OOTB 6 – 6 Dec 2001
A very fine evening upstairs at The Waverley was had by all with a completely new songwriter line-up and clientele from last week.
The show kicked off with compere Nelson and soundman Jim playing a spooky tune called “The Weather In June” originally premiered with the band Scatter (The Pigs Are Coming) several moons ago.
Next up was a gentleman from Manchester by the name of Trip Fontaine. Following in the footsteps of fellow Mancunians the Smiths, Oasis and the Bee Gees may be daunting for some but not Trip. He has that gift of being able to write songs that you think you’ve heard before but are in fact original and very tuneful, too. Playing a well-worn 12-string guitar, he took the audience on an almost spiritual journey with his simple, melodic and uplifting music. Starting with “Here She Comes” and “Final Cigarette” you knew a star of O.O.T.B. was born. “Freeway” was the first tribute to the dog from popular US 80s TV programme “Hart To Hart” that we’ve had at the Waverley. Finally, “Mr. Sunshine” is a summer song that bursts with colour at any time of the year. A very fine debut.
A familiar face to regulars of Edinburgh Songwriters’ Showcase (R.I.P) at The Tron Tavern, Jim Bryce is a musician and showman extraordinaire. He started on keyboards with the awesome “New Directions For The Blues” – a commentary on the depressing nature of the news media. “Waiting For The Man”, is folk/blues with a definite edge, with very impressive guitar-work. “Moon And Water Song” was a haunting, spiritual piece with a most harmonious penny whistle moving like the tide in between Jim’s vocals. A Christmas song “Pictures” was the first such seasonal offering at the Waverley and a sentimental, pretty song it was too . A one-man variety act with, it seems, a vast reservoir of good, tuneful songs. (Jim Bryce is in panto at the Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh in ‘Sleeping Beauty’).
There was a welcome return for Julie Dawid who played a couple of weeks ago. This young lady from London entertained with a smile on her face with bittersweet tales of love lost. She gets better every time she plays and is a regular at Kin, a music/poetry/book reading evening that runs fortnightly upstairs at the Café Royal, which is worth checking out. In the style of a female Nick Drake, she started with a song (“In The Ground”?) about that eternally favourite subject of songwriters i.e. death. We were treated to a song, “I Wish You Wonderful Things”, she’d only ever performed at her brother’s wedding, a very touching song, and I felt privileged that Julie played it on our night. On “My Garden” – a “back to the planet” song – she was accompanied by Nelson on bongoes. Her song “City Dreams” is perhaps the best, a song about her home village of London and it flows very nicely indeed.
The raffle was then drawn and Mrs. Trip Fontaine won the prize – a swanney whistle for her jam sessions with her husband!
Mr. Trip came back on for a couple of numbers and Jim and Nelson also ended with a brace to end the evening.