Shawn Colvin - University of Calgary 1993

 From the vaults: found this unpublished review of Shawn Colvin at the University of Calgary in 1993 when I was on a trip in western Canada. There were two handwritten versions and a typewritten which may have been submitted for publication. It remained unpublished until now. 

Looking fragile under heavy lidded eyes Shawn Colvin takes to the stage to face a boisterous audience at the University of Calgary. She leans on the band for the opening couple of numbers while she finds her level and then picks her way through her repertoire delighting the audience with selections from the albums Fat City and Steady On. The up-tempo 'Round of Blues' gives way to the delicate 'Shotgun Down the Avalanche' as she silences an initially noisy crowd with her skill.

Years of club dates have not only taught Colvin how to capture an audiences attention it has also seen her develop into a fine guitar picker. she is ably assisted by her band, particularly the excellent Steuart Smith formerly sideman to both Rodney Crowell and Roseanne Cash. His playing is unobtrusive but you're always aware that he is doing more than just playing guitar. T-Bone Wolk is a revelation. For some time I'd been under the delusion that T-Bone Wolk was the bass plying pseudonym of T-Bone Burnett. This delusion is nixed when a tall be-hatted Texan* with a Hofner bass arrived on stage and proceeded to play the most melodic bass I've ever heard - truly sublime!

In recognition that she is playing in Canada Colvin includes a couple of Canadian friendly covers in the Band's 'Look out Cleveland' and 'Restless Heart' by Steve Earle - though a Texan Earle is something of a star in Canada. The reaction more than suggests that the audience appreciates her consideration and when it finally comes time to call it a night the shouts for more are certainly for real.

Shawn Colvin has something very special in the combination of songs, voice and music which live she builds slowly, almost stealthily until you're hooked and you don't want her to stop. Wonderful.

*Postscript: above is what I wrote at the time word for word including the continuing T-Bone Wolk delusion - he was not a Texan (T-Bone Burnett is a tall Texan) but from Yonkers, New York. I saw Shawn Colvin live one more time in 1994 in Edinburgh at La Belle Angele. Same sublime and at times fragile performance. I think that performance prompted me to marshal the thoughts I'd scribbled down on her Calgary performance into a presentable review. I turned down the chance to meet her afterwards. I still hold Fat City and Steady On as two of my favourite albums. 

  https://shawncolvin.com/

Because the Night - in praise of impromptu gigs

There is something to be said for spur of the moment gig going. Yeah it's great the anticipation of a gig weeks or months away, the build up, listening the artists in preparation, finding out if friends are going. But just going out and catching live music must be one of the greatest thrills for music lovers. It is for me anyway.

So last night with nothing planned I'm scrolling Facebook and spot a post from my gig buddy Stewart saying Humbird and Luke Callen are playing a popup gig at the Pianodrome in the Old Royal High School in Edinburgh. 

I'd missed Humbird when she played the Waverley Bar in July - like last night finding out a few short hours before the gig. I was not going to miss her a second time. 

Bit of background, I'd seen Humbird (the stage name of Siri Undlin) when she was part of Rachel Ries 'Her Crooked Heart' project, a super group of talented female performers a few years ago in a packed bar in Leith. I'd been following her on Bandcamp ever since thanks to hand written cards they handed out that night with their socials and music links.

I arrived at the 'Resonancy Bar' ordered a refreshing pint of Bellfield IPA and bumped into Stewart, quick catch-up and then we met Siri and Luke who were friendly, easy company. then it was show time.

The set was short, just twenty minutes. A traditional folk song, a Dolly Parton cover then one original apiece - Minneapolis for Luke and North Country Girl for Siri (inspired by the Dylan, but from the North Country Girl's perspective) finishing with a Blaze Foley cover. It was the distillation of a popup gig - this is what we do, here are our influences. If indie folk Americana were manifested in a punk gig this would be it. Here we are.

All too soon it was over.

Postscript: Luke and Siri had tickets for the main show next door in the Pianodrome and said they'd pop out and tell us what it was like. Siri was as good as her word and we joined a packed house as standing latecomers to catch part of the set by the Brothers Gillespie from Northumbria - high English folk harmonies that were a revelation for me. The headliner was Kate in the Kettle a fiddle, viola and cello trio whose take on folk was mesmerising in its scope verging on classical and jazz to these ears.

There should always be room in your life for impromptu gigs, be open to the possibilities and be prepared to be startled.

humbirdmusic.com/ 

lukecallen.com/

pianodrome.org/

A Saturday afternoon with Sierra Ferrell, Assai Records, Edinburgh

Music in a room, what can be better. A crowd of strangers, mainly, joined in the communal appreciation of an artist a performer sharing their songs, their music.

So it was on Saturday when I ventured out to Assai Records in Edinburgh to catch an instore performance from Sierra Ferrell a rising star of new old country (ok I've coined that myself). Her songs sound like they have always been in existence. They haven't, they are new and come from this sparky West Virginian and conjure up a country sound that is not Nashville, now or I would contend then.

I turned up early and a summer downpour saw me take shelter in the Blue Blazer, a howf with many memories. I wasn't alone with my thought for long. My music buddy Stewart arrived, like me sheltering from the summer rain. We shared our pints and talked music.

And then it was the priority queue for Assai and the wonder that is Sierra Ferrell, playing as a trio with fiddle/mandolin, her guitar, and double bass, beautiful harmonies. Perfect for this small space. The appreciative audience enjoying every precious minute, gamely joining in in the audience participation on 'At the End of the Rainbow'. The show was everything is needed to be, an intimate audience with a wonderful new artist far from home in Scotland (enjoying the beer) finding a warm enthusiastic welcome.

For me it was a bonus to be there - I was going to miss her show in Glasgow the next night. If you haven't heard Sierra's music don't miss out. A packed record shop in Edinburgh will testify to that.

Losing an Election is not as simple as A,B,C

 In May I stood for re-election to the City of Edinburgh Council. I didn't make the cut for the fourth seat in the multi-member Leith Walk ward. These are my thoughts on that result and how it came about.

Elections are complex events with none more so than Scottish Council elections using single transferable vote to elect 3 or 4 councillors per ward.

As a recent unsuccessful candidate, I perhaps have more to complain about. I ran in a 4 member ward as one of two SNP candidates. It was a ward where the SNP had successfully achieved the goal of electing two councillors at the previous elections in 2017. There is strong SNP support in the ward that would indicate that two SNP candidates could be elected. We also had two active and responsive incumbent councillors standing for re-election. It should have been a forgone conclusion, but it wasn’t.

I missed out at the final stage when a wave of transfers from the unsuccessful Conservative candidate swept the LibDem candidate to success, winning the fourth seat.

What were the reasons for my loss? The easy answer would be to just blame the alphabet. I’ve featured in two newspaper articles that have followed that line. The second article included quotes from me which backed up the hypothesis that the alphabet was to blame. Taking that line makes me sound a bitter loser and downgrades the quality of my running mate Amy McNeese-Mechan who thoroughly deserves her seat on the Council based on the work she has done for the Leith Walk ward since her election in 2017. I did outline to the journalist the other factors that came into play but his starting point was the alphabet and I guess the other significant factors were seen as peripheral and therefore unimportant. 

So what were the other factors that affected the outcome?

The SNP have recently taken the highest share of first preference votes in the Leith Walk ward with the Greens not too far behind making those two parties the dominant players in the ward elections. They are most likely to get their candidates successfully elected. The Greens got their candidate Susan Rae elected comfortably at the first stage and I benefitted from transfers. Amy McNeese-Mechan was also elected at the first stage and again I benefitted from transfers. These transfers put me back into play pushing me into fourth place. I remained there until the wave of Conservative transfers secured the fourth seat for the LibDem candidate.

While any comparison of the 2022 result with the 2017 result does show that the alphabet bias was more pronounced this time around the reasons are likely to be a complex mix of factors.

If it wasn’t entirely down to the alphabet, then what were the other factors? The messaging of the campaign is important – did our campaign get the ‘how to vote for an SNP team’ message out clearly to our supporters and those inclined to vote SNP? How strong was the appeal for second preferences? Did we have right mix of leaflets and letters to communicate that message effectively? Did we get the ward split wrong for this election? A different ratio or split may have worked better. Did our vote share hold up? There was a drop of 5.37% in the SNP share in Leith Walk this time which could be as a result of the quality of our campaign, weariness of voters especially with a major infrastructure project Edinburgh Trams running through the heart of the ward, even the number of candidates standing - there were 12 the second highest in the city. The drop in vote share will have deflated the votes for both of our candidates and is significant as the lower the overall vote share the less likely getting two candidates elected becomes. The drop in vote share may well have been the key factor as had the SNP vote share maintained 2017 levels it is possible that my first preference total may have been above the LibDem candidate  and my running mate would have had more transfers to share with me. Could the sequence of candidates being elected or excluded have changed to result? Maybe, certainly the Conservative transfers to LibDem proved decisive.  A higher turnout may (there was a 3.1% drop in turnout in the ward in 2022)  have given more helpful transfers from Green and SNP voters that would have pushed me across the line. In the end STV multi-member elections come down to percentages and shares of percentages. You can follow the result here (thanks to Indylive and Democracy Club).

In the end I was just not successful in my bid to be re-elected. There is risk in every election, and it is a risk every candidate must bear. I accept the outcome. I wish all of the successfully elected councillors for Leith Walk the very best for the next five years representing a varied and busy ward.

2022 full results https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/download/15127/ward-12-leith-walk-2022-election-results

Ballot Box Scotland published their breakdown here https://ballotbox.scot/le22/edinburgh#ward12

Memorial/Elanor Moss/Jack Hinks - Sneaky Pete's

 A Tuesday night gig in my favourite Edinburgh venue Sneaky Pete's. I'd been waiting to see Memorial again ever since their support slot with Courtney Marie Andrews in Glasgow at the tail end of last year. 

As is often the case at Sneaks there were two support acts. There were lots of acoustic guitars.

First up was Jack Hinks, I think formerly of the Jack Hinks Band, but tonight solo. I missed the beginning of his set and only caught the last three songs. One was about Los Angeles and how even though it's big it is also small. I liked that and the idea behind the song. I'll look out for him again, I think he's local (though maybe not to Los Angeles).

I'd never heard of Elanor Moss before. I don't know why. It's a complete mystery to me what with my liking for women's voices and sad girls with acoustic guitars. She was a revelation. Very assured songs, a beautiful voice and cheery between song chat. She's right though the songs are sad and it takes a brave performer who finishes their set with a song about a serial killer, in this case an Italian woman who only killed men who'd wronged her. Seems fair. I'm going to stick my neck out and say we'll be hearing more of Elanor Moss. I certainly want to hear more and probably will.

Memorial could be a goth band but they're not. It's the name. They're two blokes who sing and play acoustic guitars so not goths though the songs are sad. They have a way with harmonies and the interplay of their voices at times conjures up both the brightness and the melancholy of Simon and Garfunkel. That likeness doesn't dominate but is there and I was intrigued that they were going to play a cover of a song by 'Garfunkel' one where he hadn't used harmonies but they had added harmonies. Unfortunately that song remained a mystery as the venue informed them they were over time and had only one song to go so they switched to one of their own. They have a album to sell and their own songs to sing. They do that extremely well. I don't know if Memorial are going to be big but if you like keenly observed lyrics and really lovely harmonies then this is for you and anyone who likes the same. Which should be a lot of people. I'll be keeping my ears open for more of their music that's a certainty.   

The Bonnevilles at the Banshee Labyrinth 4th February 2022

This gig was a release - a release from Covid, a release from the isolation that the pandemic brought . This was a release from all of that anxiety. As Andy said 'What the **** was all that about?' 

The Bonnevilles are primal - a scream of the purest rock'n'roll that takes it to the maximum every time. I've never seen them and thought they were better last time. Andy and Chris always hit their mark and serve up a brand of garage blues punk that is such a full and joyous sound that is at once a nod to the past but a clear full steam ahead with a noise that is astonishing when you realise this is made by just two guys from Lurgan. Do yourself a favour catch the Bonnevilles live sometime. Really. Do.

Support was from the sublime Mudlow who produce a swamp or estuary interpretation of of punk blues and all the better for that. They created a joyous (that word again) racket that set the scene nicely for the Bonnevilles maelstrom to follow.

Suffice to say a very, very good night.

Native Harrow live at the Hug & Pint Feb 1st 2022

Native Harrow have been my first gig of the year twice. Last time was in 2020 as the first in a clutch of gigs before the Covid lockdown paused live music. To be fair this gig was supposed to be in December 2021 but was postponed due the omicron variant.

It was a great way to open my gig year - a favourite band performing in the cosy cellar that is the Hug & Pint performance space. I have my favourite spot to stand so was set for a good night. And it was. Drawing mainly on their last album 'Closeness' - apt title in these socially distanced times and for an album that came out during the first lockdown. 

In their performance the songs seemed to me to have a tenderness, a softness that spoke of the distance that had been put between the band and the audience by the forced shutdown, and false starts of the last two years. That gentleness of tentatively getting to know one another again suited the songs made for an evening where Native Harrow seemed as assured as I've ever seen them. The music Devin and Stephen make together evidences as much as it hides of its influences and presents a music that is recognisable but also unique and quite itself. 

A wonderful start to my gig year.