Ally Kerr, Chris Leonard, Roy Moller, The State Broadcasters - Cottiers

The Cottiers again, for Viva Melodia, Glasgow's premier free Sunday night gig, and on stage starting the evening's procedings are Ally Kerr and Chris Leonard, and they sound great. The crowd seem pretty appreciative too and its early doors.

The weather's fine outside, seems a shame to waste it by only sitting outdoors between bands.

Aw man, this is the fifth time I've been to one of these nights here, well, the fifth review and all this time I've gotten the name wrong, calling it Viva Melodica instead of Viva Melodia. Luckily with the power of the internet I can go back and correct all the typos, no one will ever know.

The first time I saw Roy Moller, at Bar Baccus, I was't so impressed, the folk I'd gone there with had a better idea of who he was than I, which put me off, but tonight at Viva Melodia, maybe I'm just more forgiving of the poor acoustics in the room than usual, but he's actually really good.

Sounds kind of like '50s rock n roll or doo wop, with a country lilt. Some of the songs have really nice grooves. Up on stage we have a bass player with country patches on his shirt, Roy singing with acoustic guitar and harmonica, and a chap sat down at the side playing lead. There's a fourth chap who come up from the audience for every other song to lend backing vocals or melodica.

Headlining tonight are The State Broadcasters, they have cello, harp, keyboard, guitar and a glokenspiel and they sound like some mythril waterfall, maybe a little bit like Aberfeldy but without the cliche. It started out a bit rough though, sound problems with the keyboard, but they rose above it, kind of like a swimmer emerging, I think it was part of the act.

My appreciation of the band is briefly interrupted by the arrival of a former student's union barmaid who I really fancied about five years ago.

and then Grrr, friends of bands who talk loudly during other band's quiet numbers, yes Roy's friends, I mean you.

Other reviews
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Ally Kerr, Chris Leonard, Tom Snowball, Francis MacDonald - Cottiers

I miss the smell of smoke. Pubs, beer and smoke, it reminds me of being young.

I'm an hour late and nothing's started yet. Miles Davis jazz playing and the place is bustling more than last week, no comfortable standing room. I might be relegated to standing awkwardly close to a middle-aged couple, having a quiet Sunday evening drink.

Gah, even worse, its two middle aged couple. I am become Elexender Brown.

Time passes.

Near the front Ally Kerr and Chris Leonard look poised to pick up their guitars. Other awkward standing folk at the back, less awkward, but in couples, no one as alone as I.

A dreamy set, stalked by the spectre of mic feedback and almost drowned out by apathetic audience conversations. It sounded like a hand reaching out in the dark.

I wish I could bring a girl to shows like this, we'd drink wine and talk over the music.

Tom Snowball, his greatest song is "Credit Debonairs", the line about "Computers count our friends", his songs have the greatest lyrics. He wins over the crowd, but its a hard fought battle withquite a few casualties, but they stop talking when he sings.

He manages to plug the Littlest Album, without ever saying its name, which considering the past few days is somewhat a relief.

I've heard some of the songs before, recorded them even, but tonight he seems to slow everything down, mid-song, drawing out choruses, leaving people craning on the edges of their seats expectantly. Seemed a more forthright performance than last night.

He looks quite young does Francis MacDonald, considering Teeneage Fanclub and BMX Bandits legacy. Oop, vocals are a touch too loud to start off with, they're making the bench I'm sitting on resonate up my arse.

I'm a bit underwelmed to be honest, there's something missing, like the script says winsom, but the heart beats for something else.

Frequent words forgetting isn't helping to win me over.

Four or five songs in, and he's more comfortable in his skin, like he, his guitar, the words and the audience are on the same level. The singing becomes a closer match to way back when.

Green Peppers, Dropkick, Ally Kerr, Chris Leonard - Cottiers

Its been years since I was at a gig at the Cottiers, the bands were playing in the church that time. But tonight, tonight they're playing in the restaurant bar. At the back, where I'm stood, the acoustics are poor.

At the front between the twin speakers of the PA are Ally Kerr and Chris Leonard. Two guitars and two mics, nice lush sparkly music.

There ought to be more candles in here. Oop, I spy Stevie Jackson.

I wonder often, if these songs work. Do they mend the broken heart or return the girl? Or do they serve merely to sate and cultivate hope?

Their final song is the new single, out tomorrow, well an acoustic version. Why is a single?

I thought the sound in here was poor a few paragraphs ago, that the vocals were distorted, refracted and garbled by the time they reached the back of the room. But, between bands, when its just a CD over the PA, the sounds better.

Dropkick, from Edinburgh, started out sounding much like Simon and Garfunkle in mid Boxer-era. They have much in common with the Proclaimers - glasses, guitars, hair. Not sure if they're brothers, don't look like twins. Nice melodic harmonies, inoffensive.

Hmm, halfway through they become a little whiney, kind of gnawing.

Some people come in and join me at the back, they have a dog. Its kind of bored, but every so often it gets all interested in something and wags its tail. I wonder what it thinks of Dropkick... Rowf? Rowf... grrrr...

Its now sitting on the floor, gazing at a wall, timing how long people spend in the toilets..

Me and the dog are bonding, working together to form an awkward baricade to people trying to get out the back door. Man and beast as a team.

I did like the Dropkick's last two songs, some of the best harmonies I've heard since last time, and rather neat decending chord sequences.

I'm skint, I hope they don't try pimping me a CD. My last money of the month is going towards paying customs duty on the Twin Peaks series 2 DVD, not the Dropkick album, sorry lads. Maybe I should fake being on the phone.

Jim McCulloch, a man of many bands, BMX Banditos, Superstar, Soup Dragons and now the Green Peppers, a band of one. Kind of unassuming, he just kind of started playing, no build up, no intro, just throwing himself into it.

A jangly guitar antecedance and more upbeat than the other acts of the night. Something pleading about his voice.

I can't remember if I've seen the Green Peppers before. Aye Superstar countless times, but not Jim alone. How come his songs sound so familiar? Surely not just from hours listening to his MySpace page?

Both riffing off each other, carrying the tune whilst the other noodles, its rare to see man and guitar so in tune with each other, makes my performance with the dog earlier in this review seem positively amateur.

He does a neat drop-D droning thing, there's probably a word for it, but I was off ill for that guitar lesson.

I don't think I like anyone enough to relegate this to background music for a conversation, how can everyone else here?