Awards...

Music of the Day
Uriah Heep – Demons and Wizards
Gentle Giant – In A Glass House
Pet Shop Boys – Very
Pet Shop Boys – Fundamental

Finally, finally, managed to spend the FOPP token I won in the OOTB raffle just over a month ago. Today, I bought the 2CD Special Edition of Pet Shop Boys' "Fundamental" along with Lee Morgan's "Tom Cat"...

So far I can say that PSB is very good (though perhaps not as good as many reviews are suggesting) and that Lee Morgan's set, which was only belatedly given a Japanese release in the 80's, is top stuff jazz-wise...

Tonight it’s the annual Acoustic Idol Awards, which, this year, is at the new Edinburgh Venue, The Jam House - I listen to PSB as I drive along....

The organiser, Pete-Michael Rowan has done a great job and, this year has drummed up some sponsorship so there are real prizes to go with the home made award statuettes which are various relevant “things” superglued to a CD...

We are treated to songs from every one* of the people coming 3rd, 2nd or 1st in each category and, since no-one knew before hand who was going to be in this elite group, some of the performances are a bit ropey to say the least – but it’s a decent night’s entertainment for the gathered great and good of the Edinburgh Scene...

I spend the evening sitting with Impossible Songs’ singer and lyricist Ali Hutton – making all sorts of non-PC remarks about the merits or otherwise of the various people called upon to play (and in a karma like way of retribution was duly awarded later on)...

First up, an award for being enterprising is given to members of a group no one’s ever heard of, for e-mailing all their friends and acquaintances and getting them to vote...

The backing singer and mandolin player are on hand to sing and play for us and sound better than you’d expect a backing singer and mandolin player to do – although the mandolinist has eschewed his normal instrumentation for a guitar tonight...

The voting in “Best Pub Act”, which Pete had wanted to reflect those people who play covers in bars, has been slow to say the least but 3rd place Nobody Jones is allowed to play a couple of songs. He’s one of the best people on the circuit and gives an excellent account of himself..

Third (or rather 2nd Equal) solo artist is John Mowbray, of whom I’d heard of but never seen play before He gave us two ok songs – one of which, rather surprisingly for your correspondent, ended up being in the top three for “Song of the Year”...

Equal second was the absent but generally whizz guitarist and shy and retiring singer in her own right and bassist in Flowers for Algernon and guitarist in Chocoyamo, Lindsay Sugden. I found out later she had been ill, but a performance from her would have brightened up proceedings for me anyway on this male dominated evening of the “stars”...

And top of the pile was the undeniably streets-ahead-of-most-solo-performers, Lee Patterson. However he was a bit the worse for wear and gave us an opening song acapella with percussion played on a paper bag – hmmm.

A rather raucous song followed which seemed to have the refrain “What the fuck” and didn’t entertain me personally in the least. His last was another voice and percussion effort involving banging on an upturned guitar...

Any people wandering in for the evening without prior knowledge of what this man can do on a good night, must’ve been scratching their heads if this was the “Best Solo Act”...

Next – the heats for “Best Song” in which the “top” three were played. POL took to the stage (he must have been forewarned he was to play as he had his own guitar and equipment with him) and gave us his anti-war song “One” which probably isn’t his best song – but he entertained us with his novel method of guitar playing which involves hitting rather than strumming..

Next up John Mowbray had to repeat the first of the two songs he’d already played “Don’t Let Her Slip Away”...

Finally, Big Jim Whyte gave us his song about a dog he finds in the street called “Love”. The song’s called “I Found Love” and has a clever lyric with a nice circling chord sequence on the guitar but which, like POL’s earlier, merely featured the same four chords played throughout the song...

It got my vote though and the result was to be announced later on...

Next up was the award for Best Club and Out of the Bedroom won by a mile – though quite a few other clubs did apparently garner at least some votes and “The Listening Room” came second...

Best group gave us a nifty performance from Fraser Drummond in the guise of his duo Confushian, followed by Graeme Mearns (like Nobody Jones and Lee Patterson one of the best people around for acoustic music – the three of them seem to have the two things most people, including me, don’t – they have good voices and good guitar technique – usually it’s one or the other, or sadly, in all too many cases, neither)...

But, surprisingly (for the winner himself too by the looks of things) winning out over those two was Norman Lamont and the Innocents. Clearly chuffed to bits (and why not) Norman took to the stage with Lynsey Hutchison (usually bass and Backing Vocals but tonight just the latter) and Nelson Wright (like Lee Paterson earlier, using an upturned guitar for percussion) played us three songs in their inimitable style...

Best CD was next and yours truly picked up third spot for my superb and briliant album "Deeperdown" ("only third??? surely some mistake" I hear you cry...)



...but, for some inexplicable reason, I was the only top three awardee not given the chance to play...

Fraser Drummond (who’d already played) picked up second spot and Norman Lamont (who’d already played) won the day again with his EP “Romantic Fiction 1”.

Still, to have come third out of twenty nominees wasn’t bad and I consoled myself with the fact that I’d not bothered e-mailing anyone about the nomination or asking anyone to vote for me – perhaps if I had I’d have won – but at what cost to my conscience ha! ha!

Not getting to play was VERY annoying though...

But since Norman wasn’t dragged back up to the stage either, *maybe it was always intended that the award for people who’d actually bothered to spend some considerable time recording their songs did not merit the chance to air any of them live...

The result of the best song voting was announced and Big Jim won – and played his song again – second repeat rendition of the night...

Finally, the overall acoustic idol was announced – based on most votes received by anyone in any category...

And so it was that the Acoustic Idol for 2006 was, erm, Out of the Bedroom...

An entertaining evening, even if I wasn't allowed to add to the entertainment myself...

Yours, eating sour grapes...

Highlight of the Day : 3rd Best CD of the Year at Acoustic Idol