I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, Festival Theatre

I hadn't been to a recording of 'Clue' for almost twenty years.  But here I was again.  New chair, new panellists, but same producer and pianist.  Same games, same audeince responses required.  And the same comedy that can leave an audience aching with laughter.

If you don't know what ISIHAC is about then where have you been?  It's been running on Radio 4 since 1972, and this was a recording of episodes five and six of series 81.  The Festival Theatre was sold out within a few days of the show being announced, as are all their appearances.  This is cult attending as well as listening.  

So the format is well worn, predictable, comfortable.  The producer (still John Naismith, who was there for all the shows I have been to before) comes out to do a bit of warming up.  The teams take their seats and tell a joke each.  Tonight we had Rory Bremner, Pippa Evans, Milton Jones and Fred MacAulay.  On comes the regular Chair, Jack Dee, and piano accompanist, the much abused Colin Sell.  Two shows are recorded, one in each half, with more than enough material to be edited down into a tight 30 minutes radio broadcast.

John and Colin were there for all the shows I saw, all those years ago.  The others were new for, sadly, the Chair and regular panellists of those times are dead now, other than Graeme Garden.  But noithing else is new.  The format is the same, the games are the same, and the silliness is identical.  because silliness is what this show is all about, and something the audeince is encourage to particpate in.  Jokes and puns and wordplay.  Songs sung badly.  (Although Evans has a very impressive vocal style.)  The chair's disdain for the teams, the pianist and the audience.  The 'laser dispay board' and the lovely Samantha.  All still there, all still essential elements of the fun.

It goes worng at times, but that just makes it funnier.  There's the odd politcal comment, but nothing too in depth.  The emphasis, the entire ethos, is about fun, laughter and determined silliness.  Long may it contin ue to be so.  A night at a Clue show is a night to treasure, whoever is up on stage.

Blues Afternoon (Lisa Mills, Cinelli Brothers, Stacy Mitchhart), Spiegeltent, George Square, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

 A solo act to get things going.  Mississippi's Lisa Mills belts out blues, gospel and soul, in a mix of original songs and covers.  No finger picking fanciness, but she's an excellent chord guitarist, has a powerful voice that brings a hint of gravel, a heavy punch and a sense of soulfulness, and an engaging smile and personality that makes an audience feel a part of the show.  It's hard work being first on in an early afternoon show, but Mills did a fine job.  With the highlight being a stunning unaccompanied gospel number aided by the audience clapping along.  A ggod staert to the show.

The Cinelli Brothers are a powerful 4 piece band inspired by the Chicago Blues of the sixties and seventies, with R&B, soul and funk influences.  The eponymous siblings are Marco on lead guitar and keyboard, with Allesandro on drums.  They're joined by bassist Stephen Giry and Tom Julian-Jones on guitar and harmonica.

Initial impressions weren't all that encouraging.  Largely unsmiling, little attempt to engage the audience, and a couple of songs that suggested this was little more than a good quality pub band.  But that soon changed.  A longer piece saw three solos from Marco on piano, Julian-Jones on guitar, and Giry's bass.  The first two were decent enough, but not inspiring.  But Giry sparked into life and showed off his feel for the capabilities of the four-string, and his own musical imagination.  How often do you see the spark that lights up a gid being provided by a bass solo?!

Something seemed to click with the entire line up because they were like a different outfit after that.  Effervescent, filled with enjoyment and feeding off one another, they got better and better over the fifty minutes.  Mostly covers, some original material, with a tight rhythm section and strong vocals.  Largely from Marco and Tom, but both the others showed they had decent voices.  Arrangements were smart and the solos improved, keys, guitar and harmonica.  At one point Giry handed his bass over to Marco and played a mean slide guitar, while Allessandro had his chance to shine near the end, with a drum solo lasting a a few minutes.  Which proved to be one of the best of the set, and I was sad to see it come to a close.  

The Cinellis provide rowdy fun with some classy touches.

Even before he reached the stage there was no doubting who the star of the afternoon was.  With an empty spot in the middle of the stage, the drums, bass, keyboard and sax started up, quickly joined by the sound of a wailing blues guitar, and Stacy Mitchhart swaggered in from the back, saying hi to the audience along the way.  Charisma is hard to define but easy to spot.  Mitchhart has an abundance.

He's probably not everyone's cup of tea - a joker, a showman, a flirt, with some questionable attitudes to women being evinced - but he's very much his own man, a larger than life creation of his own making.  While we and the band sweltered in the increasingly humid Spiegeltent, Stacy's fedora and suit jacket remained in place with no ill effects.  As he said, that's what living in Tennessee does for you.  

The set was a mix of blues classics, some original songs, and his inventive arrangements of a Beatles song (Come Together) and a Led Zep rocker (Whole Lotta Love).  Mitchhart played electric guitar, steel guitar, and one of his home-made cigar box three-strings.  Lots of chat, some funny stories, and one very moving tale when he introduced the cigar box.  And plenty of great music.  Mitchhart has a fine blues voice, less distinctive than Mills, but equally powerful and full of inflections.  His guitar playing is at another level though, and we were treated to some wonderful solos.  He's also generous to his band, and everyone got their chance to shine.  Beautiful, soulful sax work, keys with a sixties feel to them, and decent bass and drum solos (albeit not in the same class as the spectacular offerings from the Cinellis).  

But the focus remained with the star of the show, an imaginative musician and great entertainer.  He left the way he came in, walking off through the audience and doing what he does best with his fingers...

Martin Harley, Piccolo, George Square, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

 Harley came out alone to begin with and played a couple of songs on his Hawaiian lap guitar, showing off his slide mastery.  To break us in gently he said, and it was a restful beginning, but with that wailing slide bringing complexity.  Then he was joined by the remainder of the band, Harry Harding on drums and backing vocals, and Rex Horan, a man of considerable hair, on electric bass and backing vocals.  And what Harley called 'the elephant in the room'.  Sitting patiently on it's stand, waiting to play a starring role later in the gig, was Horan's sousaphone, unavoidable in shiny Armitage Shanks white.  

Other than one Tom Waites song, which came with one of Martin's funniest intros, all numbers were Harley compositions, which was both good and bad.  The good was the personal link he had with his material, and the stories that lay behind the writing.  The bad, or maybe less good, was some blandness in the material, with no truly memorable melodies or lyrics.

But that's not to say this wasn't a thoroughly enjoyable 90 minutes. Martin has a a good voice and excellent musical technique.  Not quite in the top rank for imagination, and some of the solos lacked any sense of surprise, but he's a solid professional who is also an excellent entertainer, connecting well with his audience.  A great drum solo from Harding, tons of personality and fun from Horan, and Harley's punchlines make for a great live act.  The perfect warm up for the week and a bit ahead of this year's long awaited festival.

Hannah Rarity, Queen's Hall

 Critics have been giving Rarity's second album, To Have You Near, very positive, and at times effusive, reviews, and this official launch gig showed why and confirmed that she sounds even better live than recorded.  For the first half she was joined on stage by Scott Mackay on drums, Euan Burton playing both upright and electric bass, the wonderful Anna Massie on guitar, and Rarity's long time co-conspirator John Lowrie at the piano.  This set only briefly touched the new material, instead delivering songs from her earlier work, and some fine covers.  Including a gorgeous version of Joni Mitchell's A Case of You, always a good test of range and ability to hit sustained high notes.  Lowrie's sparse accompaniments and jazzy solos a perfect foil to the clarity and purity of Rarity's vocals.

The second half focussed on the new songs, and a string quartet joined the band on stage, to reproduce the lushness of the studio versions.  Led by Seonaid Aitken, who did many of the song arrangements, it featured Kirsty Orton on second violin, Patsy Reid on viola, and the ever smiling Alice Allen on cello.  The album features a mix of Rarity's own compositions, traditional material, and covers from songwriters as diverse as Tom Waits and Boo Hewerdine.  A lot of thought has gone into the arrangements, and into highlighting Rarity's ability to phrase and shape lyrics into her own style.  With one haunting solo from the singer accompanying herself on tenor guitar.  

Hannah is an engaging speaker, self deprecating and highlighting her own mistakes (she jumped the set list at one point), but always amusing and interesting.  She said when her dad first heard the new CD his first comment was "not a happy album then".  And it's true that many of the themes, inevitably inspired by lockdowns and the pandemic, have an underlying sadness.  There are no upbeat tracks, yet the tone is one of hope, of survival, of getting through things.  None more so than the closing number, her version of Davy Steele's Scotland Yet.  Rarity was happy to declare her support for Scottish Independence , a Scotland fee of "the ninnies doon the road" as she put it, and it seemed that most of the audience enthusiastically agreed with her.  It's a song of possibility, of what could and should be the future, and is in tune with the optimism that she brings to even the saddest lyrics.

Highly recommended.

Bill Bailey : En Route to Normal, Playhouse

 Two hours of Bill Bailey and my chest muscles ached.  That's the best possible sign of a good comedy gig.

Of course he walked on to huge applause from a sold out Playhouse audience, desperate for live entertainment, as we still are after the past couple of years.  But he immediately endeared himself further with a five minute rant about eh UKGov cabinet and the bizarre nature of it's occupants.  Truss as the human incarnation of Error 404 struck the perfect note.  He loathed them all, and so does Scotland, so he was on safe territory.  A Boris randomiser popped up from time to time as a reminder.

While his stated primary theme was the return to some kind of post pandemic normal, and the subject did keep cropping up, the show is largely a vehicle for Bailey's surreal imagination and musical inventiveness, kept fresh through audience interaction.  Subjects included saving the Polynesian tree snail, a musical about cockneys climbing Everest, skydiving in Oz with a forgetful fan, adapting pop and rock songs to a ragtime style, a French Eurovision entry and the awkwardness of meeting Chris Martin after slagging him off.  Every story carries the listener into some alternative universe, every musical episode shows off his skills.  There are some deeper moments, on the reality distortion of fame and threats to biodiversity, there if you want to find them.  But the roller-coaster of laughs always remains dominant.

His achievements on Strictly got a mention, and it's clear how much his innate musicality and gift for physical humour must have been assets.  Five stringed instruments, three percussion, three keyboards, a theremin and an iphone.  A tableful of cowbells and an array of car horns.  Music dominates the Bailey universe, and if he doesn't have the greatest of singing voices his diction makes sure the lyrics aren't lost, while his playing is often impressive.  Who couldn't love Nessun  Dorma on cow bells?

I'd love to be able to pick up on some faults, to demonstrate that I was being a critic.  But I was laughing far too much for that.  

 

Andrew Maxwell - Reality, Corn Exchange, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

 Lateral flow tests on the door, meaning they felt comfortable abandoning social distancing inside.  Not sure everyone felt that way...

Yet there was also some joy in being part of a packed out audience once again.  It was clearly even more of a joy for Maxwell, who came on and spent the first minute rejoicing in a situation he'd felt he might never see again!

The past eighteen months of pandemic world provided the bulk of his material, and his sharp and slanted observations gave a fresh take on an already well worn subject.  Maxwell remains as funny and twisted as ever, and was a pleasure to watch.  

Sona Jobarteh, Edinburgh Academy Junior Scholl, Edinburgh International Festival

 An even larger 'polytunnel' for this performance, but just as well organised and socially distanced as the one at Old College, and a fine place to watch live music.  

A four piece band to back up virtuoso kora player Jobarteh, on drums, electric bass, guitar and percussion.  The latter played by one of the world's happiest and most engaging musicians!  West African rhythms, some excellent solos, notably from the guitarist, and Sona's soothing vocals, with a mix of tempos from ethereal to rousing. and with encouragement from the stage for the audience to clap along, and even join in the singing (phonetically of course!).  

The band were joined by Jobarteh's fourteen year old son, already well steeped in the traditions of Gambian music history, and a considerable talent in his own right.  His lead solo playing a kind of wooden xylophone was extremely impressive.

A refreshingly different and inspiring gig, which left the audience buzzing.

Leah MacRae : My Big Fat Fabulous Diary, Multistory, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

 As if the castle backdrop and sparkling sunshine weren't enough, here's MacRae bursting on to the stage to a bit of raucous pop, resplendent in tight fitting pink tartan suit and big grin.  While the framework of the show is hung around entries from her childhood 'diary', that structure is simply a vehicle for her big personality.  Stories, jokes and songs, interacting with the audience, being herself.  It's very funny at times, and, not having heard her before, her singing voice is a big and very pleasant surprise.  A fun and resolutely silly way to spend an hour.

Drever, McCusker, Woomble, Brunton Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

 The trio reunited, and accompanied by McCuskers Irish cousin on harmonium, fiddle and vocals.  They looked delighted to be back together, back in front of a live audience, and joked about their lack of practice time.  You wouldn't have known...

They mostly stuck to weel kent material from their magnificent album Before The Ruin, but each had a chance to perform some of their own solo work too.  Drever on his own sang a couple of songs from his own recent albums, McCusker played a few tunes with his cousin, and Drever joined them to add his accompaniment, while Woomble sang a song from his first solo album.

Great music, plenty of laughs, lots of self deprecating humour.  McCusker is a good storyteller, Woomble laid back, Drever sharp.  A wonderful gig.

Fara, Old College Quad, Edinburgh International Festival

 Back to the giant poly tunnel and slick organisation of the EIF.  Fara are three Orcadian fiddlers with a West of Scotland keyboard player, playing mostly their own compositions.  Their joy at being in front of a live audience again was clear the moment they came on stage and that exuberance continued into the music.  There were plenty of quieter moments, but it was the fast rousing stuff that brought everyone together, with clever arrangements and the virtuosity spread across the band.  Add in Jeanna Leslie's lilting vocals, and harmonies from the sweetness of Catriona Price and instinctive musicality of Kristen Harvey, and the songs were always a pleasure.  Pianist Rory matheson had his moment too, when the others walked off stage and left him to play a gorgeously soft Gaelic melody.

Rousing tunes to end the night brought the audience to their feet and wide grins all round.  Wonderful.

Viva Your Vulva, Walking Tour, Edinburgh Fringe

 An hour and more on the streets of the Old Town in the company of comedian, physio and fanny guru Elaine Miller, aka Gusset Grippers.  Combining her wealth of knowledge about the female anatomy, with her evangelism for pelvic health and natural comedy ability.  It qualifies as a module for some medical qualifications, so the content is evidence based and graphically factual, but never heavy handed.  How could it be when the final stops include Elaine donning an apron to which she gradually sticks on the parts forming the human vulva, including a generous helping of minge fringe.  It certainly gets looks from passers-by.  

Fortunately the weather was kind on the night we went, although sometimes traffic, and noisy tourists, made it hard to hear her words, so her choice of stopping points isn't always perfect.  But environment apart this is a show that's both educational and entertaining, indeed hilarious at times, and worth anyone's time.

The Afternoon Show, Infirmary Street & High School Yards, BBC at the Edinburgh Festivals

 Back to the BBC gazebo, for a live two hour show hosted by Nicola Meighan.  Jay Lafferty was again the warm up act.  And turned out to be the highlight of the afternoon...

Meighan is very professional and competent, but lacking the sparkle and wit that makes you feel you're in safe hands. The list of guests did little to add to the proceedings, despite the Fringe bringing so much talent to the city at the moment.  A couple of what were effectively tribute acts to Dolly Parton and Frank Sinatra; and electronic music composer who had decided to leave the only recording of his latest work buried in a hole in Orkney; actor turned stand-up Joe Thomas (the only one in the line up I was familiar with) being surprisingly inarticulate; and Gary Clark on music he's written for an upcoming TV series.  The star turn turned out to be Sacred Paws, a young Glasgow-based rock band who performed a couple of good rowdy numbers, and were also the most interesting interviewees.

Old people's radio...

Breaking the News, Infirmary Street & High School Yards, BBC at the Edinburgh Festivals

 This year the BBC have decamped from heriots and moved to a much smaller location in the grounds of a university building at the foot of Infirmary Street.  There is a covered area, under a big, clear plastic, gazebo, with socially distanced seating and waiting service from the bar/cafe.  Plus a few picnic benches to the side, uncovered, and viewing the big screen rather than the stage.  It felt very safe and generally well organised, and appropriate to where we are now.

Audience warm up was provided by local stand-up Jay Lafferty, who did an excellent job of interacting with her chosen targets and telling some entertaining stories.  And she didn't forget to deliver her bit of admin, explaining what was expected of the audience during the show.

Out came host Des Clarke to announce his guests, and what a great line up of Scottish comedy talent he had for this show.  Stuart Mitchell, Elaine Malcolmson, Farmer Jim Smith, and Janey Godley.  Des introduces topical stories from the previous week, in a variety of formats, and invites the panellists to identify the story and give their take on events.  Stories covered included the lifting of the majority of covid regulations in the country, the UN report of climate change and the impending COP26, and the reopening of highland bothies.  Plus views on how this year's much reduced fringe was working out.  

Almost two hours passed before the end was declared, and I was left wondering if enough of the  material recorded would be clean enough for a twenty eight minute radio show!  One recurring theme was shagging Daphne Broon in various bothies, and that certainly wouldn't be making it out for wider consumption!  

Whatever the end product sounds like, the live show is much, much funnier, and all the panellists were excellent.  Especially Smith whose dry countryside take on the world was always unusual and hilarious.  BtN doesn't always have such a stellar group of guests, but the format guarantees plenty of laughs and it's well worth getting along to a recording if the opportunity arises. 

The Jellyman's Daughter, Assembly George Square Gardens, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

 Outdoors, uncovered, open to the elements.  Not so much the musicians, who, with all their electrical gear, have rudimentary cover over the stage, but the unprotected audience.  The weather leading up to the gig was concerning, with frequent showers.  We walked in the screened off area to see staff frantically wielding big blue rolls of paper towel, wiping away at drip-laden seats and tables.  Fortunately the showers stayed away for the duration, allowing proper enjoyment of an excellent act.

Duo Emily and Graham were again accompanied by banjoist Jamie Francis, playing a mix of  fasmiliar material and some songs which will be on their next album.  The joy at having a live audience to perform to was immediately apparent - as was their rustiness in talking to one!  But they soon settled into the routine and the singing and musicianship were still as good as ever. It sounds as Emily's voice may have improved over the last year.  And Graham's imaginiative cello accompaniment and solos still surprise and delight.

Great to see them back in action, and not get wet in the process.

Don't Crap in Your Onesie Matilda, The Counting House, Free Fringe

 An indoor gig for a change.  Which felt odd at least to begin with.  Queued up outside, walked in socially distanced column, masked, up to the room, to find the capacity not much reduced from normal despite some efforts to introduce social distancing.  There were bubbles of two and four seats, but with rows not really spaced out much, and the gaps between bubbles little more than a chair width, the claim that this was a socially distanced event was more in name than reality.  And when the door was closed...

Fortunately once the show was underway the laughter helped dispel the discomfort.  Ben Harrington refelcted on the trials of becoming a middle aged family man.  Nothing disastrous, life threatening or tragic.  Just the minor irritations of getting older, having kids, trying to live lie a proper adult.  And he has a good fund of stories, and punchlines, to take us through the forty five minutes.  Amiable, unthreatening, unchalenging humour, but sometimes that's perfect.  I enjoyed his tales of camping with children, the embarrassments provided by a big inflatable crocodile, and how his body is now playing unexpected tricks on him.  And yes, the title does feature and makes sense within the context, so that was a bonus, eh?

Talisk, Old College Quad, Edinburgh International Festival

 As with the Fringe, the International Festival has found it's way into different venues this year, using fresh air and social distancing to keep everyone safe, and feeling safe.  The centre of the Old College Quad, usually clad in billiard table lawn, has been boarded over, a high stage erected at one end, the the whole covered by, as Mr Amini put it, a giant polytunnel.  It might perhaps have little more elegance than that description suggests, but with side opening open it was fresh and dry, and with seats arranged in bubbles, it was a comfortable experience for the audience.  With enough of us in there to make the noise that the band deserved.

Talisk.  Hayley Keenan on fiddle, Graeme Armstrong on guitar and stomp, and the hyperactive energy mine that is Mohsen Amini on concertina.  Their backgrounds are in the Scottish folk scene, but their music is totally contemporary, and largely self penned.  And they knew exactly what everyone wanted - live music, and a chance to clap, sing and whoop along for that sense of shared energy and involvement we've all missed so much.  Talisk deliver.

There are plenty of memorable melodies, but it's the orchestration that impresses most, such a strong sound from just three instruments (with Armstrong adding occasional vocals, and plenty of percussion from the wired up board under his left foot), played with virtuosity and joy.  Mohsen talks fast between numbers, or not at all, so it's almost all music.  A few times he says they're going to slow things down a bit.  And they do.  For a few minutes, but soon the tempo picks up, Armstrong's boot is pounding down, and the audience are clapping and whooping again.  It's glorious stuff, and Talisk remain one of the finest and most grin-inducing bands around.  Long may they continue.

Oh, and did I mention the energy?

Fred MacAulay and Friends, Multistory, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

 Multistory.  The name just oozes the glamour of showbiz, eh?  But what else do you call the space atop an NCP with a stage loosely protected form the weather by plastic sheeting, and an audience only protected by whatever they'd thought to bring along with them.  Welcome to Fringe 2021.  To be fair, the backdrop is pretty spectacular, with the castle rock towering in the background, topped by impenetrable walls.  And you can go downstairs on to the first level for a drink and a bit to eat.  It's not entirely bleak - they've put a bit of bunting out.

We were lucky.  The earlier rain held off for the duration and the temperature didn't fall toooo far while we were sat there.  And we got a decent show to watch, with plenty laughs, and that's definitely warming after so many many moths without live stand up.

Host Fred MacAulay is a fringe veteran and has an easy charm to his persona.  A few pandemic jokes, a bit of banter with the audience, and we were off.  First guest on was Esther Manito, who had some good lines about the joys of parenting in lockdown, how tired she was of Zoom, why she ended up with glitter on her pudenda when she went for a smear test.  (It should have been Fabreze...).  She was followed by Eshaan Akbhar had his own twists on racism, why he wasn't the fat Romesh Ranganathan, and the strangeness of Asian porn.  Very funny.

Home grown talent to close the show, Glasgow comedian and radio host Des Clarke.  Explaining why Scots are like nobody else in the world, and relating his embarrassing moment carrying the torch for the 2012 Olympics, Des brought a quickfire energy that the others lacked,and rounded off the show well.  

Macaulay has a rotating list of guests on for several nights, so your experience may vary.  As it certainly will if it's raining...  But this feels like a very 2021 show.  Everyone's glad to be back, even if the circumstances are a bit makeshift, and we all just want to enjoy ourselves again.  Don't go expecting anything groundbreaking, but this is a show that will always fit comfortably, like an old cardi.  

Boo Hewerdine, Edinburgh Folk Club

Opening each half we had a few songs from the well known local jazz and blues singer Lorna Reid, accompanied by blues guitarist Neil Warden.  Her own compositions, including one penned jointly with the evening's main attraction, with Warden adding the musical flourishes.  Reid has an excellent voice, and the songs are pleasant enough, and the final, gutsier, number, with Warden playing slide on lap steel guitar, gave a better indication of what a fine blues singer she is.

Hewerdine self mocking describes himself as a purveyor of mid-tempo balladry, a term that is accurate, but greatly undersells one of the finest songwriters around.  He has a huge back catalogue of successful material to draw on, and the evening mixed classics like Dragonfly and Starlight with some more recent numbers from his new album.  He has that seemingly effortless knack for marrying striking lyrics with memorable melodies which make you feel even the newer songs feel like old friends.  Add in the several numbers that call for a bit of audience participation and you have a show that immediately feeling intimate and welcoming.  Boo's wry humour and self deprecation/mock aggrandisement provide plenty of laughs, be it stories of his own disaster, or Eddi Reader getting lost in a Japanese shopping centre.

Fans of Eddi will know that Boo has been her close conspirator for decades, and he's written many of her most famous hits.  While his voice is in no way a match for Reader's soaring vocals technically, he sings wisely to his limits in a distinctive tone that's both whispery and plaintive.  It's a tribute to his singing ability that his delivery of classic Reader tracks like Patience of Angels never leaves you feeling short changed.  Different, not worse.

Hewerdine is a proper entertainer and deserves much wider recognition.

Rachel Sermanni, Chris Stout & Catriona Mackay, Assembly Rooms, Burns & Beyond

Poet Nadine Aisha Jassat was on MC duties and opened with one of her own quaintly sensitive verses, before introducing Stout and Mackay to the stage.  The fiddle and harp duo have deep folk roots, but a very modern musical sensibility, with strong jazz influences in their eclectic compositions.  Fast flowing, often gentle, occasionally discordant as each went their own way and returned into harmony, frequently foot tapping.  Very enjoyable..

Another poem from Jassat and Sermanni took her place before the mike.  As cookie as ever, Rachel marked the Burns nater of the night with her own delicately phrased version of Ae Fond Kiss, following up with her own material.  Eccentric introductions, an ethereal voice, smart guitar accompaniment and constantly fascinating lyrics, Sermanni is a distinctive and individual folk/pop voice that deserves a wider audience.  She ended the show by inviting Jassat back on stage for a joint piece of guitar, song and spoken word, a beautifully sensitive end to the show.

Soundhouse Benefit Gig, Queens Hall

Soundhouse has grown from the passion of Douglas Robertson and Jane-Ann Purdy for providing musicians with gigs where the performers get the ticket money rather than having it sucked up by promoters and venues.  They've run gigs in their own home for many years and at the Traverse for the past four, but are now trying to raise funds for a permanent centre where musicians can rehearse, record and perform, something Edinburgh badly needs.

In doing so they've established their credentials as backers of all genres of acoustic music and friends to aspiring to musicos.  So for this one-off gig, to raise funds for the Soundhouse charity, all the musicians gave their time and talent for free, contributing to the greater good of the music scene.  The fact that the line up contained so much top-line talent is a tribute to just how important Soundhouse is seen by the musicians themselves.

Kicking off the evening was a couple of numbers from the Soundhouse Choir, definitely one of the best of the many amateur choirs in the city, benefitting from direction by Heather Macleod of the Bevvy Sisters, and sympathetically accompanied on guitar by  David Donnelly from the same band.  Strong arrangements and songs well suited to their abilities.

They were followed by modern jazz trio Bancroft/Caribe/Bancroft with brothers Phil and Tom on sax and drums respectively, and Mario Caribe on double bass.  Plenty of improv, long solos, and a strong understanding between them.  Not really my thing, so at times it was more admirable than enjoyable, but there was no faulting the musicianship on display.

Closing out the first half was Savourna Stevenson on clarsach, accompanied by Steve Kettley on saxophone and clarinet.  A sparkling set, with Stevenson's dexterous harp playing as fascinating to watch as to listen to.  Even an evacuation due to a (false) fire alarm couldn't spoil the performance.  Modern tunes played in traditional style with the bell like clarity of those strings.

The second half was given over to Moishe's Bagel, the stunningly inventive Kletzmer band I've reviewed before, in 2015 and 2016 and to which I have l;ittle to add.  As amazing and surprising and grin inducing as ever.

The evening was rounded out with all the musicians, and choir, joining on stage for one final singalong with the audience.  A great night out for a great cause.