Jo Caulfield : Pearls Before Swine, Stand 3, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

No theme, no storyline, no happy ending.  Just funny  Jo tells stories drwan from life and where her imagination takes the things around her.  Men in the pub, ads aimed a women of a certain age and German porn films all get the Caulfield treatment.  And her most reliable source of material, the neverending disappointment that is her comedy husband.  Acerbic, sharp, smart, with unexpected punchlines.  Or even exected one.  The result is still laughter, because her delivery is spot on.  

Having seen her a few times before, there was some familiar material, which was a little disappointing.  But that didn’t stop me laughing, all over again.  If you are looking for a show that changes your life or tugs your emotions then this isn’t it.  But if you simply want to laugh, and laugh, for an hour then Jo Caulfield always delivers.

Keiran Hogson : Work In Progress, Pleasance Courtyard (Forth), Edinburgh Festival Fringe

 Yes, it's another WIP show, but Hodgson doesn't use his notes as much as expected, and is always funny. He says he's trying out a new style of comedy, away from his usual storytelling or character styles. But what we get still pays strong allegiance to both. It's about his relationship with the USA, from early childhood until the Obama years, and how the culture and politics affected him. So it's definitely a story, and he uses his impressionist abilities to fill out the characters discussed. - maybe not so different then!

It's a coming of age story. America, for him, was the epitome of cool when he was a kid, and he could never understand his parents favouring Europe. Then came Dubya... The politics changed, along with the music and movies he'd once loved. And 9/11 told him that the promise of world peace wasn't as real as he'd thought.

So it's a move from naivete to understanding, from confidence to uncertainty, and it ends... hanging, because he knows he has more to write. Hodgson is easy to like, and has an accessible style that contains plenty of unusual slants on past events. For this oldie there a few too many references to aspects of culture that only someone under forty is going to get, so maybe being younger would give you more than I got. As with any WIP it's a bit hit and miss at times. That will change as August progresses, he adapts the material to his audiences and learns the lines better.

Hodgson is certainly worth seeing, and provides an entertaining hour, but it's a shame he's not doing a longer run with this show. It might have been really good by the end of the month!

A Montage of Monet, Greenside@George Street, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

 A one man show starring Stephen Smith as the artist. It begins with him as an old man, raging against the failings of his body, and turns into reminiscence of a long life. Beginnings, failings, relationships, poverty, fame, riches, they're all there. And maybe that's the problem. Shoehorning so rich a life into 55 minutes is a near impossible challenge if you want to get so much detail in.

Consequently much of the opening feels more like lecture or polemic than drama, and that issue reoccurs throughout. The use of a screen to provide illustrations of people and paintings adds to that sense of education over entertainment. Not that it's boring though. Smith does a decent job with the clunky script, gets a few laughs, and does show his acting chops when the occasion allows. Perhaps he needs to remember he's not in a full size theatre, but a small room. His angry Monet was a bit too loud for the space!

And this is no hagiography. the man portrayed is arrogant, selfish and treats people badly, especially women. However there isn't really much about the painter. Yes, he loves painting from nature, and we hear about his influences, his own self of his place in the art world, but little of how he developed his techniques which made his work so loved.

If you want to learn a bit about Monet from a (mostly accurate) historical perspective it's interesting, but it offers little as a drama. Hard to recommend.

Luke Wright - Joy!, Pleasance Dome (10 Dome), Edinburgh Festival Fringe

 A poet for our opening show, and one with whom we're already familiar, have seen several times before. And he's so much more than a poet. Comedian, raconteur, showman. Even, as he demonstrates in this show, a bit of a dancer.

Wright explains that he had to choose the title, Joy!, almost a year ago, when he was feeling particularly joyful with his life, both personal and professional. But writing joyful material proved a lot harder in the chilly greyness of a January afternoon when he made a start. So this is not a parade of joys, but a look at the ups and downs of life. Because without misery how can there also be joy? Life is all about context.

So there's sadness, anger, affection, guilt, love, mundanity and, yes, joy, in Luke's writing. He shows off his technical mastery of complex verse forms, makes us laugh, makes us think, makes us feel. There's a lot cleverness, both linguistic and emotionally, and much to ponder on. How our words can affect others, how the ephemera of social media is a joy killer, how much family and friends are important to a joyful life. Even a bit of song and dance and an audience singalong!

It's a fast paced hour that never drags in the slightest, and makes you feel involved with a witty and very humane man. Highly recommended.

James Brown is Annie, Piccolo, George Square, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

Funk for our Festival finale.  Local band JBiA played to a packed out Piccolo and raised the roof.  Nowadays a seven piece outfit, with drums, bass, guitar, keyboard, two sax players (tenor and alto) and a lead vocalist.  Or one lead of the lead vocalists, for that role flits about through the pianist, guitarist and tenor saxophonist, with all bar the other sax player contributing backing vocals as well.  Plenty of variety in styles and sounds, although none of the others can match the vocal talents of Debs out front.  

There's not much subtelty to the magic.  Get a groove going and keep it going.  Get the audience on their feet.  Throw in a few solos.  The sax solos, from both players, all received warm applause and cheers, but my personal favourite came from the bass - she played a big part in the band's overall sound throughout.

They're a tight act, with humour and joy important components of their set.  Great fun and a great end to JazzFest '24.

Blues Afternoon (Jerron Paxton, Doug MacLeod, Mark Harrison Band), Spiegeltent, George Square, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

Mr Paxton opened proceedings.  At previous festivals he's gone by the name 'Blind Boy Paxton'.  The name may have altered, but he remains as entrancing as ever.  Musically adept, vocally smart, and with thowaway humour to spare.  Guitar, 2 banjos (one of 1848 vintage!), harmonica and piano.  Plus those relaxed vocals .  Paxton is a comfortable performer with his very own laid back style who can manage an audience and plays gorgeous old fashioned blues.  It felt like this performance should have been in monochrome, so strong was the feeling of an old back porch in the 1920s or 30s.  Wonderful, and should really have been the headline act.

I've seen Doug MacLeod a couple of times before, the last occcasion six years ago.  So it was a bit of a shock to see how those years have aged him, and that smooth voice has lost some of it's ability to charm.  But the guitar playing and storytelling faculties are undimmed.  He has a long history as a bluesman, one of the traditional kind, even though he sings only self-penned material.  That brings with it a welath of tales and personalities he's encountered, many of them transformed into lyrics.  MacLeod may not quite be the force he once was, but still a marvellous entertainer.

Mark Harrison is an odd bird, especially for a headline act of a Blues Afternoon.  From Coventry, abd backed by upraight bass and drums, Harrison sings, playes guitar, and tells stories, voices opinions.  He's certainly not the quality of musician that we'd seen with paxton and MacLeod.  Nor is is singing voice that great really.  Some of his opinions seem more like moans.  The song lyrics often lack imagination and so many of the basic riffs seem similar.

And yet... The deadpan humour works well, and can make him easy to identify with.  Both drums and bass offered up excellent solos.  The songs were decent enough to get the toes tapping and there were plenty of laughs.  So maybe this was a performance that was better than the sum of it's parts.  Low key enjoyable.

Mr Sipp, Spiegeltent, George Square, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

 Castro Coleman, aka Mr Sipp, back in the Spiegeltent for another powerful session of Mississippi Blues.  With backing from bass, keyboard and drums, Sipp launched into some classic blues songs.  Low on lyrics (and, sometimes, morality!), but high on muiscality and panache.  He doesn't talk a lot, but his comments are usually funny, occaisonally informative.  I usually feel a bit short changed by performers who don't give something of themselves in between numbers, explaing why this song or that tune made the set, becasuse that's the key to understanding their personality.  But Sipp is an exception - his performance IS his personality!  Part of which includes his walkabout through the audience (and in whoich he used me as a cushion at one point!) on an extended extemproised solo (he uses a wireless guitar pickup) to spread the love.

If there was a criticism it was the sense that the gig was back to front, and it would have been better to have the second half first and vice versa.  The later set included gospel ballads, gentler numbers, and audience participation.  While the first felt a lot roickier, and included that walkabout.  It also had an excellent solo from the drummer, which hinted at further solos to come from keys and bass - but nothing emerged.  

But if the only real fault I can find lies in the structure of the gig, well, I think it can still be amrked down as one of the best of the festival.  The singing is good, the playing excellent, and the vibes top notch.  Go see this guy.