X-rated Bob wrote:
I don't know how many other GFSAers turned out to see Costa in action. If you were there you got a good night's live music. If you weren't then you didn't.
Cameron Bruce made his performance debut at TJ's when he was still at school. I don't know if I saw his FIRST performance, but I saw some him pretty early on and it was clear that he had talent and could perform. He was back last night with a guitar playing sidekick, introduced as Michael, and he delivered a very strong set. Contemporary pop, yes, but intelligent and well-crafted. An assured performance with Michael making telling contributions with guitar and backup vocals - not just in his solos but also in complementing and adding to the song and the sound without showing off. Nice set.
Paul Tuson never played. His daughters took over. I think their vocals are bit too well mannered - though relentlessly in tune and well modulated - but something really cool has happened here. There's four of them and they all play multiple instruments, all are clearly trained singers, they're confident but not domineering performers. These girls have grown up with music and with a love of it, and it's infectious.
Costa and Claude got the graveyard shift and came on after some very strong sets, but held their own with strong vocals and arrangements. If you haven't seen these two guys in action then you should. Great harmonies, and clever reworkings of songs that are manageable for the pared down line up (two voices, one guitar - and hey! It worked for Simon and Garfunkel) but still keep all the hooks and interest. They're good at it.
Dot Hodgskiss is a regular at TJ's and often brings something left field to the table. So it was last night, in the company of two other singers - Carol and Bonny - who have also graced the TJ's stage before. They started off with a couple of Beatles songs and then switched into the close harmony mode of the Andrews Sisters (WW2 forces favourites - I always remember them for "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", though that was not their only hit). They closed with "Da Doo Ron Ron" which is mostly definitely not an Andrews Sisters song but which they reworked in that style (and did a cappella).
So, an evening of strong performances and especially strong vocals.
Thanks for the feedback Bob, and thanks to you and Mrs. X-Rated, and any other GFSA'er that came to support,,
it was a great evening, I thoroughly enjoyed it, in fact I enjoy playing at TJ's so will grab the opportunity whenever it presents itself.
I have to agree with your comments, adding to that I think every time I watch Tuson's daughters play they improve tenfold.
It was also very pleasing to have a lot more (very attractive) ladies perform on the same night,,,,,
It was a VERY tough act to follow straight after Cameron Bruce and Michael those guys are extremely professional and very talented players, so needless to say nerves were once again the order of the day when we went on to close the evening. I personally was not totally happy with my playing, a couple of mishaps leading up to the event - when we got to TJ's in the parking lot I took my last big sip of my Red Bull and as Murphy's Law would have it, it went down the wrong way and I had a coughing fit for a good 10 mins,,, (not the best thing to calm the nerves knowing you're about to perform),,so I spent most of the evening trying to clear my throat discretely and spent most of the time during the performance worrying whether it would affect my singing hahahaha,,, I wonder if its happened to anyone else?...
then to top it all my 'new' battery in my guitar went flat as I was tuning up and getting ready to go on stage (I'm sure you once warned that you should ALWAYS carry a spare battery??) well last night was the one night I never carried a spare battery and luckily Paddy let me borrow his.,
Despite that, all in all, it was still a very good evening
