Su Casa - 9/02/12 (Ayr)

This review is sponsored by Irn Bru and Insomnia.

Mainly (sic) when I head out for a gig I know I'm going to see varying degrees of talent on display.
There's very often the good, the bad and the ugly thrust forth into the spotlight, and more often than not all on the same bill.
It's rare for a night to run smoothly with every act being a delight to listen to.
Even rarer is for every single one of them to manage to bring something different to the experience and enhance the evenings entertainment in its totality.
Yet that was exactly what happened in Su Casa.
This was to be my first experience of seeing lauded local artist Scott Nicol play and I wasn't disappointed.
It would be fair to say his performance effortlessly matches the praise he has received locally and globally.
I'm sure Scot himself wouldn't claim to be reinventing the wheel with his music, but it sounds honestly passionate, and what he does is delivered so well that while others are doing similar he manages to come across as the cream of the crop with his take on what I guess you could call mature acoustic rock music.
An indication of how good Scott is as a performer is how from a cold start he managed to get people singing along to his own material in a very short space of time.
He arrived, made an impression from the off, and then hung onto the attention he had drawn to himself.
Harder that some would think, but it's to his credit that he made it look easy.
I was so impressed that as soon as he finished his short set I approached him and bought a couple of CDs and I wasn't the only one.
Next the very young (It's obligatory to say that) Sam Christinson was to grace Su Casa with his presence, and while I thoroughly enjoyed his previous set many months ago - and his more recent 4 track EP release -,I was surprised at how he had progressed in such a short space of time.
He's far more self assured now, and with that confidence the music has flourished.
The singular new song that he sang is yet another down payment on a promise of things to come.
Definitely a young talent to remember the name of as a singer songwriter of the future..
The co-host and regular performer that is Jamie - Little Fire – McGeechan was next and managed yet again to breath some life into his material.
Each time I see him I find him tinkering with his delivery of his material with no two performances sounding the same.
It's a pleasure to hear the evolution of his songs as they grow towards being recorded..
This year will see him releasing his début album, and at this moment in time I have no clue as to how it is going to sound.
That it's going to be good is - in my opinion - a given, but I wouldn't dare to hazard a guess as to how the songs will finally find form.
It's going to be one of those 'watch this space' situations.
Anna Sweeney followed Jamie and similarly to Sam has taken a huge jump forward in the confidence stakes.
It's a captivating introduction to her as an artist for those who haven't had the pleasure of seeing her before.
Her song writing abilities are well defined and show a level of maturity that is rather astounding for a young woman of such tender years.
This was the first time that I had seen her accompany herself on piano rather than guitar and I'm in a quandary as to what I prefer.
Maybe it will all depend on my mood on the night as both are equally entertaining.
Now I haven't got a problem in saying that Rose Parade are one of my current favourite bands.
I'm an unashamed fan and love how they can create perfect slices of pop music while maintaining a great deal of indie credibility.
Acoustic guitar, single bass drum, banjo, electric guitar and glockenspiel doesn't sound like a marriage made in heaven, but close your eyes and listen and it all makes complete sense.
There short set in Su Casa admirably displayed their talents, and I would be very surprised if they don't manage to draw some wider attention from music fans as this year progresses.
If so, then it will be well deserved, and if not, then I'll be at a loss to understand why.
Similar could be said about Melisa Kelly and the Harmless Thieves.
The word authentic gets bandied about with alarming regularity to describe so many carbon copies of what has come before, but when I hear the word I think of Melisa Kelly.
Previously I'd only ever seen her perform solo, or with Jamie of The Harmless Thieves providing some cajon, but this time it's the full ensemble with bass and keyboards.
The difference is like night and day.
While Melisa's voice soars with minimal accompaniment it's taken to a whole new level when supported by accomplished musicians who know the songs inside and out.
There's a free flowing aspect to how the music is played that only comes from being intimately comfortable as a band.
It sounds organic. From rock and roll to a snippet of some Stevie Wonder it was just pure magic.
I reckon that every time Melisa sings Jools Holland gets a hard on.
He just doesn't know why yet.
Finishing the night was Alan Frew who managed to avoid being upstaged by delving into what must be an encyclopedic knowledge of music and delivering some belting numbers that included the trad song 'Pick a Bale of Cotton' that was more vibrant and rockin' than the Leadbelly version that most would be familiar with.
He left me with the impression that with a guitar there's not a lot he can do.
I've had some great nights in Su Casa, but this is right up there.
Outstanding.

Sunday Sessions

In early September of this year I decided that it was maybe time for me to dip my toe into promoting some gigs again.
Something on a smaller scale than I'd previously done as I was keen to avoid taking the financial bath that I've found myself splashing about in more times than I care to recall.
I suppose in hindsight the urge to get involved again was down to Kelly and myself visiting Su Casa and being impressed with the set up that they have.
Getting the cream of the local crop from the west coast of Scotland to perform once a month on a Sunday afternoon seemed appealing, and easily do-able.
So after checking if there was enough people interested in it that's just what we did.
The first one was in October and we managed to secure Matt Scott, Little Fire and Emma Forman to perform for us.
Sadly Emma had to drop out of the line up due to feeling ill, but at very short notice Colin Hunter stepped in and saved the day.
It was a fair success for a first stab at it.
Instead of charging the audience a set price we billed it as a 'pay what you want' afternoon with the audience deciding themselves how much the entertainment was worth by donating to a bucket being passed around.
Colin performed first and played a set that set the bar high for Little Fire and Matt Scott.
Refreshingly, and bravely, he didn't rely on material that we were familiar with and instead decided to run with brand new songs that he has been working on for a band project he is trying to get off the ground.
Based on what we heard that afternoon this is going to be an exciting prospect to look forward to.
Colin really is exceptionally talented and I'd love it of people started to let what he does sink in and gain some appreciation for it.
Next Little Fire ran through some material that cemented his reputation as an artist who is going places.
Previously I'd heard him to a song or two at Su Casa, but this was my first experience of a longer set of his songs, and the performance certainly lived up to expectations.
Currently I'm aware of a few opportunities that could push his career forward to another level so fingers crossed that come 2012 Little Fire will be the name on the lips of everyone as the next Scottish act to break through nationally.
Matt Scott finished the first Sunday Session with a solid performance in front of a home town crowd that had them baying for more. So successful was his set that he ran out of material, and for a couple of seconds it looked like the audience were going to insist that he ran through them again.
Over all I would have preferred it to be a bit busier, but that's not a complaint.
Those who had made the effort to attend were enthusiastically appreciative of the artists who were playing, and they certainly had no problem with dipping into their pockets to contribute towards paying Colin, Matt and Jamie aka Little Fire who all got an even split of the money raised.
Oh, Did I say this was a non profit venture with all proceeds going to the artists?
No.
Well there you go.
With the success of this under our belts I immediately went home and started work on Novembers line up.
This was to be Emma Forman, who was over her little bout of ill health, Ari Pournaras IV who is better known for fronting the excellent Rose Parade, Ross Gilchrist and Anna Sweeney.
Anna kick started the afternoon off with some lovely country tinged songs that managed to beguile the audience and from the comments expressed definitely garnered her more fans.
Emma arrived just in time from Dumfries to basically walk in, do her set and then rush off for the second and last train of the day home.
The effort she made was greatly appreciated and similar to the last time that I'd seen her play she effortlessly impressed.
First of the men to play was Ari whose stripped down take on his bands material was as good as the versions played with his band mates.
This was his first gig off the back of a very successful appearance at King Tuts Wah Wah Hut so it was an honour to have him play and once again those who had made the effort to pop along were richly rewarded for doing so.
Lastly to play was Ross Gilchrist and I've waxed lyrical often enough about his talents for everyone to know that I'm a fan.
His performance was what I'd been waiting to see for a while.
Normally Ross has played a supporting role on bills, and has had to tailor his material to fit the context of that, but with this he had the freedom to just go for it, and that what he did to great effect.
I'm very pleased with myself that I played a small part in getting people to listen to Ross and hopefully he is another artist that will get the recognition that he deserves.
This second Sunday Session wasn't as well attended as the first, not by much though, and those who did come along dug deep and all the acts got roughly the same as those who had played in October.
So, so far so good.
December is a busy month for people so I've decided that I'll shelve the Sunday Sessions for one month and return in January with more artists who deserve a platform to entertain an audience from.
I hope you can come along.
If you are unsure about it then ask about and see what those who have come along say about it, and I'm sure they will tell you that you should get your behind down to Jollys on a Sunday afternoon.
Big thanks, as always, must go to the venue management and staff in Jollys Sports Bar who continue to punch above their weight in both supporting and providing live music to Ayrshire.
If they were to be marked out of ten then they get an eleven.

Su Casa - Anna Sweeney/Tragic O'Hara/Craig Ward/Seán & Robyn Gray/Folé. 13/10/11

Another Thursday evening and another smorgasbord of aural delights from Su Casa.
We arrived just in time to catch the end of the always entertaining Little Fire who even managed a little duet before handing the stage over to the very young Anna Sweeney.
She's a bit folk, a bit country and a whole lotta nervous, but there's a great deal of charm in her performance, and given some time and a relaxed environment to ply her craft in she could be onto something with her material.
Tragic OHara followed, and went straight into unveiling a couple of new songs, and in doing so showed the crowd why when anyone talks about big fish in small ponds it's Tragic, along with a few others, who are always mentioned.
After a period where things seemed to stall for him it now appears that all the hard work is starting to create some positive returns.
The recent personal request from Pete Docherty to support him being just one of them.
I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope that in the coming year all his dreams come true as he certainly has a talent and a work ethic that deserves to be rewarded.
Craig Martin Ward was the big surprise of the night though.
I'd heard good things, but what I was expecting and what I got were two different things.
There's a great deal of self effacing humour in his rapport with the audience and I liked that.
There's a good sense of you get what you see with him to. A distinct lack of artifice, and that transfers over into his material.
As singer songwriters go Craig isn't the run of the mill indie folk warbler, but something else entirely. I'm not sure if I can put my finger on it, but maybe it has something to do with the attitude.
It's a refreshing change anyway.
If you've been following the blog you will have read a review of the Fole ep that came out a couple of weeks ago, and prior to that a mention of the lead singer James doing a solo set in Su Casa where I was suitably impressed, but here they were and I was finally getting the chance to see the full band perform and that's a whole new deal in itself.
The material really comes alive.
If James solo was the start of a journey, and the ep is the midway point, then this is the final destination. All the pieces fall into place when they are performing together and once again Ayrshire has yet another band that is brimming with promise.
Brother and sister act Sean and Robyn Gray were the last performers we seen.
Their mix of traditional violin accompanied by some jazzy guitar is well played out.
While it wouldn't necessarily be the sort of music that I would normally indulge myself in I found myself enjoying them immensely.
Especially their take on Katy Dear.
A song that seemed to morph into being called Silver Dagger by the time it got the US many many years ago.
Maybe some will have heard Joan Baez or the Eagles sing it, but I was more than happy with this more traditional version.
Sadly we didn't get to see Alan Frew as time was rolling on and we had kids with us.
Once again I really can't fault the entertainment on offer, and if I had the time I would certainly grab a couch in Su Casa every single week.