Bob Cheevers, Dominic Finley, Jim Byrne, Alex Gardner live at The Liquid Ship, Glasgow
"Ah, rapscallion!" said the voice in my head "go forth into the citadel of Glasgow and seek out yon chap that goes by the name of Bob Cheevers and write some words upon him. Forget not the socio-political context either, while you're at it or I shall slap thee about thy head with a pair of women's panties. They might be new but, then again, they might not". That guy in Mission Impossible got his instructions via a cool, self destructing tape recorder. I'm not so lucky.
All due haste was therefore made and, upon my arrival, Jim Byrne was on stage. He displays much in the way of respect when he covers songs by John Prine and John Martyn but saves his best for his own songs. Those songs - particularly "Tell Me You Love Me Again" - highlight a strong sense of melody and a whimsical outlook on life. A most honourable performance.
Dominic Finley takes to the field of musical combat next. He's got a musical pedigree that goes back to the eighties. He marks his territory as a songwriter of note with "Love and Farewells" and whilst much of his repertoire is sentimental and reflective, you can't fail to notice that wry sense of humour either.
Bob Cheevers is musical royalty in my book. For a start, he survived many a decade writing songs in Nashville before decamping to Texas. Treating the audience to selections from his current album ""Tall Texas Tales" would have been more than enough reward but to that he added stories of his adventures. Adventures? That's the right word. He seems to get more from life than most and clearly still has affection for all that he has experienced. Accordingly, his performance is both warm and infectious. Dominic Finley accompanied him on bass and harmonies and they both seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Bob Cheevers has been around a long time and he's still having fun. There's a lesson to us all in that. Oh, and he wiped his guitar clean with a pair of women's panties. Nearly forgot to mention that.
Last on was a young gentleman called Alex Gardner. I'm not sure what to make of him. He certainly knows his way around a song but, unlike the other honourable gentlemen performing tonight, he made no attempt to involve what was clearly an adoring audience of young women. In fact, quite the opposite as the audience ended up trying to involve him by shouting out requests. Nevertheless, he is young and, if he sticks at it, he might last as long as Bob Cheevers. I doubt he'll ever have as much fun though.
Nearly forgot the socio-political context. A nedette starts an argument with another member of the audience because she hadn't been told not to talk when the acts were playing. Yes, because she hadn't been told! That's the first time I've seen that and I've no idea what it means. No idea what socio-political context means either, for that matter.
Reviewer: Handsome Bluesbunny
Review Date: 10 November 2009
Websites
Bob Cheevers
Jim Byrne
Dominic Finley
Alex Gardner
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