04-02-2002 Revolver

This is easily the busiest I have seen a Club Acoustica and for two acts in particular, Matt McHugh (The Beautiful Girls) and Lyall Adonis, they sit up and pay attention.

But... first things first. You know you're in for a good night when your opening act is as good as Shimmer. The three piece play a wistful folk pop that has its roots (spiritually at least) in the musical freedom of the late sixties. Shimmer update it though by taking the feeling and freedom of that era and throwing it in with what is probably best termed an eclectic blend of 'world' music. It's just beginning to pay off for this band and when they hit their stride, as they do a few times tonight, the music really takes flight.

Tonight the Club Acoustica crew revel in their variety!

Miss Radio, a three piece girl pop act from Byron, are up next - they sing well, write catchy and hooky songs and generally seem to be having a hoot on stage retelling the woes of their love life. This extends to writing songs about people you suspect they've long since stopped working with. Drummer boy is the noughties, girl pop (ooh err) version of Benny Hill. But where a lot of people would fail doing this kind of thing Miss Radio carry it off with a nice self deprecating lightness.

Following this Matt McHugh strolls on with his dobro, although the dobro sadly only stays for one song. Now the crowd doesn't exactly come to a hush straight off - this happens about a third of the way through the set - but this doesn't bother McHugh. He isn't going to jump up and down to be heard and people will - as happens at Club Acoustica - come to him. McHugh is currently the only person walking the line where hip hop, blues and reggae meet. Songs with feel. He's quietly working his way (with The Beautiful Girls) to being an unmissable act.

Jigzag are the third three piece for the night and they're probably the punchiest. They do a kind of mesh of acoustic cabaret and gypsy style that at one stage or another demands the punters' attention. When it ain't the good time rollicking music it's their stage antics. A frustrated singer starfishes himself on stage and everybody hushes. But it's their last song...

Then Lyall Adonis comes on and suddenly the whole joint looks, like that episode of the Simpsons where Millhouse gets a girlfriend and their lips are vacuum sealed. One thing is certain about Adonis, he knows how to push people's emotional buttons. These are songs that, in structure and delivery, remind me of David Gray, they are strong, ready for radio tunes. And like Gray, his delivery veers from the uber-strong to almost fey and in places his voice has got a weird almost overtone that has you looking around to make sure it's just the one dude on stage. It is. For the most part. The songs lift again when Adonis is joined by Karma County's Brendan Gallagher, who comes on and adds some tasty Spanish style leads.

Adonis, alone on encore, finishes what is a pretty awesome night for Club Acoustica: a varied and professional show to a packed room!