Corinne Bailey-Rae at Oran Mor

This was the first time I had been to a gig at Glasgow's Oran Mor and on the whole it was a positive experience. I arrived early so I went to the main bar for a drink. I stuck to my usual Magners but the bar had a good selection of whiskeys and spirits and more importantly there was a good selection of pretty girls to goggle at. I was checking them out while pretending to read my Christopher Brookmyre book. I think Oran Mor must have been a church before being converted (no pun intended) into a pub and venue for gigs and plays. It is attractive and cosy inside. The gig was in the basement entered at a side door. I again had plenty of time until the concert started and I went to get another drink. The Oran Mor clientele must be the most polite and civilised in the whole of Glasgow. At the bar it was a case of 'After you',,,'No, please go first',,,'No, my good sir, I insist you be served' and so on. It was a refreshing change to the usual mad elbows in the face attempt to get served at most of Glasgow pubs.
First on stage was a guy called Fiffy. I didn't quite catch his surname. Tall, wavy hair, grey suit and tie, Jesus sandals. I think he was English but maybe he was just educated at St. Andrews University, it is hard to tell at times. He had a good voice and was a decent guitarist and pianist but his songs were not quite as impressive. They were not bad, just a bit forgettable. It's says something when the best song he sang was a cover version. It was really good, using a loop machine so he could build up the song with layer upon layer, and he delivered it with aplomb. He was well received and he definitely does have talent but he needs to work on his song writing skills. He put me in mind of Jose Gonzalez, the Swedish acoustic singer/songwriter. His best three songs are all covers: Heartbeats by The Knifes, Teardrop by Massive Attack and Put Your Hand On Your Heart by Kylie Minogue. Jose Gonzalez is indeed a good songwriter but he has still to prove that he can be a very good or even great one.
Another visit to the bar and then Corinne Bailey-Rae came onstage. A slender, dark skinned, bushy haired beauty but curiously dressed in a blue one piece jump suit that looked like something from a low budget sci-fi movie. It didn't really matter, she still looked great. You could dress her in sack cloth and ashes and she would still dazzle. She started with the opening track to her new album, which I really liked, and continued to play most of her new material, punctuated by some songs from her first album. Her band was excellent. I'm no music critic but even I could tell that they were all very complished musicians. They just sounded good. Corinne sang with a lot of feeling and style, and she has a charming onstage personality. She is also a very decent guitarist. Nothing flashy, but some of the chords looked quite tricky. There is a strong jazz influence that came through in her set, maybe more so live than on her record. I don't know why, it was just something that made an impression on me. She has carved out a very successful niche in the 'easy listening soul/pop with jazz influence' market. The songs from her new album are much in the same vein as the songs from her first album. This is not a criticism, but I just hope that she does not get stuck in a comfort zone. I would like to see her experiment a bit, and not be afraid to find a different sound. She has certainly got the talent to be successful in whatever direction she goes.

Turning 30

I turned 30 on Saturday. I actually feel okay about it, probably because I'm in better health now. A couple of years ago, when I was very ill, I felt as though my life was passing me by, but now I am more accepting and philosophical about where I am in life. My 20's were tough, real tough, but through all the pain and suffering and uncertainty I think I learned a lot and matured greatly as a person. I am far from perfect and I've a long way to go but I am feeling more hopeful and optimistic about my 30's and life in general. Thank you to all my friends and family for their love, prayers and just being there for me. What are my goals for the next ten years? Just to live and to live well.

Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood. - Helen Keller

Celebrity Crush List 2010

Top ten celeb crushes:

1) Rachel McAdams
2) Lisa Hannigan
3) Natalie Portman
4) Duffy
5) Lois from Family Guy
6) Audrey Tautou (Amelie)
7) Jada Pinkett-Smith
8) Kate Winslet
9) Corinne Bailey-Rae
10) Rachel Weisz

Sadly most of these beautiful women are either fictional, already married or have a restraining order out on me. So I’m willing to settle for anything that comes my way.

Heaven

In the book The Lovely Bones the main character is stranded in a sort of limbo between earth and heaven called the inbetween, a place where your world is tailor made to match you personality and experiences. It's an interesting concept and got me thinking about the afterlife and heaven. What will heaven be like? The Christian vision of heaven in the Bible is of a place where "there shall be no more death, neither sorrow or crying, neither shall there be any more pain." (Rev 21:3) Obviously that means there will be no episodes of Friends. Also we will have new bodies, which will be nice. "God has prepared us for the purpose of being clothed with our heavenly body." (2Cor 5:4-5) I like to think that there will be a range of body types to choose from and on entering heaven we will be given a catalogue and asked to select one of the following. Personally I will choose Brad Pitt from Fight Club. I remember a priest giving a short homily about heaven to children with learning difficulties. He said that it would be a place where you could do all the things you enjoy on earth. I quite liked this idea. I don't think time will exist in heaven, there will just be the present moment, but I have thought about my perfect day in heaven. It will be something like this:

8AM wake up without a hangover
enjoy the sunrise
have breakfast with Tommy Cooper (special omelette and orange juice)
the waitress is Rachel Weisz
10.30AM have a round of golf with St.Peter at Augusta
the sun is shinning and the caddie is Rachel McAdams
1PM have lunch with Elvis (we both eat hamburgers)
2PM play guitar with Frank Zappa
4PM play soccer with a select team that includes Pele, Maradona and Zidane
the referee is Natalie Portman
6PM have dinner with Johnny Cash, Einstein, Che Guevara and Groucho Marx
Johnny gives us a few tunes, Groucho gives us a few jokes
the waitress is Marilyn Monroe
8PM paint with Picasso
10PM have a few beers with Jesus and enjoy the sunset

I think that sounds pretty good. Now I just have to get to heaven, that's the hard part.

John Scofield and the SNJO

I had the honour of seeing one of my guitar heros in concert last night. John Scofield is one of the most talented and innovative jazz guitarists alive. The fact that jazz legend and genius Miles Davis hired John in the early 1980's speaks volumes. This concert was a collaboration between Scofield, the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (SNJO) and a number of composers who arranged the music for the orchestra. The first set was 'Loud Jazz'; four pieces penned by Scofield and one by Miles. The second set was 'Electric Miles'; four Miles tunes and one by Scofield. My favorite was Wabash The Third (partly because I can play a few bars on guitar myself, although very slowly and probably incorrectly) and Davis's wonderfully catchy Jean Pierre. It almost has the feel of a children's song. Da da, da da Da. That does not really do it justice. It is so simple but so effective, much like Beethoven's 5th in its simple direct melody. Scottish Saxophonist Tommy Smith conducted the orchestra and also threw in a few blistering solos for good measure. He has a rare set of lungs and he was very impressive but I got the impression that Scofield was the real crowd puller. He was certainly the reason I was there. I am not a music critic and I don't understand the technicalities of music theory or chord formation or improvisation but I just loved watching him play that guitar. It just seemed to work and sound right. I don't really have the words or musical knowledge to better articulate why I love his guitar playing so much, I just do. The SNJO were also very very impressive and I would definitely see them live again. The drummer was excellent and played a couple of solos. He played the drums in a jerky energetic way like he was being electrocuted. The bass player was a odd wee guy who looked like Spud from Trainspotting. It was like someone had just picked him up off the mean streets of Easterhouse or Drumchapel, stuck him in a suit and shoved him on stage. He was very good, to be fair. The lead trumpet dude also gave a dynamic solo, squealing out notes with a bright red face and eyes screwed up like he was badly constipated. But the night really belonged to John Scofield. Great guitarist, he also seemed like a lovely guy. There was a microphone passed between Tommy Smith and John durng the two sets and they had a bit of banter. It was my first jazz concert in many years, and if the brain is a sponge and can only absorb so much information then the same can be said of jazz. It is an intense genre and I can only take so much, but the concert has definitely rekindled my interest in jazz and I will be back for more, that is for certain.