Out & About at Lunchtime

Mrs Vinyl, the babby and myself decided to head to the lunchtime, in-store gig by Lisa Hannigan in Road Records today. I’d assumed that it would just be Lisa and her guitar so it’s doubtless that I was surprised when her whole band turned up. The skill involved in setting such a number up in such cramped surroundings was akin to being a Tetris master. We had Lisa perched on the counter top, the bass player by the stair case, the guitarist behind the counter, the drummer just below the seven inch singles and the trumpet/melodica player sandwiched between the crowd and the turntable. Backing vocals, shouts and gurgles were ably provided by my little fella Paddy. We were treated to five of the tunes from the album, all of them delivered with poise and grace. I have to admit that the gig was a very close-up and personal affair. Mrs Vinyl and myself were discussing the very alluring qualities of Lisa and also the fact that she has a very fine voice. Her new album ‘Sea Sew’ remains on constant rotation in Chez Vinyl and it is fast becoming one of those growers. It’s not natural for a man like myself to be singing lines like ‘I spoon you into my coffee cup, spin you through a delicate wash, I wear you all day’ but somehow that’s what I found myself doing walking down the street today. I’ll get a name for myself if I keep this up.

The gig was also notable for the fact that I bumped into Keith Downey. Keith and myself go back a few years, both of us used to DJ on Power FM way back when camera phones had yet to be invented and wireless broadband was just a dream. Keith has moved on to bigger and greater things and you can catch his Psychonavigation show every Sunday on Spin 103.8 FM. Joining him in presenting the show every week is another old pirate radio colleague, ThinkToy. As well as being a radio presenter, Keith also runs the Psychonavigation record label. He’s been ploughing a productive furrow for a number of years now but his latest release is one that I’m truly excited about. It features my man of the moment R.S.A.G (Rarely Seen Above Ground) and I’m looking forward to getting a good listen to it over the next couple of days. There’s a launch party for the album in Whelans on October 17th (or at least that’s what I think he said) and you’d be mad in the head to miss it. RSAG has to be seen live to be believed. Admittedly there are people who could take that leap of faith without actually seeing him but I recommend a live viewing in any case. I’ll see you there.