Part two of my journey into the Glasgow West End Festival saw me discover not only a new venue but a new artist too.
You could be forgiven for walking right past the Oran Mor at the top of Byres Road, thinking that it is an old church. That is because it is an old church, which has been converted into an arts venue, restaurant and whisky bar.
The gig last night was in 'the venue' part of the vast church, which also consists of an auditorium, a Brasserie, a conservatory, a gallery and a private dining room. The artist was guitarist David Allison with his show The St Kilda Tapes.
Described as 'One of Scotland's most talented and innovative acoustic guitarists', David Allison has a distinctive approach to performing live as a solo musician using one of those digital loop pedals to create a layered sound. It seems to be a tool that is opening many doors of opportunity for musicians who want to dabble in new technology.
David Allison's St Kilda Tapes show provides a soundtrack to old black and white tape reel footage from the Outer Hebrides islands of St Kilda. This amazing footage was taken in 1930 when all of the islanders were being evacuated from the island.
The remarkable archive footage was shown on a screen at the back of the stage and partly projected onto David himself.
The stage set up was fairly busy as David sat in the middle of the stage surrounded by acoustic guitars and many effects pedals and he engulfed the audience in an assortment of different sounds using only a guitar, a synthesizer an egg shaker and a percussive sweep brush.
The majority of David's songs started off with him using his acoustic guitar as a drum. This he would play through his loop pedal and it would loop back through the speakers. He would then click another pedal and his acoustic guitar would sound like a bass, using this he would add a bass line to the song. The song would then be built around this backing track in a mesmerising and impressive sequence.
The music was a wonderful addition to the fascinating images behind him and the guitar provided a traditional Scottish style soundtrack for the St Kilda Tapes; complete with water sound effects from the synthesizer.
The audience were spellbound by David's live show and they gave him rapturous applause after his last song. Those hoping for an encore were not disappointed as David returned with his Spanish Flamenco style guitar in hand and serenaded the whole audience; walking up the middle of the rows of seating and showing off his highly accomplished guitar playing.
