Just how good would the later shows be? I pondered in my last post. Well, dear reader, the gods smiled down, and despite my lack of attempts to get any semblance of an act together, Tuesday early evening I found myself in Inverness, having a scrummy meal before getting up close with the Blues again! Yes, I got to see Louis Crosland playing guitar for blues harmonica player Giles Robson a second time, at the Castle Tavern in Inverness, yay! It was the sixth of eight shows, the last one is tonight in Dumfries.

Aha, checking back to last year, there’s only the vaguest mention of my roadtrip last July, that’s when I first discovered the Castle Tavern, a great wee pub serving a fine selection of ales and very tasty grub. This year’s visit was even better with added blues! To be honest, I couldn’t quite fathom where the gig would happen, ha, in the restaurant space upstairs, they close it for the evening, just serving food in the pub and outside seated area. Still, not a large area, so indeed, the show title Up Close With The Blues could not have been truer.

There was no room to eat inside when I wandered in after six, so I chanced a table just outwith the covered area, only a few spots of rain to perturb me but nothing really. As I hadn’t eaten much through the day, a hearty dish of macaroni cheese (with haggis for an extra £1) with salad and garlic bread seemed a sensible plan, accompanied by a pint of Happy Chappy (to match my cheeriness). I’m not usually a mac’n’cheese kinda moose, but this was seriously tasty and a perfect amount, I was nicely set for more ale, just steady halves, I was being sensible; also, I wasn’t about to miss any of the music having to nip away to the loo.

Seven o’clock, folk started heading up, the show started at eight. Most were able to sit, but a few stood at the bar, mind, they all looked like the types that would have stood, even if there’d been enough seats! So, shortly after eight, two chaps sat in the corner of a pub restaurant and gave the gathered, over two hours of sweet blues bliss (oh, there was a break for more beer). Starting off with the upbeat GR Shuffle, then moving on to the slower swagger of Your Dirty Look and Your Sneaky Grin, a marvellous title! (there’s a performance of this song at Robson’s Fringe show in 2024 on YouTube). It was all bloody brilliant, Where You Been possibly my favourite from the first set; mind, My Babe, what a wowser to finish it with!

Town to Town kicked off the second set, wow, like the first half was just a warm-up! Key To The Highway was an utter joy, every next tune had its own brilliance. I’d said in my last post that hearing Louis’ playing the week before blew me away, now five shows on, there was a clear connection between the two musicians; it was so good to catch a later show, to see a subtly more self-assured Louis shine, giving a relaxed, eloquent performance alongside the great Giles Robson. The first encore, an improvisation in the key of G, oh my heartses, sublime! Blow Wind Blow ended a wonderful evening, a big fuzzy hug for the soul kind of evening. Soooo happy to have been there!

Mind, if you’re thinking, that all sounds like something you’d like too. Well, tonight’s Dumfries show may not be the last time that Louis plays blues guitar for Giles Robson ….

Toodle pip!