Thursday June 18th

Liberty’s In Town

This event was a benefit gig for Zoe’s Place organised by Mark Boden. It was held in the concert hall of Liberty’s in Town a comfortable informal setting for this evening of acoustic entertainment.

The first act of the evening was Dance Las Vegas, or to be more accurate three fifths of Dance Las Vegas. Being an acoustic evening they left the drums and bass guitar behind and brought two guitarists and the singer. This version of the band certainly gave an entertaining and lovely performance. The guitars gave a tuneful backing to Holly’s voice which was subtle and powerful as required. The songs were mostly their own compositions but the set included an Evanescence cover that worked particularly well in an acoustic setting.

The second act was David Limmer who performed solo accompanying himself with an electric piano. His tunes were simply crafted leaving no distractions to the beauty of the melody while his vocals soared over the tune often evoking lost love and emotional pain. He did sneak in a cover of the Lady Ga Ga song Poker Face which was an interesting addition to his set.

After a short break Mark Boden took to the stage. He was accompanied by Phil Philo on a second guitar and Kris McConnell on the Cajon, a percussion instrument that is sat on and tapped with the hands. They performed Flamenco music that was often lively and evocative. Mark played lead guitar on most pieces while Phil and Kris filled in with an excellent rhythm. Mark invited Holly from Dance Las Vegas to join them on stage to provide some additional vocals during a Stevie Wonder cover with a flamenco arrangement. Mark showed his rock roots when during one song he left the stage to climb on chairs and tables to sing in the audience. They finished with a lively Rumba.

Last on was Suzanne Elizabeth Marron. A singer/songwriter who performed solo with her guitar. Her songs were intricate compositions with clever lyrical dexterity and a suitably multi dimensional guitar backing while her voice soared. She performed a song in Italian to “keep in the Mediterranean mood” and performed a cover of Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi. After her set was finished she was called back for an encore and played the Eva Cassidy version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

The night was a great success and the audience enjoyed a bill that showed the wide variation of style possible within an acoustic setting. The audience respected the performers and listened to them rather than talking through the performances as sometimes happens and it was evident from the applause that all performers received that they were all greatly appreciated and everyone had a wonderful evening’s entertainment.

Review submitted by Ian Laing   

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