Matt Scott - Stairway Songs EP Launch - Bakers Sat 29th March (Kilmarnock)

It's a rare performance from Matt Scott that doesn't end with him being approached by people wanting to buy a CD.
Unfortunately while Matt had the songs the recording process has not been a quick one, and he has often had to resort to the fall back position of saying 'it's in the pipeline' to more people than he would probably have wanted to.
Those days are now behind him though, and with his brand spanking new ep delivered from the pressing plant he found himself with another dilemma.

Where should he launch it from?

Ideas were thrown about with the decision settling on it having to be either Glasgow or his home town of Kilmarnock.

On one hand Glasgow is a solid hub of musical activity and he has a solid track record of playing there with a couple of successful King Tuts appearances under his belt, and who could forget the opening slots to touring acts that widened his fan base.
On the other hand is that the people who supported him up until the point that he felt comfortable in playing in a major city are predominately all Ayrshire folk, and the temptation to return some of the love has a pull all of its own.

So ultimately in a battle of the heart and mind it was the heart that won out and the latter option was firmly grasped with Bakers being selected to host the evening.

Then, as is usual, another dilemma raised it's head.

Who should he approach to support him?

It was only then that the word support started to take on a rather egotistical force of its own, and the idea that it should be a mutual appreciation society event of like minded friends who have all shared the same stage on the their musical journeys solidified.
And with that Brown Bear and The Bandits, Rose Parade and Ross Crawford were sounded out and took up the offer in the spirit it was intended.

So no real supports, and instead special guests, and that's how from the humble beginnings of an idea it has become an evening where a good percentage of the cream of the talent that have worked tirelessly to enhance the entertainment options that are available to Ayrshire music fans came together for a special night.

Tickets are available from RGM (Kilmarnock), Big Sparra Vinyl (Ayr), the bands themselves and a limited amount will be available on the door.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Last week was interesting.

With 2014 still finding its feet the start of the new year was being celebrated in Pasadena with the annual Rose Parade.

It's pretty much a big deal, and over many hours float after float passes by celebrating the history, and the many groups of people, that make up the huge melting pot that the US is.

This year they were introducing something new though.

One of the floats would be feature a gay couple who were joining together in marriage.

Cue the hatemongers, who were predominately stereo-typically of the Christian right, wringing their hands in anguish and claiming it would herald the end of the world as we all know it.

Didn't we know that white baby Jesus would cry at the thought of this betrayal from his children?

I mean lordy, is this what he died on the cross for?

This is where it a started getting interesting though.

Ayrshire band Rose Parade awoke to a few messages from irate Americans telling them it was disgusting, immoral, and to think of the children.

Of course the appropriate response was to point out that the band had nothing to do with the parade and maybe those complaining could direct their ire in the right direction.

So that is what the band did, but also collectively added that they fully supported the couple getting married, the parade featuring the couple, and that the homophobes should take their issues elsewhere.

The reaction was typical, and as the day continued more commented on the bands facebook page and emailed them to draw attention to their ungodly attitudes.

Only that's not enough for a certain type of charitable Christian and the ante was upped and the messages began to become a bit more strident.

So after a period of trying to rationally respond and deleting the comments from the worst offenders the band decided to open the conversations up, and lets just say they weren't disappointed with the result as their friends and fans stepped up and to use an american term 'tore the ranting hordes a new asshole'.

Now Pink News has picked up on the story and featured it.

Pink News

Pretty heartwarming to an extent as Scotland can sometimes be mistakenly seen as a bit backward on the world stage, and here we were wearing our hearts on our sleeves and championing love equality.

Go us.

The band Rose Parade.

PS. Respect to the US commentators who took exception and spoke out to, and of course congratulations to the happy couple Danny Leclair and Aubrey Loots. Love conquers all.   .

Rose Parade - Sell out B*st*rds

There are two words that when put together elicit equal amounts of joy and sadness.

They are sold, followed by out.

If we aren't going to go down the path of talking about artists who have allegedly sold out their credibility for stardom.

Then what we are left with is the proclamation of the two words together regarding an event being now ticket-less.

On the one side of the coin are the artists who know that people are going to make the effort to come and see them, and a busy night rather than playing to one man and his dog, is ahead of them.

For the venue the words are accompanied by the ringing of their tills.

For a promoter the sound is one of a sigh of relief, and for those with tickets there's a smug little voice reminding them that shelling out early for a ticket was a good idea.

On the other side of the coin are those who thought that they would just leave it until the night and pop in.

The ones who know that they had the chance to attend, but let it slip through their fingers.

With them sharing sad faces are unfortunately the people who simply didn't have the means at their disposal to grab a ticket and are now a tad pee'ed off that the night has arrived and they are still skint.

I feel for the later, but I'm not so fussed about the former.

And tonight is one of those nights that draws out all those feelings.

Rose Parade actually sold out weeks ago, but tonight is the night where all the work they have put into recording their debut album is revealed.

The excitement is mounting and with three excellent supports in place it's all shaping up to be a 'you had to be there' gig.

I'm fully expecting to indulge in a weekend of reading posts from people on the social networking sites that mention how utterly fantastic the gig was.

I would advice people to pop in as early as they can so that they can grab a bite from the much loved menu that the 13^th Note has prior to them securing a space with a prime view.

I can feel it in my water that this is going to kick off in a spectacular manner.

Rose Parade - Grace (Official Video)

Debut album about to be released.
Launch gig sold out, and lots of people getting hot and bothered about them.
It's going to be Rose Parades year.
Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of fellas.

Final post of the year. The December round up.

December is a busy month for everyone.

I'm no different.

Between work, scurrying about shops in a panic and dealing with a million and one other things I've neglected the blog to an extent.

So in lieu of individual reviews here's a round up of what's been going on in the last months of the year.

01/12/12 – Rancid in the Barras.

Less a gig and more of a social occasion for the punks of Scotland.

A gathering of the Clans.

I missed both supports as it was virtually impossible to walk three feet forward without being accosted by a face from the past.

If I was to start listing people I would be hammering at the keys for hours on end.

By the time Kelly and myself extracted ourselves from the 13^th Note and pushed our way to the bar the lads from the Bay were storming the stage.

Lars carried most of the set with Tim guesting on a few songs, but I doubt anyone was complaining.

They pushed it hard and had the Scottish crowd eating out of their hands.
Sort of a punk 101 class.

Similar to SLF always doing a St Pats night in the legendary Barrowlands Rancid should consider a yearly hit and run visit.

Utterly mind blowing.

Less a retro fest and more a statement from the punks that they aint going anywhere.

Brilliant.

13/12/12 Shelf:Life

Here's one I did manage to review.

http://itsaxxxxthing.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/shelflife-nice-and-sleazy-131212-glasgow.html

15/12/12 Burnsfest.

A mighty oooft. Twenty two acts over two stages. One electric and the other acoustic.

Johnny Graham who organized this did himself proud.

A few weeks prior to it he asked if I would lend a hand so I don't want to really push how good it was as there could be accusations of solo trumpet playing, even though I had no involvement at all in the organizational side of the event.

So now that's out of the way here we go with a take it or leave it summing up of the day and night.

Holy Pistol Club were everything I expected them to be. Some dog is sniffing at an open wound right now as these guys are off on their heels with its bollocks.

The Holy Ghosts were as usual firing on all cylinders and I would recommend that everyone get on board with them as 2013 has to be their year.

The OK Social Club was a minor let down. I have no idea what the score was, but there was just something missing from the performance.

Maybe the band were tired, maybe there was some behind the scenes issues, or possibly one of many little problems that can take the edge off a performance had reared its ugly head.

None the less the set didn't have the energy that I know the band have so I'm chalking it down as a one off minor slump and I'm sure if others hadn't seen them before then they probably didn't notice.

Soldier On were and mods dream band.

They have a solid foot in the past and a hungry attitude that's bristling to grab the present and give it a shake.

I can see them being the Scootering scenes darlings of 2013.

In fact if anyone involved in the rally scene is looking to book a band that will deliver on every level then they need look no further.

Another highlight was the very young Purple Corruption who opened the day and then filled in later for a second, and better, set for a larger audience.

They're still raw and there's enough rough edges to make them slightly abrasive, but there was also far more future promise displayed than is normally expected from a bottom of the bill event opener.

The elevation up the bill was less a by chance opportunity that they grabbed and more a well deserved break.

I was mainly covering the electric stage, but highlights from the acoustic stage as mentioned often in the frame of 'you should have seen.....' were the sets from Anna Sweeneys, Andrew Nicol, Alan Frew, Matt Scott, Mairi Kerr and a Band Called Cadence.

Over all Johhny should be giving himself a pat on the back and considering the whole day a huge success.

Roll on Burnsfest 2013.

16/12/12 – Molotov Jukebox/Dixie Fried/Callum Beattie.

Bit of a last minute gig for Kelly and me, but one we are very pleased that we got to see.

Dixie Fried will no doubt draw comparisons to The White Stripes as it's a guitar and drum duo playing the blues, but that's about as far as the comparisons go as Dixie Fried have a real drummer and vocally there's no White Stripes angle on what they are doing.

Instead they are more akin to a stripped down Led Zeppelin on a busmans holiday to the Delta.

That they aren't sitting on the banks of the Mississippi drinking moonshine and dangling their feet in the muddy waters is probably something they cry themselves to sleep about nightly, but the loss of the state side juke joint is our gain.

I have no doubt that I will be seeing these guys again.

Callum Beattie is a rock star in the mould of Bon Jovi in the making.

Every song he played could be sitting comfortably on a Top Gear CD, and in no way do I mean that disrespectfully.

He has the star quality, the voice and the looks to make it big, but of he doesn't in his own right then he's a songwriter that bands of a certain ilk would pay big money to get a slice of.

I have no idea what the future will hold for him, but he's deserving of a bright one, and I'm sure that the many people who travelled through from Edinburgh on a Sunday night would agree.

Molotov Jukebox, I would presume, are one of those bands who have to deal with the double edged sword of public perception daily.

With Natalia Tena fronting them the first thing that the mind springs to is her acting career, and the successful appearances in the Harry Potter films and Game of Thrones television show that she has enjoyed, but while that undoubtedly brings people to the door the band are then left to usher them through it on their own merits.

Not an easy thing to do as we have seen from so many thespians who have dared to branch out and stretch their vocal chords as credible musicians/artists in the world of music.

However for me Natalia will always now be the front woman of Molotov Jukebox who also acts.

Flamboyantly eccentric the band are a gypsy carnival in full flow who incorporate every single sound that those of a nomadic disposition could pick up on.

They are a twelve legged salsa ska disco punk behemoth of immense talent and I reckon that anyone who fails to let loose and dance to their energetic performance really needs to get a medical check up quick as I suspect they might be dead and just haven't realized it yet.

In fact scratch that.

If any band could reanimate a corpse and get it to dance then this is the band.

From start to finish they are a cardio vascular workout that you can enjoy with a smile on your face, a big muscle stretching and face aching smile.

If you can wrap your head around what is in essence and accordion and violin led party band then this is for you.

Far more accessible and enjoyable than Gogol Bordello who may be about the only other band that you could name drop comfortably next to them.

27/12/12 - Little Fire/Rose Parade - George Square Glasgow

I really thought that the Molotov Cocktail gig would have been the last of the year, but we managed to squeeze this one in.

The whole Christmas fair thing was in full swing.

The lights, the outdoor ice rink, the carousel and exorbitant prices - £3.50 for a thimble full of hot cider – screamed seasons greetings, and right in the middle of it all a tent with bands and solo artists performing.

We arrived just in time to catch the last few songs of Little Fire.

The difference in seeing him perform on a stage with some excellent sound instead of in bars and clubs was drastic.

It took me right back to when he had the support slot to The Secret Sisters in the Oran Mor at the beginning of the year.

So that's two great shows to bookend 2012 from him.

Similarly Rose Parade once again showed people why they are being touted as a band to watch out for.

The addition of Oscar on bass can't be understated and the whole sound has swelled to a level that would be exist comfortably on any size of stage.

There's a whole host of bands that I have seen in 2012 that with a nudge from Lady Luck will do very well in 2013 and both Little Fire and Rose Parade are up there jostling at the starting line and looking at the new year as one that they can grasp with both hands and use to cement a wider reputation that takes them from being local heroes to names that are known nationally if not globally.

I wish them all the best.

Now here's to 2013. It's soon going to be ours. Let's be havin' it.

Apologies to Twisted Illusion who were mistakenly referred to when it should have been Purple Confusion when this was first upped.
I really should have written something more in depth the morning after the night before.

Chris Helme - The Burns - 21/09/12 (Irvine)

It must seem like a long hard road travelled from performing at the opening ceremony of the Olympics, to then be asked to open a gig upstairs in a pub in Irvine, but Sean Kennedy takes the roller-coaster ride of playing original music to the public in his stride with considerable professionalism, and a refreshing lack of ego.

I suspect that regardless of what stage Sean finds himself on that he simply sees it as an opportunity to win some new fans over, and that's something he certainly manages to do on a regular basis.

It would be easy to lay claim that he is ill deserving of being the first performer to take the stage at what was the debut outing for the fledgling Baile Valley Music Promotions, but that wouldn't be a fair conclusion to leap to, as the supporting line up to Chris Helme were all of a quality that they could have featured at the top of many a bill in their own right.

A more accurate take on the evening would be to consider that if Sean was kicking it off then you could be assured that quality wise there wouldn't be a stumble in the offing.

From a very large pool of singer-songwriters that seem to proliferate in the Scotland's west coast bars and smaller venues Sean stands out as the performers performer.

Someone who firmly has a grasp of the rung above,

I couldn't help but think that the x-factor would love him as Sean has all the star quality that show loves to exploit, but equally I thought we should be thankful that this isn't a route that he is contemplating, as the short term benefits of the exposure it would bring would also rob us of the original talent that Sean is.

Lost Element initially didn't grab me as I found it difficult to latch onto what they were doing, but midway through their set everything clicked into place and their angle on traditional rhythm and blues - albeit through the early 90's interpretation that bands like Ocean Colour Scene pushed - really hit the spot.

The last three songs were very powerfully driven, and the mix of acoustic blues guitar augmented with a vocal delivery that would have given Kelly Jones and Simon Fowler a bowel shaking moment of concern that someone was just about to muscle in on their patch was pretty sublime.

I'm reliably informed that they are even better when delivering a full on electric show so that's going to be something I can look forward to.

The next band to play provided that moment of the night when all the expectations that may or may not have been held were left in the dirt.

I've seen Mark Copeland perform solo prior to this, but no matter how impressed I was with him then it didn't prepare me for the full band experience.

All through the set I kept thinking about how it reminded me of The Waterboys around the period of their first two albums, and how each time I seen them I thought that 'these guys have to be massive'.

There's that grandiose keyboard swirl, the celtic folk signature and a pounding beat that would elicit a response from the most cloth eared among us.

That's all plenty to be going on with for anyone, but add on that certain indescribable something that screams that everyone has to hear them and you have something special on your hands.

That they have only been playing for a short while together makes it all the more impressive.

If the night finished as the last note rang out from The Wounded Pirates then no one should have felt short changed.

If this is the start then who can really say what will come next, but it's an exciting prospect to contemplate.

When Soho Dandy took to the stage I had my first dilemma of the night.

What can you say about a band who are very obviously talented, can write solid songs and can carry a performance, but don't do it for you?

It's one of those times when no matter how much you draw attention to the positives people get hung up on the not getting it part.

While most will accept that the appreciation of an artist, or a band, is subjective, it's also true that quite often they find it hard to take on board that others may not like who they do.

Then they relegate every other positive statement to the point that it is ignored completely.

So just to clarify it all as I've said earlier, everyone on the bill was deserving of head lining a gig in their own right.

Soho Dandy included.

It's just that while I can freely see the attraction to what they do it doesn't engage with me, and that's not really the fault of anyone, the band or me.

It's just different horses for different courses.

It's all very clever indie pop and it's also executed with a great deal of style. But it just wasn't my thing.

Rose Parade however are my thing, and with the band swelling to a four piece with the addition of new guy Oscar on bass it was going to be interesting to hear how that worked in within the over all live sound.

The jury wont be out for long though, as apart from visually bulking the band out the complementary bass lines definitely adds rather than subtracts to the over all vibe.

Once the début album (that's at the mastering stage just now) is released the band are now in the position to take their sound out on the road.

It's funny how until the bass was added I didn't think that it was required, but now it's here I doubt they could go back.

Now I've got a problem with Chris Helme.

It's not a major issue.

In fact it's not really something that he should concern himself with.

My problem is that while I love his time with The Seahorses, and even accept that if it wasn't for that part of his career I may have never heard of him, I still prefer to hear his own material rather than him pandering to an audience looking for a nostalgia hit.

Of course he has to give an audience what they want to a degree, and yes most of the people who come out to see him want to hear the songs from that album, but I'd rather have a run through of his latest 'The Rookery' with him then having a break before returning to regale us with some highlights from all the releases post The Seahorses.

It's time that others got up to speed with his career and stopped hanging onto past glories and accepted the reality of the here and now.
That reality being that Chris has one of the finest blues voices that the UK has.
That eh can effortlessly slide from a growl to a folk whisper or a falsetto that is pitch perfect as required is just the icing on the cake.

Compliment his technical abilities as singer with some great song writing and I really don't see why others still want to hang onto their past rather than get on board with Chris now.

When Uncut claim that he is 'echoing the fragility of Gram Parsons, while flirting with the rustic side of Neil Young' on The Rookery, then why can't that be enough.

This hanging onto the past by the audience was to shadow the gig in Irvine.

As Chris aired his solo material the sound of chat rose and the attention waned with it only to return when The Seahorses songs were dragged out.

Yet throughout Chris was professionally solid.

In fact claiming he was professionally solid is like damning him with faint praise as Chris is more than that.

I can understand that to a certain degree this audience is his bread and butter, but maybe it is time to explore how he can garner one that appreciate his whole career as a musician rather than key into a small part of it.

I fervently hope that with The Rookery that he can be able to look back on it as the watershed moment when the past was finally laid to rest and the future beckoned all fresh pink skinned and new.

So while I do appreciate that Chris does play places like Kilmarnock and Irvine, and I equally appreciate that individuals like Johnny Graham have faith in booking Chris, there's a part of me that would like to see him playing bigger venues with a band backing him and receiving the kudos that he so richly deserves.

...and finally it would be unfair not to revisit the efforts of Johnny Graham in putting this gig on.

From the bands picked, to the quality of the sound from Lee Brady, to the between band music that kept the party going it was the sort of gig that people who have been promoting take years to arrive at the standard of.

In fact some people never get it right.

So as we would say in our corner of the world 'mair power to yer elba'.

Hopefully this is the first of many and I hope that Irvine appreciates the effort put in, and will look to provide the support that Johnny needs to lay the foundations for a local music scene.

Sean Kennedy
Mark Copeland
The Lost Element
Soho Dandy
Rose Parade
Chris Helme

Su Casa Beach tent - Live@Troon - 01/09/12

Troon as a town isn't exactly known as a hot bed of musical talent, but once a year it kicks the dust of its dancing shows and for a few days lets its hair down with a multiple venue festival that really does cater to the tastes of everyone.

Of the smorgasbord of talent available it was the Su Casa tent down near the beach that I headed to, and it was there that I had a glass half empty, or is it half full moment, as I stepped in and caught what was the end of Craig Martin Wards set.

On the half empty side I was annoyed at missing the bulk of his set as I like what he does.

There's a sense of humour that threads its way through his lyrics and gives them a little something extra that many solo singer/songwriting troubadours don't have.

It's not a case of them leaning towards being comedic parodies, but instead that he has the ability to put a wry smile into the content of the material that gives an audience moments where they can smile along in recognition of how absurd all our lives can be sometimes.

It's a nice touch.

It often surprises me that his name isn't more often on the lips of local music fans when they discuss who the big fishes are in the small pond.

On the glass half full side at least I didn't miss his whole set.

Following on from Craig was Jamie Mann who many of my musical acquaintances have urged me not to miss.

Initially I wasn't really keying into his music. The first song was well played and he has a very good voice that hints at Jeff Buckley without encroaching on the histrionics that he was apt to occasionally favour.

It was the lyrics that just didn't engage.

Then just as I was wondering what it was that others had seen in him that I couldn't he revealed all with his second song, and from that moment on simply got better and better.

By the end of his short set he had won me over.

His guitar playing is impressive. Nice finger picking with little flourishes that add to the performance and vocally he knows how to deliver a well crafted song.

From what I thought was a weak start he really managed to bring it all together and deliver an excellent performance.

Sonic Templars were to be the first band of the night that I would see.

Normally a full on indie rock band this was the stripped down version who were missing a drummer but had picked up a violinist.

Similar to Jamie Mann they are a much talked about act who I had yet to see.

The difference between them, apart from musical styles, was that I was impressed from the start.

The addition of the violin to the opening song opened the whole performance up and added something that would be hard to express.

It just allowed them to hit the ground running with a much fuller sound than I expected.

Sadly that was the only song to feature Amy on violin, but the rest of the set was equally as strong and the acoustic bass gave the music a solid peg for them to hang everything on.

It's very obvious that in essence they are a rock band, but delivering their songs acoustically doesn't give them any problems and the material is pretty solid.

By the time they reached the last song of the set it seemed rather obvious that if they had arrived with the intent of converting people to their cause that they had done so with some style.

Now I really do need to see the whole electric shebang.

Now what can be said about Colin Hunter and Calum Muir.

Both are very talented young men, and separately are more than able of taking a crowd by the hand and entertaining them.

My own preferences lean towards what Colin does on his own, but that's not a slight on what Calum does as he is equally as good.

It's just a subjective taste thing on my part.

Yet when they play together they appear to be able to bring out the best in each other.

That they have known each other for so many years obviously plays a part in it. Like some musicians who have shares stages for decades they can read the subtleties of each others performances and take turns in leading each other in different direction while maintaining a flow.

Taking turns to sing lead or backing vocals depending on what is required comes across very well. As does their ability to swap instruments to suit what the songs need.

It;s actually a really captivating performance that they should both be very proud of, but there is one issue I have with them and that's that this is often just a live experience.

Once they step off the stage the experience can't be revisited, and they really need to have a CD or something, anything, available for us so that we can take a piece of what they are doing home with us.

From Colin and Calum leaving the stage and The Holy Ghosts taking to it something seemed to change.

It got a bit darker, the tent got a bit busier and there was a feeling in the air that crackled with a bit of tension.

It's the sort of thing that would get dogs howling and people looking to the sky and asking when the storm was coming, and it's all the doing of The Holy Ghosts.

There's something dangerous about them.

Something rock and roll that puts a primal swagger in their step

When the crashed into their set all I could think was that when Liam asked Noel to join Oasis that they sat down and tried to think about all the things they wanted the band to be.

'Lets get some Stones in it our kid, a bit of The Faces, loads of The Beatles eh? The sneer of Lydon and fuck it let's throw in the seventies terrace stomp of Slade to'.

What they didn't realize that what they were describing was the Holy Ghosts as they live and breath right now.

Keeping on the subject of the Gallagher, or one of them anyway, I was reading the latest interview salvo from Noel Gallagher where he was quite rightly bemoaning that the record industry isn't a conducive to breaking rock and roll legends any more.

It's true.

I could go along with his view that the investments isn't there and even strongly agree that DJs with play lists to adhere to aren't really DJs.

Yet I'm not going to agree that everyone is following on from the lowest common denominator bollocks in the charts, and that there's no one with the ability to become the next rock and roll legend.

There's always going to be bands like that.

The Holy Ghosts prove it when they step onto a stage.

There's the whole history of rock and roll there, from the Faces playing the Speakeasy to The Clash playing stadiums, from the swagger of Jagger to the Johnny Cash kicking out the footlights.

This is a stadium band playing a tent.

Of course there's no guarantees that they will be the band to break big globally, or even nationally, but there's no arguing that they have everything in place to be able to do it.

Once their debut album is out I could well imagine NME journos prematurely ejaculating in a frenzy to be the first to say they have found the great white hopes for rock and roll.

For once they would be right, but the stains on their crotches will always look ugly in retrospect.

And then it all went a bit pear shaped.

As Little Fire stepped up the Holy Ghost loving audience did a runner to catch The View who were the main draw of the weekend.

Circumstances just dealt him a raw hand.

The draw of The View was just too strong and while he, and then Rose Parade played excellent sets it was to a decimated, albeit appreciative, audience.

It's nights like this that artists and bands show their backbone though and both Little Fire and Rose parade took it in their strides.

I suspect that once both acts have their debut albums out that less people would be drawn away from seeing them as much is on show to indicate that both will be very special.

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.