Mussolini and crutches...

What a good day this turned out to be….

Weather was rubbish/great – rain showers/sunshine – typical Scottish Summer Day....



I got a new bus pass, which seems to have a picture of someone else on it – it looks like the bloated face of a big fleshy blob...



I may have to revert to my previous pass with a picture of Benito Mussolini adorning it…



Actually, now I see them together, I think I like the new one better...

Anyway, in the evening I’d arranged with Jamie that we’d meet up at the Waverley by 8pm to ensure we both got to play sets at Out of the Bedroom – you have to get your name on the blackboard early to be guaranteed one of the sought after slots....

I took Anne in to town to meet up with her friend Lynn, they were off on a night out for a Thai meal and plenty of drinks – so I got to the venue on time to make the board, adding both CBQ and James Jamieson to the night’s line-up as Jamie arrived just after me...

There was a surprise as my nephew, Andy, and his girlfriend, Adele, arrived too. I’d mentioned to Andy that we intended to play and if he could make it, to come along but I hadn’t expected him to make it – they’d come in on the bus from Penicuik….

If I’m at OOTB on my own, I always find it hard to connect with the other performers but I love it when Jamie’s there too as we form a kind of double act, playing off each other and we had a good time chatting to a few people before we played....

Normally, I’ll watch the whole night but tonight we needed to talk about the music, since we’ve not played together as a trio for over a year and we also needed to discuss preparations for the upcoming Fringe gigs so we spent quite a bit of time downstairs in the bar....

Jamie was due to play at 10:45, then there was to be a break and CBQ was up at 11.05. As it turned out though, some Australian bloke with loads of gear, including a didgeridoo, played for over 30 minutes early on (no-one in charge seems to have pointed out to him the 15 min time limit on slots) so everything was running way behind schedule…

Anne and Lynn arrived just in time to see our sets and old acquaintance from my Reptile Records days, Dominic Waxing Lyrical, had also ventured in from his flat over the road to see us – I’d bumped into him in the street earlier in the night and he’d given me his mobile number to let him know when we’d be playing…

Jamie finally went on at around 11.10 after a glowing intro from the night’s compere, Scott Renton, who bemoaned the fact that it must have been over a year since he’d seen Jamie play a full three song OOTB set.

The first song was “Ribbons of Pride”, a new one that, until now, only he had heard before. It was downbeat but with a trademark JJ melody line (he’s great at that) and went down a storm. Then I joined in on “King’s Country” and “Trash Can Secrets” – again a great reaction from the audience…

They fitted a song in between us by a young white Rasta guy on crutches (?!?) while, in the background, the keyboard was hastily set up for Andy – who by this time had probably had a few drinks too many – but that didn’t have any effect on his performance…

After a rather flattering introduction from Scott, mentioning the upcoming new album (jokingly referred to as my 41st – it’s probably more like my 241st) we kicked off with a fairly laid back rendition of “The Crocodile Song” which of course Andy co-wrote. It seemed to have kind of Caribbean lilt to it.

Then into “Very Small” which always sounds great with the piano – true to form, the OOTB guitar I was using had gone out of tune so I stopped playing after the first verse and just sang over the gentle accompaniment of Andy and Jamie.

Last was “Half a Lifetime Away” which I let them start and then joined in again to keep the tempo going. We got a great reception at the end of the set and I really enjoyed not playing solo – all the pressure was off and the loose playing somehow added to the enjoyment – we definitely need to rehearse a few times before the gigs though…

By the time we finished, Andy and Adele had missed their last bus home so, while Jamie took Anne and Lynn home, I drove Andy and Adele back to Penicuik, finally getting in just after 1 am…

As I was leaving the club a girl shook my hand and said she was in Edinburgh for one day and she'd been brought along solely in order to see Cloudland Blue Quartet. She said she thought we were brilliant...moments like these are what I do this for...

What a good day this turned out to be…