Out Of The Bedroom Review 22/01/09

Al Young.

Al Young opens the night with a very rhythmic guitar riff, he entwines interesting vocal melodies and some unusual chord progressions, creating an edgy sound which captures everyone’s attention. His three song slot is one of the best I’ve heard from him, definitely a good way to start the evening.

Eddie

Eddie really caught my attention tonight with his enchanting combination of acoustic rock and beautiful Scottish melodies. His story-like feel and great use of the fret board definitely made an impression on me. I hope to hear him again soon.

Douglas (debut)

Douglas’s toe tapping rhythm kick started his slot. I was particularly impressed by the way he used simple chords to such great effect. This catchy sound with well sung, upbeat rock melodies hit a nice contrast with the second song, which was softer and included some really nice imagery – “tapping on the windows”. He maintains his rocky style but now with a hint of soul. I hope to hear Douglas again after his very impressive debut.

Andrew (debut)

Andrew is another out of the bedroom debut. He shifts the genre slightly with his rhythmic slot, which encourages a lot of swaying in the audience. He used some nice lyrics. “I wove in the fabric” and created a nice folky, country, bold but yet relaxed feel. He seemed very confident and his performance was definitely one to remember due to his individual style, which I felt, captured an Elvis-like sound and brought it into the 21^st century.

CBQ

CBQ changed the sound again with his melancholic but sweet voice. “ I glanced at my watch, it was time”, his gentle voice flowed through the audience as everyone contently followed his story. He used a good bit of repetition then crept up the fret board creating an ambient sound, which I particularly liked. It would be great to hear from him again, maybe, even with some harmonies.

Cameron

Cameron’s mellow acoustic sound and very nice combination of individual chord progressions really stuck with me tonight. He had some nice leaps in the melody, which made them very appealing. I liked his style, rock with a hint of jazz, but yet somehow it sounded like there was a bit of Muse in there too. Voices on the rooftops definitely did not seem out of sequence. A few very nice songs indeed.

Nelson

I’m loving you Nelson. “You were taking me to your secret place”. His bouncy rhythms and lovely catchy melodies really made me smile this evening. His use of word painting with a slight nursery rhyme feel was a nice contrast to the first song which was dark and mysterious, but yet left everyone engaged, as his spoken words crept through everyone’s minds and brought them all into dreams of their own. If only more conversations had such an interesting French undertone and wonderful clichés.

Indescribable. Looking forward to hearing him again.

Bobby

Bobby must have been the most entertaining performer of the evening. His brilliant use of humour and local dialect captivated everyone in the room. “buyin stolen goods in portabelly” “sleepin wi your brothers wife” and “spraying slagans on the walls” were only a few of some of very funny lyrics this comedy songwriter has to offer. His well-played guitar, confident vocals and good use of pauses really help build the atmosphere and made this a very good performance indeed. He left us “pishing in the snow”.

Lindsay

I always seem to lose myself in Lindsay’s words. Enchanting vocals are flowing gently with some nicely picked guitar riffs, followed by some well delivered strumming. She creates a very mystical atmosphere with bouncy bass lines, chromatic ostinatos and extremely unusual chords, but yet her songs are easy to listen to. She makes time stand still. Awesome pinky action. One of my all time favourite songwriters. Though to be honest, she must have some issues with bananas, she talks about them a little too much. Ah well, at least she is veggie and makes a good cup of tea. That’s all that’s important I guess, never mind. Her CD has some good songs and very cool artwork, everyone needs to purchase it, even if they don’t like the tea.

Nicky (written by some random)

I ate bananas while Nicky was playing. “she has one of the most powerful voices on the scene” says Mr Pugh. He’s right! “Rain” was a bit rubbish, especially at the start but the rest weren’t too bad so its fine. I liked the intro for Rain though and I got to hear it twice. Nicky bellows it out with a voice of defying her years, accompanied by trade-mark “made up” chords leaping about crazily, but somehow it all meshes in a beautiful angst-ridden musical journey through, er, the rain.

“between the floorboards” starts quiet then explodes in volume. “nothing seems real when we tie ourselves down” well except bananas. I like this song, I’ll be singing it for weeks. The last song is that one I love with the jaggy chords and the “wooah” bits.

By the way, I only had half a banana, sliced up for breakfast with my muesli.

Jerry (debut)

Jerry keeps a good beat the whole time, he seems relaxed but yet he grasps every word and delivers a very strong sound. “holes in his shoes” , maybe there are, but there definitely aren’t holes in his music. He used some really nice crescendos at the end of the phrases which really show off his tone and how beautiful his voice is. He is another one of tonight’s performers who uses unusual chords to good effect, which I find particularly appealing. A promising Debut to Out of the Bedroom. I’m sure I’m not the only one who will eagerly await his return.

Cameron

“Snow falls down, light descends” Cameron has a really lovely sound and some particularly nice lyrics. “All I think of is you and curious things you do” He has some good contrasts in guitar with a bit of strumming and a little bit of finger picking. His voice carries the song well, this combined with his guitar, keeps everyone interested. His easy listening style is enhanced by his long beautiful signature melodies. I’d love to hear more of this talented musician.

John Fink

John uses a mixture of different chords, which jump around to create a very catchy rhythm. His punchy and rocky style contains busy melodies, which are combined with some nice long powerful notes with lots of charisma. Everyone is left glued to him while he turns out sequence after sequence of very catchy melodies, reminding me bands like INME. He has a very nice individual leap in his melodies, that make his songs very distinctive. I also remember being thoroughly impressed by this songwriter before Christmas, so if he has a Myspace, I know I probably won’t be the only one who’d like to check it out.

Review Written by Nicky Carder 22/01/09

Nyk

Nyk starts off the show with an uncharacteristically soft tune. He promises to plunge us into the deepest abyss then pull us out again with his second, more Stoddart-like tune. I did prefer the second of the two but it was nice to see him showing a bit of range.

Dave

I have to be honest that when Dave first got on stage I wasn’t sure his music would be my cup of tea. However, he pleasantly surprised me. His last minute set was original and well constructed (especially since most of the songs were finished on the train on the way here). He has a great range in his voice, demonstrated by the falsetto at the end. I hope to see more of Dave’s stuff in the future.

Roddy Renfrew

Roddy uses our left handed guitar for his set tonight. His first number is a toe tapping blues number called ‘We have just one chance’ which warmed up the crowd. I love his idea for his next song, which was a spoof country song where the man quits drinking and gets his wife back. Give me this over a country tune any day! He finished on a comedy break-up number called ‘Something must be wrong with my baby’….well obviously!

Paul Hughes

Paul assures us that he doesn’t intend to bring us cheer with his set and will stick to the usual singer-songwriter melancholy. His first two songs ‘Its over’ and ‘I just want to go home’ were true to this. Beautiful songs sung in his sumptuous tone. He apologises for his last song as he doesn’t like it very much……begs the question ‘why play it then?’ But I guess trying out songs is what this night is all about. As it turns out, I really enjoyed his first dabble into reggae. I’m not convinced it was exactly this genre but it had a pleasant beat with a bit of added whistling, which always gets a thumbs up in my books.

Paul Gladwell

As our compere pointed out, Paul is the second in our trilogy of Paul’s this evening and he doesn’t let down the name. I enjoyed his first song but I felt the lyrics were a little cliché for me. I started to feel the same about the second song ‘Great Expectations’, but as he plucked his way through the melody and sung us the love song, it started to come across as really genuine and I warmed to him. He ended his set with a much more dark song with lyrics ‘the end is nigh’……all very serious.

Paul Gilbody

Finally, the end to our exciting trilogy of Paul and our Featured Act for this evening. Paul is a big player here in the Edinburgh music scene but I have only seen him a few times. I think everyone in the room was looking forward to this.

He bravely starts off with a new song, which doesn’t have a title yet. It was kind of a folky acoustic tune and I really enjoyed it. He is clearly a very experienced and accomplished songwriter, as it had everything a good song needs. Perfect start.

Next Paul introduces us to his percussionist for the evening Mac Lamont, who accompanies him on his song ‘Ricochet’. I’m not quite sure what Mac was playing but it looked like a kind of clay vase with a hole in it. Nevertheless, the whole article of Mac’s playing and Paul’s funky beat really gets the crowd going and wanting more. Just to show us how eclectic he is Paul transports us to Asia with his Kashmir Valley-inspired ‘200 miles’. He is backed by Udit Duseja, who adds the perfect touch to this evocative number.

There is no doubt that by now everyone in the audience is very impressed. Yet, not as impressed as I was when Mac pulled out his hang (no, this is not a euphemism for something rude!). The hang is one of my favourite instruments. It looks like two woks stuck together and has the most amazing, haunting sound. This went perfectly with Paul’s song ‘Quicksand’, which was a moody atmospheric song. I love the diversity this guy brings to the show.

Paul definitely brought his entourage tonight and next up is Jane Seawright (Sorry if I spell it wrong) doing backing vocals. This is possibly my favourite song ever! Called ‘She Loves Sushi’, Paul and Jane bop around on stage to lyrics such as ‘The fox with the bento box’. That to me is just genius lyric writing! Topped with Mac on the tambourine, I could have listened to that all night, as long as I had some sushi to go with it!

‘Tell me what I’m missing’ is Paul final song. Its another toe-tapper, which starts off quite similar in style to the sushi song but ended in a crescendo of beat boxing by Paul that begs the question…. ‘Is there anything this guy can’t do?’.

Paul delighted and wowed the crowd from start to finish with his eclectic slot. In fact everyone loved it so much he was forced into an encore, which was great.

Colin

Who else makes their own instruments? Oh that’s right, no one! That means, for me, Colin is already on a higher level. Tonight he played one of his very fine, handmade guitars. His tunes flutter between funny and poignant. I particularly enjoyed the song ‘Remember your Angina’. After a quick trip to the ‘bracing Skegness’ he finishes on ‘Before you go’. He apologises as he feels the lyrics are a bit down-beat. I think he’ll be ok with this since he is playing to a room of singer-songwriters! I enjoyed his set immensely and can’t wait to see what instrument he’ll be playing next time.

Johnny Pugh

I’ve not seen Johnny play in ages so it is a great pleasure to see him tonight. Unfortunately, due to some technical hitches his set wasn’t as smooth as he hoped. But Johnny, ever the professional, kept going throughout, and I really enjoyed his set. His first song ‘Bigger things’ is a great song to start with as its got a great uplifting chorus that set a perfect tone for his set. However, it was his final song Inertia Acoustic that really stole the show. When Johnny gets into the chorus he takes the whole audience with him and silenced the room. Simply Beautiful.

Beggar Girls

The name was a bit misleading tonight as one of the girls was replaced with a boy but we were still treated to a set in true beggar girls fashion. I do enjoy a bit of accordion, mainly because it just looks so mind-blowingly difficult to play. Their sound is undoubtedly very different, especially here amongst singer-songwriters, which made is a refreshing set. Tonight, however I felt that the songs were all quite similar in tone and sound. Perhaps this is just a result of the instrument combination but I would have preferred a bit of variation.

Ross Neilson

With his distinct voice Ross definitely offers something different to the night. I do, however, have an overwhelming urge to offer this man a throat sweet as soon as he comes off stage because it sounds like he’s really stretching his voice with each song. I’m not sure if this is intentional or just his style but it concerns me a little. Unfortunately I feel that this over-shadows his songs a bit. I did nevertheless think his second song showed potential. I also feel he needs to explore the frets a wee bit more to expand his songs.

Bobby Nicolson

Our first (and last) newby of the night.

This end slot tends to be the last one that anyone wants. This is usually due to the fact that people are either leaving or have had a few too many beers to really pay attention. Therefore, you need to be really entertaining to hold people in. This is exactly what he did. With confidence and great stage presence he captivated people into his first song ‘Things to do when nothing’s on the telly’. Comedy wee song with some apt political jibes thrown in. Suddenly the flagging audience was back again. He kept this going with his numbers song and ended with the song ‘its going my way’. Full of energy and a perfect ending.

Nyk Stoddart- What better way to burgeon in the New Year at OOTB than with the musical idiosyncrasies of Nyk Stoddart. Tonight, we are given a rendition of the new “Calypso Song”, complete with Russian Hat…how fitting. Over consistent strumming, Nyk adopts a remarkable wavering singing style, singing “This is a surreal moment”. Quite. Good to see Nyk is in fine fettle at the beginning of 2009, a crowd pleasing performance as has come to be expected.

Lorraine McCauley- Lorraine starts with a song written in January last year. The alternating chords evoke a picture of bleak desolation, reflecting the month it was written in. Her voice sounds distant, and the Irish inflections lend her singing an air of folk authenticity when she sings of “the wars I’ve been waging”. Really engaging. Her second, “Late in the Darkest Corners”, sets its tone with the syncopated picking of minor chords, and pedal notes. “I will be disappointed” laments Lorraine, before a particularly anguished chorus. Her last is a new untitled song. The guitar line is soothing and underlies the vocal line elegantly, which sings of loneliness, and despairingly asks “What are you waiting for?” of the unknown person who can save her from it. For some reason when I listened to it, I thought “New Year” could be quite a good title for it, not just because of when it was written, but also because of the themes of recalling the past and looking forward. Just an idea. Cracking set.

Lorraine McCauley at OOTB 8 Jan 2009

Pip Robinson – Unfortunately, tonight is going to be Pip’s last performance at OOTB for quite time some time as she prepares to leave us for the bright lights of London. To remind us all what we’ll be missing, Pip begins with “Corners”, a dark brooding song of change. Pip is as confident as I have seen her in the performance, controlling the dynamics of the song expertly. “Footprints” is a more upbeat number, with rhythmic slaps on the guitar setting the tempo. A catchy chorus is countered by the natural imagery of the verses, strung together by the smooth timbre of the vocal. A really laid back relaxing song, well suited to Pip’s voice. Her last “Days”, is a nostalgic journey, with lyrics of mistakes made, and loves lost. This performance was really enchanting; the gentle finger-picking really complements the delicacy of the lyrics, and ensuring the absolute attention ! of the audience. A really fine way to bid farewell to OOTB for a wee while at least.

Hannah O’Reily- Hannah begins with “Vertigo”, displaying her vocal mastery in the chorus, singing “Damn you, I used to sleep”, with melodious acrobatics. As anguished an ode to insomnia as you are likely to hear. “Delicate” moves effortlessly from the subject of restlessness, to vampire sado masochism… as you do. The song is full of intelligent chord voicings, and the vocal line is seductive as Hannah sings of “laying me down”. Captivating stuff. . Hannah ends with “Strange Friend”, a fascinating idea for a song, conveying a sense of incongruity through the means of a conversation with a crow. “I’ve rearranged myself for you”, she despairs, and again her vocal virtuosity is on show, with bluesy “ohhhs” and other embellishments. An enjoyable set with innovative songwriting on show, and proficient performance.

Calum Carlyle – Calum’s first, “Weather in Melbourne”, is a funky acoustic rock –fest, the sliding barre chords lending an untamed element to the rhythm. An explosive start to the set. Following this, we hear “Sleepy Time”, the second song of the evening dedicated to insomnia. Some nice acoustic noodling is followed by lazy sounding chords. This is contrasted by a harsh sounding middle eight. One could almost imagine this as a song that the Beatles could have done, (in the vein of Golden Slumbers I suppose).Enjoyable material. His last, “Don’t Go Away” sees Calum go into drop- D mode, with thick luscious chords. The unexpected key change in the chorus grants the lyrics a sense of grandeur, as he sings “I’m safe here”. Another strong set from Calum.

Alan Young – Next, we have a squashee slot from Alan. The chords slide up and down the fretboard, lending a dreamlike, psychedelic feel to the song, supplemented by the theme of the lyrics. The words are perhaps a little inaccessible, however this may be the point. Anyway, its refreshing to hear someone with as distinctive a style as Alan.

Lee Patterson + David Williams (Featured Act) – I have been looking forward to hearing Lee play for quite some time, and tonight he does not disappoint, giving the audience a master class in performing and songwriting. We know that we are in for a treat from the off, as the first song sees Lee stroke the guitar with a violin bow, producing an atmospheric layer of sound with intelligently used hammer-ons. This is complemented by the mystical lyrics: “Siren you are a mercy on me”. This develops into some beautiful interplay between Lee’s strumming and David’s intricate guitar work, as Lee sings about an affirmation of love. “The Captain and the Pony” is a real foot tapper, and gives David any excuse he may have needed to do crazy things on the fretboard: I seem to remember one particularly outrageous scale being used at the end of the song. Lee exhibits excellent mic control, in the louder! vocal parts, and keeps the listener intrigued by the story in the lyrics. Lee performs alone on his third, a jaunty number founded upon a descending bass line, and engaging runs between chords, showing the audience that he too can run about admirably on the fretboard. “I’m not dead yet, I’m just a little unwell”, he sings. His forth which I guess was called “Long time Coming”, again tells a story of doom in the verse, before a change in the mood in the chorus as Lee sings “I’m coming home”. The contrast between the verse and chorus keeps the listener interested, but the two are linked seamlessly, offering evidence of Lee’s skilled songwriting. This is followed by “There’s me and the sea”, a song about walking along the beach with some great lyrics on show, with lines about horizons coming undone, and other idyllic imagery. On this song in particular, the performance is aided by the fact that Lee! does not need to put on the cheery disposition that the song&! rsquo;s delivery requires, as he is clearly enjoying himself so much playing live. However, lest we forget that Lee can also do ‘nasty’ music as well, as he finishes with a rock and roll romp, with some hilariously bawdy lyrics: “The things you do with fruit/ I wish you’d to me”, being a case in point. This explodes into distorted thrash, which creates havoc at the sound desk. Really good to get a glimpse of the gutsy performance that Lee is reputed for, in addition to the serene acoustic numbers we heard tonight. Inspirational set from both players.

David Maxwell – A semi debutant if you will, David begins with “Can’t we go up”. A quirky chord progression, with a rich sounding guitar, sounds original, and the soft vocal timbre is well suited to the imploring nature of the lyrics. “You’ve got your feet, in the Water of Leith” is a dark observational piece: “Laugh at drunks in the street/ At least they act the way they feel”. Has an almost Leonard Cohen feel to it, in both the sound and delivery. His last, “Killer” was my favourite of the set. The guitar is funereal, maintaining the dark mood, established by the second song of the set. “Sometimes love just falls apart”: Ain’t that the truth. In general, I thought David was adept in creating ambience with his music, which is an enviable ability.

Cloudland Blue Quartet- Good to see CBQ back at OOTB, although this is the first time that I’ve seen him. “We Drove”, is a hauntingly minimalistic narrative. I wasn’t entirely sure what the lyrics were about, but lines such as “I’ll see you around/ don’t worry about the money” were suitably evocative. “Please Stay With Us” also had a unique lyrical style, narrating everyday occurrences in song, with an upbeat tempo. An interesting juxtaposition, but I did prefer the slightly more abstract take to lyric writing he adopted in the first song. Nothing wrong with versatility though. “Blend” was a strong finish to the set. Fantastic chord permutations made the three chord progression sound new and refreshing, which is by no means easy. The lyrics speak of blending in with the crowd in the chorus, and there are some absorbing lyrical ideas on show. Hope to hear him at OOTB again soon.

Rosie Nimmo- “Pavlov’s Dog”’s jazzy chord progression gives the song an almost show-tune flavour. It works though, perhaps in part due to the whimsical nature of the lyrics, comparing the unconditional love of a mother with the conditioning of the eponymous hound. Her second is anything but whimsical, a really raw, heartfelt number. “Sometimes there’s no easy answer”, she observes morosely. An honest delivery, of a poignant song. Just so that we don’t feel to blue though, Rosie ends with some good ol’ fashioned audience participation. A devil- may- care song, that probably would have had the audience singing along regardless of the invitation.

Pol Arida – Paul showcases a proficient string tapping technique on his first, whilst singing over harmonics. No doubt, he’s a very talented guitarist, but the playing seemed to take away the focus from the song as a whole. Fantastic guitar work though it must be said. “Get out of Here”, is an angry sounding palm-muted number. Prohibition is the name of the game in the lyrics as Paul sings “Don’t side with those fascist lies again”. This worked well with Paul’s vocal style, as the anarchic tone was delivered authentically. “The Last Song Ever”, has a menacing insistent chord progression. The lyrics are tenacious, as Paul attempts to blow away the back of the room with his vocal. The performance was committed, and I think that it would benefit form the backing of a band. Nevertheless, Paul is a unique performer who brought a different aspect to the night.

Gordon Imrie- The last performer of the night, good to see Gordon bringing some supporters that stayed for the whole night prior to the performance. “No Danger” is a wonderful celebration of egoism. Whilst songs lamenting the loss of love are two- a- penny, it’s really refreshing to hear a song about dishing out the pain. “Respect for you my dear is something that I lack”, in particular was bombastically delivered. “Broken Bones” has a verse that sounds like Athelete, with a catchy chorus which is very much in sync with the style of indie bands at the moment. Memorable stuff. Gordon finishes with the crowd pleasing “Cheerio”, a song about a break up as emancipation. It has a carefree, upbeat hook in the chorus which refused to leave my consciousness for quite some time. A fitting end to a really enjoyable evening at OOTB.

Compere- Rob Sproul Cran

Sound- David O’Hara

Review- Jonny Pugh