transcending what is, and isn't, popular.
Anna should be classed as a national treasure.
Colin Hunter was the surprise attraction of the night.
Not that it was a surprise that he was appearing, or that he was good, but a surprise as he very nearly stole the show.
Each time I see him he seems to be exploring different directions and this time was no different with more of a modern folk angle on his music coming to the fore.
It's not just the music that he excels in, but also how he connects with an audience.
He's funny, he's warm and there's something very comfortable in how he communicates with us all.
His performance is a random story accompanied by some very fine music.
I've seen Colin loads over the last few years and even booked him for a few performances, but this was the best I have seen by far.
In fact Colin managed to fill the room with the spirit of what Su Casa is trying to get across.
A sort of communal love of music freely expressed and inclusively shared.
The Imagineers as headliners of the night really had a strong support to follow, but they managed it, and proved yet again that the faith people are putting in them to make a bigger splash in the UK music scene is not misplaced.
Mix some 50's rock and roll influence with some merseybeat, add the cinematic flair of Morricone and filter it threw the romanticized dreams of four Glaswegians and you get The Imagineers.
It's as eclectic as it sounds, and equally as entertaining.
It's a rousing end to the evening and even when they play acoustically the band don't lose any of their power.
Each time I see them I get a strong feeling that I'm witnessing the beginning of something.
I sincerely hope this is true.
Some bands deserve to take that step up to a broader global audience, and the Imagineers are one of them.

Little Fire, Alan Frew, Bob - Su Casa (05/01/12)

First gig of 2012 for me, and also for Su Casa in Ayr.
It's a quiet affair to.
Not so much hitting the new year with a bang, but more easing into it slowly.
Maybe Little Fire and Alan Frew were taking into consideration that some may still be nursing extended Hogmanay hangovers.
While I'm not one holding onto a cranium full of jumbled flashes of 'God did I really do/say that' I am thankful for the relaxed atmosphere.
I think as last year ended I was becoming a little jaded, maybe even burnt out with going to see bands and acts here there and everywhere.
So this reintroduction to live music was just what was needed to reignite my passion for seeing original artists perform.
This is the first time that I've seen Little Fire do an expanded set, and the first half is very nicely done.
Instead of a random selection of his original songs he instead introduced them in the order they had been written and added little insights as to how each was tied into a specific part of a relationship.
It's a well constructed and casually intimate way to reveal the material and with a bit of work it's a direction I think he should pursue.
The little revelations link the material together and allow the audience to feel more of a connection with the performance, and Jamie as a performer, than the simple run through of singing the songs.
Each time I see Jamie he confirms that he is a talented young man who is deserving of being on the cusp of some good things happening in 2012.
His second set was a mix of older material that he had dusted off with much of it being new to my ears.
It's rock solid, and over the course of the night it becomes obvious that he has a full albums worth of material that needs to be laid down in a studio and released to the public.
Alan Frew's sets were very different to Jamie's, but equally as entertaining.
There's a wealth of original material for him to play, and a few nuanced covers are slipped in that that fit in well with the flow of his performance.
As an introduction to him as a performer these two sets admirably do the job.
Previously I've only ever caught the tail end of a show and within the couple of songs I heard there was no originals.
So while I did enjoy what I had seen it didn't really convey how good he is as an original artists.
This time the full scope of his talents as a guitarist, singer and songwriter were on show and he effortlessly showed that the praise I've previously heard showered on him was well justified.
In fact I was so impressed that I jumped at the chance to pick up his album 'Go Easy' and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who appreciates well crafted songs delivered with a real sense of commitment to the material.
It's been said often recently, and with a negative tone, that Ayrshire is awash with singer/songwriters, and while this is true I could argue that the dearth of venues that can accommodate full electric bands has led to a local music scene that is top heavy with solo artists I honestly don't think people should grumble when it has led to artists as talented as Alan to flourish.
Apart from Little Fire and Alan playing we also got to see a member of the audience called Bob play.
There was something very basic about the songs he played, but I found myself quite taken by them.
The simplistic honesty that they were imbued with had a power and attraction that is difficult to convey, and they evocatively reminded me of the cadence of old folk songs that would be sung to children.
It's maybe not the sort of thing that many people would appreciate, but I think it carried it's own worth and in all honesty consider that there would be a niche market for this.
He finished with a gospel tune that was played in the same manner as his previous two songs and all in I'd say it was a pleasurable experience.
(Now someone is going to tell me that the first two songs aren't originals, but actual old folks songs I suppose)
So there we go.
First gig tucked under my belt and some solid foundations have been laid for the year ahead.

(Su Casa hosts a night of original artists every Thursday from 8pm till late. It's £5 entry, all ages are welcome and patrons can bring their own alcohol. Coffee, hot chocolate and cheesecake is for sale, and if you're lucky you might get some free natchos)