The second local(ish) show of the night was really enjoyable, a different and an interesting mix of new, old and dare I say haphazard at times. I wasn't sure what to expect but it caught my attention as a "must see" as it looked like something different and based on the calibre of musicians involved with their impressive credentials - Orange Juice, Simple Minds, The Bluebells, Del Amitri and more among the members of this collective of Andy Alston, James Kirk, Brian Docherty, Stuart Blance and Marilyn Carino.
Hot-footing with DJ Gez from the earlier Gone Native show, we took seats at the front while there was some background sound already happening on stage, with Andy Alston and Brian Docherty already on stage tweaking keyboards and laptops. There was no real indication of a start point, no dimmed lights or hard intro but a few more of the collective came on stage with briefest of introductions and got straight into the first few opening songs. James Kirk then kind of sneaked in, guitar in hand, took a seat and joined in adding another layer of depth to this intricate sound.
The first few songs felt a bit tentative, finding their rhythm with the mix of media, video streaming, recorded sound and live playing and singing, although it all worked well together. And Andy Alston soon got into his flow, explaining about the Broadside tales from the past and mixing with modern equivalences and places around Edinburgh of note. Tales of the seas, American strangers, death, the daring Brannan and his adventures all featured with good effect.
An excellent addition contribution came from an internationally renowned Swedish singer (who's name I can't remember) mixed in on video and audio recording in with shipping forecast effects to great effect. When the live performances were the focus of the tunes, the musicians bands backgrounds came through loud and clear, coming together well especially with shades of Orange Juice on some and an enjoyable eighties Scottish pop vibe throughout.
As well as the flowing chat ("who hasn't been in The Bluebells!?"), and bawdy banter which almost spilled into unplanned chaotic waters with barbs flying (James being compared to an unfiltered uncle and Andy getting "the retired teacher" treatment) as the band got more comfortable with their surroundings.
Front and centre for a lot of the set was the excellent voices of Stuart Blance for a homage to the city with Banks Of Sweet Dundee (although he was outed as a Perthite rather than directly from the city of the song) and Marilyn Carino - the Glasgow based American stranger - both sang with passion and style adding another layer to the proceedings.
While the entertaining chat was bouncing back and forward in between songs it felt like the set could've gone on all night, but they rounded the set off with a couple of strong finishers.
First up was a great new collaboration between Stuart and James (Iron Star) - keep and eye out for this being released as a single soon. And for an outro we were treated to the Broadside Theme. More hilarity and borderline chaos for this when the singers confessed to Andy they'd rewritten the lyrics the day before, and sounded great.
All in all a very enjoyable set, some great songs and it doesn't sound too far from being a very polished piece of work. The more the set went on it be ame apparent that this was a much more technical production than it first appeared on the surface, and kudos to Brian and Andy for orchestrating the electronic side of it, making the whole thing come together nicely.
It was only a short run of a few shows for the Edinburgh fringe festival but very entertaining and worth seeing if it (as I hope it does) makes it to a stage near you in the coming months.
Be a star and join the Broadside Balladeers on their next voyage, wherever that might take us.
Thank you for first class review
The name you couldn’t remember on Video was Sabina