Nicky Carder

This was an impromptu set from Nicky. Her first song, ‘In Hiding’ was by request. She instantly hits us with her stunning voice and I get goosebumps. Her second song was about her favourite pair of purple shoes. I just love the fact that she can write a song about shoes, it really does say how talented she is. She finishes with ‘between the floorboards’. It starts off with a sultry low tone but then she breaks into her full voice, which is so powerful I’m sure it will stick with me for the whole night.

Jonathan Holt

This is Jonathan’s first time playing at the Tron. His first song was short and sweet. It also showcased his gravely voice. It was a great start I thought. He then moved on to a beautiful love song called ‘Shoreline’.  However, it was his last song that was my favourite. ‘Soldiers Lullaby’ was heartfelt and beautifully sung. I hope he comes back to play more.

Clare Carswell

Clare is not only an ootb debut but this is her first time ever playing in public!  I really enjoyed her set. There were some nerves at the start but she soon settled into it. Her first song had some great lines in it. I particularly enjoyed ‘don’t wake me up on a Sunday to break my heart’. She announced that her second song is ‘quite difficult’, which is very brave for a debut. This is my favourite of the two, I loved the honesty in her lyrics. She didn’t hold back, with lyrics such as ‘I wear a dress for easy access’!

A great debut!

Freeloadin’ Frank

Just a squashie from Frank tonight. A song about killing Rupert Murdoch. It was in true Frank style

Ron

His first song is called ‘Superstition’, which is a funky wee tune that demonstrated his range. He brought the tone down with his second song about the two last people in the world. He finishes with ‘Deeper than the ocean’. He apologises for the lyrics not being that ‘deep’ but I think simple is sometimes better. I enjoyed this song very much.

Sam and Hannah

I had heard such good things on the grapevine about Sam that I knew I was in for a treat. He started with a high energy number called ‘Waiting for Elvis’. This was the perfect start as it got everyone’s attention, which he didn’t lose throughout the whole set. For his second song he invited Hannah on stage. It was called ‘Murder Mystery’ and was about having a broken heart. It had a kind of country feel to it. I really like his voice on his own but when Hannah joined in with the harmonies I just melted. It was pure joy to listen to. I particularly liked the Kazoo sounds that they made. Hannah stayed to accompany him on his third song. This was a slower song with a luscious melody.

His next few songs had, in true ootb style, never been played before. He seemed unsure about them but I really enjoyed them. The first one he had a cheat-sheet for but even with the lyrics in front of him the performance was faultless. The second new one was about a photographer and an actor. The harmonies were hauntingly beautiful.

His final song, again, is one that he isn’t really sure about but Hannah likes it so he plays it. It was brilliant – so much so that our compere for the night decided that they deserved an encore. I was glad of this because it meant that I got to hear those gorgeous harmonies one more time.

I simply just can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed this set. It was a true delight from start to finish. Each song different but constructed wonderfully and sung so sweetly. I am officially a fan of Sam and Hannah!

Roger Emmerson

He starts with a love song called ‘Venice’ which wasn’t his usual rocking number but I still enjoyed it. Next he played the bluesy ‘Photograph’. It has a great riff which gets you toe-tapping and head bopping. This was great but I do miss rocking out with the ‘Blues Father’ and we hadn’t done that yet with this set. Luckily towards the end of his last song, ‘Medea’, he let rip. I’m glad.

The Wright Brothers

Comprising of Nelson Wright and Norman Lamont, this is the first time I have seen these two play together. I was intrigued to see if their two distinct styles would work together. Their first song is called ‘The Dream’. I love Nelson’s unique delivery of the story and the combination of the two guitars really added to it. Next is Norman’s time to sing. It is a sordid song called ‘The Last Man’. I thoroughly enjoyed the last song about break-ups, called ‘I’m leave me’. There was a great beat and the two guitars were such a great complement to each other.

Broken Tooth

This was a set of some older material. He started with a song that I think is called ‘Borderline’ but I didn’t catch the name. His second song was ‘Sing at my funeral’. I liked the chorus and the instrumental. This was typical BT classic guitar playing. With his final song he really started to show off his guitar skills. You could tell he was enjoying it, however it may have been a bit self-indulgent for the audience.

Cameron Phair

Cameron’s first song was heartfelt and nicely constructed. I really like his voice on his second song, which had a catchy melody. His third song had a blues feel. He has a powerful voice and a good range, demonstrated by the falsetto in his third song. This was definitely my favourite song of his set and I particularly enjoyed the sharp contrast of loud and soft.

OOTB 23/06/09

Calum and Jimmy Carlyle

Orkney’s finest kick us off with a jaunty tale of childhood games and playing soldiers in the street, named eerily ‘Commando’. Their second is a protest song which talks of ‘the promise of better days’. Jimmy has the rhythm on guitar, while Calum embellishes on Mandolin, giving warmth to the whole. On their third, though, they swap instruments and pick up pace for a slip-jig. Its got a beat that Bongshang would be proud of. Finally, ‘A Place To Hide’ features great interplay and harmonics. Very fine.

Freeloadin Frank

‘Empire State Building’ is a love story of epic proportions, featuring a particular gorilla and his gal. ‘Cannabis is very good for you’ is fairly self-explanatory – “the perfect antidote when you are blue.” Frank is on form tonight – by the end of this number, he has them in his thrall. ‘Bloodshed On The Way’ voices a deep distrust of politicians, as humour takes a backseat to the satire. How better to end the set than the legendary ‘Magic Cornflake’? It is “the only way to travel”, apparently, and is dedicated to Darren Thornberry (who will be traveling, not tripping his little socks off as the song suggests).

Ron (debut)

Just a squashee this time for Ron’s OOTB debut. ‘Deeper than the ocean’ shows off Ron’s energy and voice, even though I feel I’ve heard the lyrics before. In contrast, his second, which talks of “whisky where the bible used to go”, is more original, and better shows off his songwriting. More of this would be welcome.

Harry (debut)

“I like to bike, you like to stab old men” Yeah, nothing like a bit of random killing to put a dampener on a relationship. Harry is a comic singer, and surprisingly enough appearing in the Edinburgh Film Festival in ‘Baraboo’. His second piece is “a lullaby”, but features not only the same acoustic ska of his first song, but enough terrifying tales to petrify any youngster – spiders, vampires, their mother. Clearly a fan of Sublime, his third is more ska, and also wonderfully twisted – “if you tried to leave, I’d kill your family.” It’s funny stuff, although his stage persona could do with being reigned in a wee bit. Finally, a break-up song, of sorts. “Everybody hates you” It’s nice to see an antihero in a song for once.

Paul Gladwell (Featured Act)

Antiheroes are something that Paul almost specialises in, but throughout his set tonight he adeptly shifts gear and mood between just about every song. He starts with delicate fingerpicking – “Your guilt is hard to swallow.” It’s a curiously low-key number to begin with, but it seems to work. His second is all word-play, with the stand-out line being “you are my flower(flour) when I have no dough.” Cracking. Next one is fast and desolate, and talks of “Actors on a stage”. Following this, he shifts mood in a second, back to beguiling melancholia – “For me, it seems, an ordinary life is not enough.” Paul writes intelligent lyrics, and packs them in. I could fill reams with those worthy of note. It’s a good approach to songwriting – take as many good ideas as would fill three songs, then fit them into one. Paranoid Android did just that. ‘Tell me what to believe’ is a pertinent comment on the state of the media, or rather the media of the state. Satirical and biting. He then makes 7/8 sound like the most natural time signature for an enveloping love song, or sorts. “When whispering sweet nothings for the thousandth time feels like nothing.” Emotive. ‘If you let me tag along’ is bouncy and attention-grabbing. Again a complete shift of gear. All the while, the guitar play is complex but never overshadowing the lyrics, and played to a tee. For his penultimate, he settles an unusually straight guitar part, almost Dylan-esque, for more melancholy. Finally, antiheros to the fore, as he unleashes his dark and malevolent ‘The End is Nigh’. It is positively throbbing with coiled energy. “Don’t read your holy book – I’ll just rip out the page.” Suberb.

Cam and Ed

A possible first for OOTB – a guitar and drum combo. It may even be their first outing together, I’m not sure. They start with ‘We’re Hanging On’, which is impassioned. Head and shoulders above, however, is ‘An Early Call’. I’ve seen Cam do this solo before, but never noticed the lyrics, which are about being a GP. “Our lives had barely touched, but the poor soul seemed resigned.” Beautifully emotive – helped by Cam’s distinctive vibrato and fine voice. On ‘Keep It Going’, he sings “we’re almost out of time.” The drums add an urgent metronome, but due to unusual time signature changes they are ragged in parts, though this will no doubt improve with practice. For their last, they cheekily pull out a cover (gasp) of Tim Buckley’s Dolphins. Whilst a shorter version than I’m used to, it has to be said that Cam’s voice IS Buckley’s, so he suits it perfectly. The full version on OOTB 350 (July 7), perhaps?

Broken Tooth

Before giving us what I consider to be the best ever rendition of his epic ‘Hold Fast’, Tooth addresses the sometimes misunderstood lyrical content, which focuses on religious bigotry among other things. It is articulate and passionate, and lends huge weight to the song’s delivery. The stand-out lyrics are still “to spread their message of peace, they write it out in blood and sword.” Awesome.

Douglas

“I’m not going to lie to you, so I don’t make a sound” He can certainly craft some fine tunes and words. He seems new to performing, but he makes up for any inexperience with an engaging liveliness. His second song was written in France, and is full of optimism. His voice is best when he lets rip – with practice this power should find its way into all his singing. His third was almost never performed, so worried was he about the fingerpicking. Well, he shouldn’t have fretted – it is a quiet lullaby of s song and he seems to play it faultlessly. Beautiful. His last is dark and funky, full of ringing high notes. Again his voice benefits from roaring a bit. Much potential.

John Watton

Fluid fingerpicking of the highest order. “I love to walk the Cleveland way” he sings on his first song. Folk music with integrity. ‘Standing Tall’ is a heavier piece, and uses an effects box with great subtlety. No easy task. Clearly a hugely experienced performer, this is a very polished set, and a joy to watch. ‘Station Master’ is blues, but again done very well. “I didn’t say goodbye, I just kept on moving on.” And indeed, this will John last performance at OOTB for a wee while. Hope he returns as soon as possible. Top notch stuff.

Cameron Phair

He opens with a big sounding guitar: all open 5ths. “So I’m older now – what have you got to say for yourself?” Good start. His second is a ballad in the best Scottish/Idlewild style. “waited for the sky to change”. This is the best I’ve seen Cameron so far – he certainly looks very comfortable on stage, and enjoys good banter with the audience. A skill in itself. His last is something about letting footwear govern your view of the world. Maybe I wrote that down wrong. “You’re walking with your mind too fast”.

Colin Brennan (debut)

His style is a mash up of country-folk, so he says. “Home is where the heart is,” but it means different things to different people, as he illustrates. His second is all escapism and aspiration – “Adios to all this concrete” Some of his lyrics can tend towards the pedestrian, but occasionally he’ll pull out a gem – “love’s a gift that’s surely hand made” His last piece is anything but light and optimistic, but again he produces some quality words – “I’m not in the ground today, but it sure feels like I’m on my way.” I’d like to hear more.

Review by Darren Thornberry

Story time with JOHNNY GUITAR. Did you know he once performed nude in Hair and protested Princess Anne in an episode of Rebus? We learn all this before the first string is plucked. My love is like a feather in the night: melancholy tune written on Arran. Following are a couple of bluesy numbers and a drop down to D with a slide. “To be developed …” Johnny smirks and I agree. He mentions Busking for Cancer, which is worth a look at buskingcancer.co.uk.

A trio of dedications from MUTANT LODGE aka Nick with a Why? Songwriter is tops with many forgotten lines and a couple of truly funny false endings. Mr. Lodge plays a tidy instrumental piece written for none other than our very own web dude. I am interested in this lovely piece of music. Bad Blues – the finger does not make it all the way up the nose during the “self respect” refrain, but geez the man is on fire! Great performance by Nyk.

RODDY RENFREW turns up with his shiny new left-handed guitar, and what a sweet sound it makes! Step Outside is a playful tune that has a, well, sunshiny feel that is right for Edinburgh this week. Then comes Family, a tune that describes the misery and glory we all experience in our dysfunctional families. What is pleasure and pain? Renfrew croons, leaving some meat on the philosophical bone for us to chew.

World traveller DOUGLAS finds similarities between trying to find God and trying to get sex. Despite soundman Malcolm finding the sweet spot on Douglas’ Yamaha, making it sound lovely and bright, the melodies on the first two songs are hard to track. In fairness, these are very new tunes Douglas is testing and that’s exactly what OOTB encourages. He returns to familiar territory in a song he wrote in Morocco and it is indeed nicely polished. “Wake me in the morning with a prayer …”

MAIN ACT: SAM BARBER

It’s a treat to have Sam here. Not only is he a nimble guitarist, but his songs also leave a high watermark, both lyrically and melodically. Sam can take on love, mythology and politics and wrap it all in memorable, upbeat tunes that stay with you. For me, the highlights of his set are the guitar walk down in the chorus of Sophia; the devastating lyrics of Over by Christmas; the booming 12-string hook in Theory of Everything; the tenderly played Non sequitur; and this phrase “tears fall like acid rain from a god” in the set opener.

Not only does JONAH debut with a nylon stringed guitar and harmonica, but he also gets to stick his hand in the silver bag of dreams. More on that later … Jonah is a nice surprise. Some really delicate playing and moody lyrics. Best song is Purple Sky, a tale of meeting a restless American lassie at the train station and all that unfolds from there. Wonderful stuff, Jonah. (Fruit pastels – that’s what he pulls from the S.B.D.)

RYAN – most improved!

I’ve been listening to Ryan play for a number of weeks now, and I have not been that impressed with his songs because I get the feeling he’s not convinced either. But tonight I hear and see marked improvement. His singing is better, stronger, and he seems more at ease than in previous weeks. Maybe the string of performances at OOTB has helped his confidence. It’s a treat to see someone coming along and getting better. I love it. Gun Metal Blues is quality. Ryan’s got a few tricks we haven’t seen, and I expect he will continue to reveal more of the songwriter that’s in there. Good job mate.

Hello again JOHN WATTON. This fellow is a seriously great performer. His set has the place hollering. He leaves it all on stage with Gambler – an absolutely thunderous song by a seasoned talent. “Don’t need no lucky ladies to watch my sevens land!” This blues riffin’ ace has undoubtedly graced other stages in his day. Awesome.

One of the better vocal performers of the night, CAMERON has a nice even tenor. The timbre of his voice and songs remind of one of my all time favourite bands – Jellyfish. Cam’s had shoulder surgery since his last OOTB performance, but he’s playing away with nary a wince. I will see him later, much later, in the evening, eating chips outside Whistlebinkies. He even offers me one.

FLOYD

Hmmm. Floyd plays a brooding three songs, but vocally things are rough and I am straining to hear what he’s singing. Floyd says his last song is special to him, and I’m paying close attention. He’s singing about getting no rest, no sleep, and he does indeed look tired. Really nice guy, and I hope to see him back once he’s had some kip.

BESSIE

Sunglasses hide his eyes, but the irony is on display. Musically speaking, there is room for improvement, but that’s true of us all. Sample lyric from Keep Your Friends Close: “You made out with my friend Euan / I must look like such a goon.” Explore the mystery further at myspace.com/bessiethumper.

Matt Snyder

Matt is our first debut of the night. His set is purely instrumental piano which is a refreshing start to what is almost always a guitar-fueled evening. His first tune is a jazzy number. This really demonstrated his passion for playing. I’d love to see him on a real piano, I think he would totally rock out! His second is a half improv classical piece, which was beautifully melancholic. He ended on another jazzy number which was definitely my favourite of his.

Jim Bryce

Jim’s first song was his self-proclaimed ‘screechy’ number. Played on the keyboard I loved his screechy, almost bluesy song, and with a bit of scat singing thrown in I thought it was brilliant. His second was an incredibly poignant ballad for an old friend. He finished on a comedy number about the British abroad. It was perfectly perceptive and funny.

Anna

As our second debut of the night, Anna silenced the crowd with her a cappella intro to her first song. She has a unique style which I enjoyed a lot. Her second song was equally as captivating. I’d definitely love to see more of her here.

Ryan

Bravely Ryan is performing a brand new song this evening. The subject is something we can all relate to; not turning into your parents. The lyrics were quite chilling. I’m guessing he really doesn’t want to turn into his Dad! In contrast Ryan’s second song is a very old one. He just plays two verses because apparently it gets a bit boring. I don’t agree at all, in fact it’s probably my favourite of his set. He ended with a song called soldier, which is a song about sex. ‘Not in a bad way’ he informs us……whatever that means!

Roger Emmerson

In the music circuit this guy is known as the ‘Blues Father’. I wasn’t sure if he would live up to this huge name but he did not disappoint. He started with a song about drinking and stereotypes. It had some great finger picking and that classic blues instrument, the harmonica. I am a total sucker for any tune that has a bit of that in it. He then moved on to a beautiful song called photographs. It was here where I really gave in to the ‘Blues Father’. I am now a fan.

Roger gives us a wee story about the name of his next tune, when he promptly tells us that it has nothing to do with that! Its called ‘Media’. With lyrics like ‘You are my Media…….. I am your Jason’, It sounds like a love song to me. He moves seamlessly on to a song about redemption. Roger assures us that he is old enough to sing this. No comment…..

He then picks up the tone with his summer song. As soon as it starts I know I’m going to love this song. Then he lets rip. ‘Lets dance!’

In contrast ‘A cut away’ was an incredibly poignant song about his brother. I enjoyed the passion that went into this song.

To finish Roger announced that he would do a cover. There were lots on sharp intakes of breath by the crowd at this but personally I loved it and thought that it was the perfect end to a great featured act.

Broken Tooth

With lyrics such as ‘If hell don’t want me, I’m going to crawl back to your side’, this was a true Broken Tooth set. I have to say though, I think this was probably one of my favourite times seeing him play. It was quite a diverse set with some, true to form, brilliant guitar playing. I particularly enjoyed the ‘Miller’s Daughter’ as I felt he connected more with the lyrics.

Jonny Pugh

Jonny, in true Pugh fashion delivered a set of beautiful acoustic tunes and accomplished guitar playing. He played the classic ‘On Fire’, which was sentimental and heartfelt. He then played two new songs. The first of which was slightly more melancholy but it was his last song that really did it for me. It was a great tune which left me singing the ‘hey, hey, hey’ part for a long time afterwards.

Furious

Although this is not his debut at OOTB, I have never seen him play before. It is an impromptu set he informs us, and if this is true I am pretty impressed. He starts off with a song called ‘Russian Dolls’, which is about what is going on in the world today. He then moves on to sing about being grateful for being alive. He also has a slight Scottish twang in his singing voice, which I do enjoy listening to. I hope to catch another set soon.

OOTB REVIEW 19/05/09

The Weather Underground.

The Weather Underground starts out with a bold guitar riff. His bouncy
chords slide nicely into some distinctive harmonics that his voice whispers through. He punches out signature sequences throughout the song, which are particularly effective. Nice bit of edge but not too in your face.

His second song “rain” was definitely appropriate for the evening, as we all
walked in “soaking wet through.” It has a nice mellow sound, and moves along nicely like the rain, as well as compassing a good use of repetition in
“rain, rain, rain” he seems to word paint himself away as his slot fades
out.

Calum and Jimmy Carlyle

It’s nice to finally hear the echoing voice of Jimmy Carlyle, as I had only
heard it on CD until now. Their first song opens up with the unusual sound
of the mandolin, it really shines through this unplugged evening, making its mark immediately, but yet it maintains a lovely flowing sound with Calum’s well played guitar part.

This happy, nice sounding story ironically turns out to be a song full of
angsty, Scottish Pride and it doesn’t take any crap. No-one can argue while it’s being proudly sung out.

Their second song is also a political song, this time it’s much more laid
back but yet still interesting and full of charisma. Calum and Jimmy open
this song with a very powerful yet cheering accapella verse that really
enhances the sound of their harmonies. The vocal melodies weave in and out of each other as the bassy guitar part drives the song along, leaving space for the mandolin to fill in the spaces.

There were some great gaps in the vocals, which really allowed the two
instruments to show us what they could do and definitely makes the most of the overall sound.

Calum and jimmy’s lively songs have a brilliant folky undertone and they
really brought the best out of their distinctive sound tonight. I thoroughly
enjoyed listening.

Neil

Neil’s voice immediately changes the sound, a great contrast to Calum and
Jimmy’s very lively performance. Neil’s gentle voice is quieter but yet still heard. He has a few subtle leaps in the vocal melodies which keep the
songs interesting, and despite the mellow sound in the opening the guitar
has drive and builds up into some firm strumming that keeps the song bold
and yet still maintaining the lovely gentle sound in his voice.

“I dance like a loon at 3 in the morning” “the red eyed monster in your
living room”

His quirky and interesting lyrics work well, keeping the attention on him. I
had the urge to sing harmonies throughout this song, especially during a few of the repeated melodies. I particularly like how Neil inverts the vocal melody as he ends his song; it is a really nice touch.

Neil also used some complex guitar parts though out the rest of his slot
which give a nice contrast to his gentle stuff and really enable the voice
to stand out, he keeps the beat well when he kicks in the strumming on the
guitar, then before ending the song he takes a different route up the fret
board and fades out nicely.

Broken Tooth

“If hell don’t want me, I’m going to crawl back Onto your side”

If anyone had fallen asleep, Jim definitely woke him or her up.

He opens with a gritty and involved guitar riff. Jim has a bit of a country
feel about him when he sings, reminds me a little bit of Jack White.

He has a really nice instrumental section where he really shows us what he can do on the guitar before layering his distinctive vocals on top.

“Caught up in a loop hole before you man the fuck up and move on”

It’s really nice to hear a guy sing about his weakness rather than his
strengths, because I find, it’s sometimes quite easy to forget that men have emotions.

I particularly like Jim’s passion and how he speeds up his guitar in the
guitar solo bits, it really changes the dynamic of the song for a while
before he returns to his original style. This makes the song more interesting especially as he maintains the stomping rhythms through out the
changes. The length of his songs seem to be the only thing that lets them down but he does however, maintain the use of interesting lyrics right the way to the end, which I think is particularly effective.

“There is a demon in the moonshine” and “I believe my time has come”

A great performance from Jim Thomson.

Ryan

Ryan gets more confident every time I see him. He is full of potential and
he’s lyrically brilliant, if not a little strange at times, but in a good
way of course.

It’s such a relief to hear people sing about stuff other than love… and
even when we heard his “love” song, it definitely was different to every
other love song I have ever heard.

Ryan starts off with an up beat guitar riff, his edgy voice cuts through the
guitar. He uses a nice mixture of bold singing and more beautiful melodic
vocals throughout his song, creating a nice contrast.

“I lost my faith, might, god and love and law.”

He uses a few nice pauses to great effect throughout which direct his
passionate words through well, delivered guitar playing.

“I don’t know how to tell you this” “I’ll say it once”

The word “once” creates a really nice dramatic stop.

His funeral song was short, sweet, and lyrically impressive and well, those
of you who missed it, your loss, you should have been there.

Ryan definitely makes an impact with his individual style and unusual, yet
interesting lyrics. I really enjoyed his slot again and I’m looking forward
to seeing how he progresses over the next few months.

Hopefully he will still be, “Running around with a butterfly net.”

Jamie

Jamie is another performer with drive. He has a very sophisticated voice.

“I don’t turn every corner in this maze of emotion”

The song changes only subtly throughout but yet he still manages to keep the attention on him. It was very well performed indeed; I wish I could convey such a presence with such little change in my music.

The pauses break up the guitar part well and make it more interesting.

“You walked away from me”

“Only wishes come true in fairytales”

This fairy tale song, he played because the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest sang a song about Fairytales… I have to say, that Jamie’s fairytale song is much better than the Norwegian, Alexander Rybak’s song.

Jamie’s second song was a very moving song about his daughter.

“In my life I try to be the best I can be, I provide for you and keep you
safe.”

His conversation style lyrics you would imagine would be spoken but he sung them, keeping them profound and full of emotion.

“I thank you” the lift in pitch in the voice towards the end of the song was
nicely done and worked well.

Jamie’s last song was even more moving. It was about the late Billie Mackenzie who committed suicide after the death of his mother.

“I hope you found what you were looking for.”

“So many people cried, the day his music died”

Jamie uses a simple but consistent guitar riff throughout this song, the
emotions conveyed and the tone hides the simplicity before he ends on a the
question “why?”

A very powerful and enjoyable slot from Jamie.

Angus

Angus breaks into his first song with the sound of a keyboard. This is the
first electric element we have experienced so far tonight. He does really well singing over the keyboard without amplification in the voice.

His conversational style singing really stands out and makes the song
interesting from the very beginning. He has a great sound and these
individual and well thought out lyrics stream out over some hammered on yet lovely sounding keyboard sequences.

“Bus to appear” “downtown San Francisco checking on your money”

“There is really only one solution do I have to spell it out?”

I really appreciate it, when songwriters ask questions in their music; it creates a lovely ambiguous feel. Despite this, and the content of his lyrics, his songs are still happy sounding and are easy to listen to.

The chorus in his first song is only subtley different to the previous part
of the song but it is very effective. His booming vocals keep everyone’s
attention as this San Francisco story is sung out.

“you’re never gonna change that law”.

I’d love to hear some of Angus’s music on a grand piano. His second song has
happy innocent vocals that work well with the keyboard and convey a little
bit of musical animation.

“My head’s full of strange ideas”

An inverted ascending scale in the higher register gives the song a grand
finish.

Bouncy, involved and with a consistant rhythm and good dynamic contrasts, Angus firmly ends a very enjoyable set.

Nyk Stoddart

Nyk starts with something mellow! Yes you heard me right, something mellow.

I like it, it’s nice to hear his softer side.

The first song has a finger picked opening.

“footsteps echo in my dreams”

“I feel the colour of evening, It’s nice to feel the wind”

Some lovely lyrics from Nyk here.

I love the gentle guitar playing that you would never expect from him.

Humming in the middle of some softly strummed guitar parts is another great
contrast to his normal sound.

His new song opens with muted chords, he sings out some words straight off an envelope, which is much more interesting than having lyrics written on a piece of paper.

The strumming in this song is a little harder than the previous mellow
sounding one, but yet it’s still not quite the crazy, normal sounding Nyk
song. This does give him the perfect opportunity to play his ascending and
descending gentle guitar solo’s which flow along nicely.

“Mr Sleaze” a requested song by myself of course.

Nyk’s bouncy chords open one of my favourite songs, partly because it was
written for me but also because it’s and awesome song!

“Mr Sleaze is an outragous and bad, really, really bad man”

“Mr Sleaze gets under the skin”

“Hey hey hey” is the returning theme that everyone likes to sing along to.

A great performance from Nyk.

John

Funky, intricate guitar part starts off John’s set.

This song has a happy feel and a folky storyline.

The catchy opening guitar riff is repeated throughout the song between the verses to great effect. This man is very good at the guitar indeed.

John has a nice voice, it’s full of character and conviction.

“We love to walk the cleavand way”

“I swear I could not love you more as these shadows lengthen”

A Happy unrequieted love song is next with an interesting guitar part and a
nice charisma.

“I used to be creative”

“I’m losing my grasp and I’m all burnt out”

John jumps about the register vocally aswell as with the guitar creating a
very folky, yet soulful sound.

Another happy sounding song ends his set, which is great at the end of the
night, I really love Johns style, if only there were more happy sounding
songwriters about.

“You’ve not got the decency to get off the floor”

“Pull up that blind and see the light”

“Forget these lies when you wash them all away”

These well written lyrics, full of imagery, lend themselves well to the
songs.

The rhythm is constantly challenged, breaking tonights boundaries with
interesting, effective and involved guitar parts, every single note falls
perfectly in time, even in his great spikey rhythms.

After a couple of taps on the guitar his song fades out, ending his set and leaving a mark on the Edinburgh Acoustic scene.

Nicky (written by Johnny Pugh)

Nicky is completely unfazed by the lack of vocal amplification, She blows
the audience away with this rendition of my favourite song of hers, “In
Hiding”.

This song really benefits from the accompaniment of the two guitars (since she is joined by Calum Carlyle)

The song conveys a sense of freshness and change.

“it’s been a long time, but my heart still seems to move”

“Catch my eye on you” is her second song. It begins with tense, broody
chords;

It’s a testament to Nicky’s vocal that she can over power the terocious
strumming of two guitars. Nice overlapping vocals from Calum. Songs of frustrated desire I guess, the angst of the lyrics are delivered
convincingly by Nicky’s vocals.

Nicky’s last song is “Between the floorboards”

The song starts with Nicky being poetic and reflective before exploding into a rock refrain.

“Because everything feels like… I can’t describe”

Excellent use of dynamics throughout the song, some intelligently plucked
chords from Calum add a touch of depth in the accompaniment.

A polished performance once again!

Review written by Nicky Carder with help from Johnny Pugh.