OOTB IS TEN YEARS OLD THIS WEEK!
And hello once again, one and all. I hope this update finds you well, and ready to party because THIS WEEK Out of the Bedroom is ten years old. To celebrate, we’re having a covers night (ironically!) at The Montague Bar on St Leonards Street, and that’s tomorrow night (Tuesday 1 Nov) at 8pm (with a suggested time of 7:30pm to sign up for a slot, first come first served). This week, for one week only, we’re allowing cover versions, but we particularly want to hear your covers of other OOTB performers’ songs, so you’ve got ONE DAY to learn something if you haven’t already. 🙂 And that’s free admission, tell all your mates, it’ll be a party.
Then on Wednesday 2 Nov at The Voodoo Rooms it’s Secret CDs, featuring Freeloadin’ Frank, Jill Hepburn, Norman Lamont and the Invisible Helpers, and Gordon Ballboy. Definitely a must-see, and it’s only £3 admission! And that’s at 8pm on Wednesday.
Then on Friday 4 Nov we’re having our big OOTB celebration party at Cab Vol on Blair Street, and the performers on Friday will be Fraser Drummond, Ross Galloway, James Whyte, and Caro Bridges. Only £5 admission for that one, but it’s a prompt 7pm start (6:30pm doors) and we won’t be running late because we’ve got a 10pm curfew. Plenty of other stuff will be happening at this event too, by the way, we’ve got one or two surprise floorspots lined up and of course the silver bag o’ dreams!
Huge thanks should go to James Igoe for the Wednesday and Friday events, he really pulled together a whole lot of people from OOTB times past and present and it’s going to be a very satisfying evening as a result I think. Here’s to another ten years!
That’s it for the listings this week, obviously the Ale House open mic is also on on Friday, and the Listening Room at the Blue Blazer on Sunday, and plenty of other things all over Edinburgh, but I can’t list everything here. One thing I will mention again though, is a very nice chap who’s promoting local music on his podcast, here are the details:
Steve Boniface – Labelled Independent, the New Music Podcast. Episode #6 Out Now!
Subscribe to the podcast
Listen to individual episodes
Find links to all our featured Labels, Artists & Events
Donate to the podcast, and win prizes!
And one last thing, for the second week running, we’ve got a review of OOTB! This could become a tradition! So without further ado, I’ll sign off and I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Daniel Davis, our chairman, and reviewer for last week.
Calum Carlyle
Out of the Bedroom
OOTB 447 Tuesday 25/10/2011 The Montague
Performers: Roisin Russell, Jill Hepburn, Sam Porter, Tau Boo, Jimi Lee, Richard Bale, Dale Radley, Damian Casey-Boyce, Jamie Hey, Ross Galloway, Paul Chilver
As I arrive at The Montague, the room is packed, which is always a good sign. Not only that but many old-timers have crawled out of the woodwork tonight. Indeed I’m thinking that the woodwork must be pretty empty tonight.
Roisin Russell
I arrive just as Roisin is finishing her set; don’t berate me, I’m not on the rota to review I just fancied writing one on the spur of the moment. All I can say about Roisin is that she is a great songwriter with the voice of an angel.
Jill Hepburn
Jill goes back to the early days of OOTB and was one of the nominations for performing at the 10th anniversary next week. The friendly twang-buzz of a banjo is always a nice change and always puts a smile on my face. Jill’s set is an exercise in relaxed competence, both in playing and vocal delivery. It is a treat to hear her excellent if infrequently heard talents.
Sam Porter
Its the first time I’ve seen Sam – so welcome if it is your debut. Sparkly finger-picking underpins his first number. His first lines however have me mentally reaching for the EQ. He has a brassy tone that says whiney american (although the song is not) – think teenage dirtbag and you’ll be in the ball-park. You need to open your throat. However as he sings more gently it warms up and improves. Although I’ve not seen him perform before he is obviously experienced and full of confidence. His second song reveals a really sweet falsetto that should feature in more songs. His last is a stompy bluesy 4-chord affair and is more of a character piece with incredibly rhythimic delivery possibly with a carribean/jack johnson influence. Nice set.
Tau Boo
The newly behatted Craig now comes with chorus and delay pedals, just in case you hadn’t already been pulled into his hypnotic tones it just got more atmospheric. His deep velvet diaphonous delivery of intensely personal songs washes over and through you. If there’s an album of this material it may well replace your current 3am album of choice. Lose yourself in the timewarping beauty of ‘Reverie’.
Jimi Lee
Jimi plays something that frankly looks like a game-boy and sounds little more sophisticated than Super Mario Brothers. He is accompanied by random tambourine from a stranger. There are no lyrics so its hard to comment on the songwriting, and I can’t really tell whether its all programmed or whether there is a performance aspect to it. The tunes are fine-enough examples of that genre if one of the least everyday experiences at a songwriter’s night. That’s for sure. If you want an audience it will need more than a guy sitting down with a game-boy – so have a think about this if live performance is your market. If lo-fi dance and dubstep are your thing he is looking for people to collaborate – so get in touch.
Richard Bale
This appears to be his first time at OOTB and possibly his first time playing in public. It’s a little scrappy and nervous, but this is what OOTB is all about and we’re very glad that you brought your songs out of the bedroom and into public performance. Keep coming and you’ll be surprised how quickly you improve. His first song is about a girl he has been obsessing over – we’ve all been there.
Dale Radley (Featured Act)
Dale has recently finished her studies and it’s great to see her playing in public again. She has brought with her an all-star band of some of the finest musicians inEdinburgh. There’s Fraser Drummond on sax and whistles improvising hooks and solos like there’s no tomorrow. John Farrell adds all those chords and flourishes that rest of us can’t reach on guitars, Ross Galloway on conga, and Stuart Clark supplying his trademark lazy-grooves on cajon. The set is a rip through Dale’s greatest hits and despite the group never having rehearsed together it just works in the way that quality musicians can communicate. In my book one of the finest featured slots of the year.
Damian Casey-Boyce
His first is an improvised song all about OOTB, The Montague and JY. We’re flattered – you can come back.
Damian is definitely the most rock ‘n’ roll performer of the night. Sharp, grooving and confident. We like.
Jamie Hay
Jamie is one of the success stories of OOTB this year. When he first came along some months back, he visibly shook with nerves and struggled to get his songs across. Each time he performs he just gets better, and more confident; last night there were no signs of nerves at all. Well done sir! Oh, and Calum covets your guitar.
Ross Galloway
I can never quite put my finger on why his songs work. They are not over-complicated and nor is his playing, but it is simply beautiful. Tonight it’s just a short set from Ross, but he’s one of the performers at the 10th anniversary celebrations next week so come along and get your fill there.
Paul Chilver
He’s waited all night to perform, and Paul finishes off the night admirably. He’s relatively new to OOTB, having come to us via The Listening Room, and he’s certainly developing. Looking forward to hearing Paul’s future appearances at OOTB.
Compere: Calum Carlyle
Sound: Malcom McLean
Review: Daniel Davis