To be cool

Added on Friday 4 Dec 2009

West End Volume 16

Photo: Oran Mor Venue and Restaurant. It has been an interesting week. Ben Ruth, the good gentleman who organised the recent Lancaster Music Festival, was up for a tour of Glasgow music venues and, being a hospitable Bluesbunny, I acted as guide and duly dragged Ben around most anywhere a band might play, curry might be eaten or lemonade might be drunk. This gave plenty of opportunity for the stories about the bizarre behaviour of musicians which I'd love to tell you but you just wouldn't believe most of them.

Anyway, on we go to the whole thing about being cool. Sometime on the Saturday, we met up with Pat Byrne in the Oran Mor and she arranged a visit to the upstairs venue there which has got to be the most beautiful in Glasgow. When Pat introduced us to our guide and as we duly presented our business cards, our guide (who turned out to be in a band) made that sound that women make when they see a really nice pair of shoes. For a moment as that sound resonated around the converted church and my fear subsided - believe me, you don't ever want to find yourself between a woman and a nice pair of shoes - I occurred to me that being a Bluesbunny might actually be cool. Then reality returned, but for those few seconds I thought that I might be held in higher regard than, say, a trainspotter.

Moving swiftly on, I thought I'd mention a couple of albums. The first is just out and is called "Lions" by Rev. Simpkins and the Phantom Notes and is an imaginative reinvention of British musical styles that would sit comfortably next to the Kinks in your record collection. The other is "Stella Maris" by Lee Patterson. This album hasn't moved from my CD player in some months. Sure, it is a serious album that muses on the subjects of life, love and death but Lee Patterson delivers it all in an uplifting mix of compassion and hope.

That's all for now!

Lee Patterson - www.lpmusic.org.uk
Rev. Simpkins and The Phantom Notes - www.revsimpkins.co.uk
Lancaster Music Festival - www.lancastermusicfestival.com

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