After one of the better Scottish summers in recent memory, the rain came hammering down, a deluge signalling the end of the Edinburgh Fringe. It’s always sad seeing the mass exodus from the city but no one can keep up the frenetic pace of shows, drinking and sleep deprivation for any longer. During the last week of the festival I had made a more concerted effort to get out and see more shows around town but I kept being drawn back to the honey pot that is the Famous Spiegeltent, and particularly to Melbourne bands. Well, one Melbourne band in particular – Saskwatch!
During their two weeks in Edinburgh I caught them five times at the Spiegeltent. It seems almost perverse to see one group so many times when there are so many amazing acts to see at so many venues around the Festival, but I couldn’t help it. Sasquatch are just so damn good. And seeing a PBS sticker on their keyboard player’s organ gave me a strange send of pride here on the other side of the world.
I caught up with Saskwatch key songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Liam McGorry and by all reports, the band are having a ball on their first international tour. Despite tales of semi-naked on stage antics and furious gig mayhem that had seen the band playing up to two or three shows a day, what I encountered was a very focussed, committed songwriter and musician. An added bonus was having most of the band do an impromptu set at the late night Club Spiegel and blowing away the audience. I joined them for a spontaneous garage stomp version of the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins classic Alligator Wine which blew the canvas roof right off the place.
Beyond the tent I saw an amazing Brighton-based singer songwriter today called Kate Daisy Grant, who tore out my heart with her voice and her songs. She works with her husband, highly regarded UK composer and multi instrumentalist Nick Pynn, and between the two of them they had a small orchestra at their disposal – guitar, banjo, violin, cello, autoharp, glockenspiel, melodica, bells, theremin, wineglasses, toy piano, organ bass pedals and a loop pedal means the songs can build from fragile and stripped back, to undulating, multilayered arrangements. All this wouldn’t mean so much if the songs themselves weren’t so damn good. Kate gazed out at the audience with a serene yet captivating stare, transfixing us all with the amazing purity of her voice.
I must also mention a Scottish singer I saw called Christine Bovill, whose show of Edith Piaf songs was a triumph of beauty and tragedy. I usually run a mile from tribute shows, but this was something else entirely. Beholder of a golden, transcendental voice and accompanied by a brilliant piano player, Bovill brought her own emotive spirit to a collection of Piaf’s best songs, and told the story of the singers’ incredibly harsh and sad life, speaking in a thick Scottish accent between songs that brought a direct, humble and moving quality to the show. Piaf was the highest paid entertainer in the world in the ’50s and her songs are some of the pillars of popular music, yet her life was a complete train wreck and she was dead by her late 40s. I have never been brought to tears so many times during a show. This was powerful moving stuff. An added bonus was a guest appearance from 83-year-old Charles Dumond who wrote Piaf’s comeback tune and swansong, No Regrets in 1960, which went on to become a huge international hit. A humble and youthful fellow, he brought a great sense of joy to the stage, a fitting ending for a show about the life of a singer who had risen from the Paris slums to conquer adversity and the world.
In terms of my own shows, I am happy to report that it was sell-out audiences, great reviews and plenty of fun times. I would have to say it was the best Edinburgh Fringe for me ever, and I’ve played the festival seven times since 2003. If you want to know more, I wrote a tour blog at mikelangelo.com.au.
BY MIKELANGELO
