Bob-Dubery
It's been a busier week than usual for the X-rateds, indeed a busier than usual couple of days
Thursday we went off to see what Andy McGibbon's would present for the good folks at TJ's.
Well I enjoyed Josh Roxton a lot. Great vocals, and I liked the way both guitar and vocals were integrated into the performance and served the compositions. Interesting compositions too.
Dave Baudains.... well there's no shortage of chops there, and if you're into the two-handed tapping and general wizardry then keep an eye open for this guy. He's a very good player.
Them Particles seem reduced to a duo at present which maybe leaves their sound a little thin, though Richard (lap steel) is a very capable and sensitive foil to Dax (Vocals, guitar). I just wish Dax would play a little more though. I can always admire a player who holds back to serve the song, but I also know that Dax has a lot more in the tank than he shows and the duo might get a little stronger if he stepped on a bit more.
James Hendry did a short opening set and I wished he'd focussed more on his own compositions rather than delve into the realm of covers. He has a voice and a style with their own character, Dire Straits covers don't do his musical personality much justice.
Last night.... ooh we stayed up late folks. Past midnight ? And we were down in old Johannesburg. And that was a surprise, there's a real buzz around the east end of Main Street with some good restaurants, an art movie house (The Bioscope, where we caught the live music we were down there for) and a generally relaxed and bohemian vibe. Somebody's spent some money renovating buildings down there too. Not a lot of parking, but plenty of guards and they help you do things like park on corners which can make it hard to get out, but they help you with that too. We had a good meal at The Canteen in Fox street (which continued the ambience of the area with it's relaxed but not casual chic. Service was very good and prices reasonable. They had some unusual beers available and a good selection of wines.
So we took our time over a vegetarian platter for two (the wife wanted the brie, and I was in the mood for haloumi, and those spicy spring rolls.... yum yum!) and then wandered back up the road to The Bioscope.
It's a small intimate venue. Not designed for live music, but then in a venue this size you don't need lots of laser beams and so on. Friendly staff and whilst I'd been muttering under my breath about how these bohemian types generally don't care much about time I was proven wrong as they got the show running promptly.
First up was JP Redpath who I'd heard about and was keen to see. He's got some good material, and one of those old Ibanez humming bird copies. And a Baggs M1 pickup. I've heard a couple of these lately and they're pretty good. No piezo quackiness because it ain't piezo. It's an electro magnetic one but with a special design that allows one of the coils to vibrate with the top, and it's not the least true-to-life pickup you can put in an acoustic guitar. Minmimal surgery too as it clips in the sound hole.
Anyhoo.... he gave a sort of quiet performance and I think that's part of his schtick to draw you to him by making you lean forward in your seat a little. Pleasant enough finger-style playing.
Arlyn Culwick I'd seen before, and he also plays this "turn it down to make people listen" game and I wonder if JP is not his disciple. Not really necessary in this venue on this night as the audience were there to LISTEN. Arlyn plays a very nice electric (I think a Suhr) with a very clean sound. He's a good finger style player. Lyrically he's articulate if a little out of left-field but that's OK, at least he's been reading lots of books about meta-physics rather than Heat! Nice set, very well paced and he takes command in a mellow way. He was joined by his wife Erica on a couple of numbers. She provided good harmony vocals and played a ukulele.
Last up was Joshua Grierson who was much more in-yer-face than the other two acts. Getting into his songs with almost eye-popping (his eyes) intentsity. A very convincing performance. The last number (in open D, I'm pretty sure) he used a loop station to good effect to build up layers of guitars and then put the guitar down to act out the last verses. He played some kind of Guild with sapele back and sides into a Marshall combo which gave his sound a bit of dirt and attack that he used well.
So very nice to get out and see some good local players in action. I generally contend that Johannesburg is a cultural wasteland, but it may be that there are little underground streams of talent and vitality if you just know where they are. I'm too old to be hip (in fact I'm so old that I use words like "hip").
