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.