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Gig Reviews

Favela, 17 John Street, Glasgow
3rd November 2005

It was a hot November night in Glasgow and the International acoustic music festival, "Emergenza", was kicking off in Favela, in John Street in the heart of the city centre. Favela is a basement venue and the crooks and nannies that abounded seemed to add to the permeating "city at night" atmosphere. Mud & Butter were second to last to play out of ten bands and boy did the organisers keep the best to second to last.

All prior offerings from "the best of Glasgow's acoustic musicians" consisted of dreary indie hokum and lyrics containing the words "slide" and "fade" (the one exception was a wee guy who had a nice Bert Jansch approach). Mud & Butter were unlike any other band on the bill - a two piece for a start, vocals, guitar and sax - and most of all they were the only band with a distinctive look (sleek), style (jazzy) and image (classy).

The band were in upbeat mood from off and the crowd were woken from the slumber induced by earlier efforts. The band were, to be quite blunt, shit hot. Michael played and sang his best yet and Fiona was in inspirational form. Highlights were "Going for a Song", "Girl on the landing" (featuring an appealing vocal from Fiona that the crowd went wild for) and of course the stompa-a-bility of "Dukes at Eight" was unbelievable. Mud & Butter were also the only band to encourage people up to dance with their satisfying swing and it was clear the band knew the music they were conveying.

Sad then that when it came to the vote all the indie numptys of the day got through to the Scottish heat final, whilst the only true band of the night where left to whistle. Still, thats the jazz life for you. One minute your looking good and playing hard as hell and the next your left to walk the streets of a tough city onwards to the next gig. But those who were there will remember.

Stephen McGowan

Icon, Candleriggs, GLASGOW
11th September 2005

An emotional gig was almost ensured for this, the last outing by brushes man McGowan, but it was the range of emotions that flowed through the venue that was pleasantly surprising. The gig was also a birthday celebration for guitarist and singer Michael and the joint was jumping. A good crowd, fuelled by some great food, and the odd libation, were really up for some jazz, blues and all points in between, and that's exactly what they got.

The band were on top form, playing all the old favourites and some recently added new numbers. The banter punctating the numbers was lighthearted and had the crowd in good spirits, and considering it was a close knit affair the heckling was noticeably two way.

Mud & Butter swung well on numbers like Going for a song and I can't give you anything but love, but came right back with great slow burners. A highlight, especially for this reviewer, was the cover of Hard Times, you really can't go wrong with Ray Charles.

As the afternoon gave way to evening, and the band began to wind up it only remained to finish with their signature insrumental number The Shakedown. McGowan let rip with his usual shout to kick it off and from there the band never let up, swinging hard and fast with some superb sax lines from Fiona powering it along. However, the surprise of the gig came for Stephen when, as Michael pulled in the reins for his solo, he built it back up with a quote from seventies TV classic Quincy. It was all the brushes maestro could do to hold on.

This major outing of the young band signaled the end of an era, but hopefully the start of the next, and if rumours are to be believed a recording of the event may be forthcoming in the future.

J. Hodges

BAR BUDDA, 142 ST VINCENT STREET, GLASGOW
30th JUNE 2005

Our return to what is fast becoming a home away from home was met with a great crowd - the post work crew love the premises for its great menu, the option of a little bit of swing and jazz thrown in was enough to tempt a few people! The place was packed when the band kicked off, and it was indeed hot as hell up there - so much so that kindly taverna gaffer James Rusk set up a fan for the band. Under an atmospheric red light the band splayed out with several new live numbers, including "Old Fashioned Morphine", "Make Me Down a Pallet", "Evans Essence" and "I Think You Know What I Mean". By far the best song of the night was "Going For a Song", a Michael Strain original with fantastic accompaniment from Fiona on sax. Once again we have been invited back and will be playing again next week.

Previous Gigs

Our Recent gigs....

Friday 13th January 2006
Tchai Ovna
42 Otago Lane, Glasgow
0141 357 4524
8pm-10pm, Free Entry

Thursday 22nd December 2005
Elliot's (Open Mic)
203 Bath Street
0141 248 2060
Red/i, open stage night with a Christmas feel. Come along and play your festive tunes.
Free entry

Thursday 17th November 2005
BAR BUDDA
142 St Vincent Street, Glasgow
0141 248 7881
7.30pm to 9.30pm, Free Entry

Sunday 13th November
ELLIOT'S 203 Bath Street
0141 248 2060
5pm (afternoon of music, M&B on at 9pm)
Free entry

Thursday 10th November 2005
BAR BUDDA WEST END
Cresswell Lane, Hillhead
0141 337 6201
8.30pm to Late, Free Entry

Thursday 3rd November 2005
Favela
Part of the EMERGENZA Acoustic festival
17 John Street, Glasgow
0141 552 3505
7pm - late, �4 (from the band)

Thursday 20th October 2005
BAR BUDDA WEST END
Cresswell Lane, Hillhead
0141 337 6201
8.30pm to Late, Free Entry

Friday 14th October 2005
Tchai Ovna
42 Otago Lane, Glasgow
0141 357 4524
8pm-10pm, Free Entry

Thursday 6th October 2005
BAR BUDDA
142 St Vincent Street, Glasgow
0141 248 7881
7.30pm to 9.30pm, Free Entry

Thursday 15th September 2005
BAR BUDDA
142 St Vincent Street, Glasgow
0141 248 7881
7.30pm to 9.30pm, Free Entry

Sunday 11th September 2005
ICON, 24 Candleriggs
0141 552 0243
4pm, Free Entry

Sunday 4th September 2005
ICON, 24 Candleriggs
0141 552 0243
4pm, Free Entry

Thursday 1st September 2005
BAR BUDDA
142 St Vincent Street, Glasgow
0141 248 7881
7.30pm to 9.30pm, Free Entry

Sunday 28th August 2005
ICON, 24 Candleriggs
0141 552 0243
3.30pm, Free Entry

Thursday 25th August 2005
BAR BUDDA WEST END
Cresswell Lane, Hillhead
0141 337 6201
9pm, Free Entry

Sunday 21st August 2005
ICON
24 Candleriggs, Glasgow
0141 552 0243
2pm to 4pm, Free Entry

Thursday 18th August 2005
BAR BUDDA
142 St Vincent Street, Glasgow
0141 248 7881
7.30pm to 9.30pm, Free Entry

Thursday 4th August 2005
BAR BUDDA
142 St Vincent Street, Glasgow
0141 248 7881
7.30pm to 9.30pm, Free Entry

SATURDAY 30th JULY 2005
BAR BUDDA
142 ST VINCENT STREET, GLASGOW
8pm till Late

THURSDAY 28th JULY 2005
BAR BUDDA
142 ST VINCENT STREET, GLASGOW
7.30pm, FREE ENTRY

Thursday 7th July 2005
BAR BUDDA, 142 St Vincent Street
7.30pm, Free Entry

Thursday 30th June 2005
Bar Budda, 142 St Vincent Street, Glasgow
7.30pm, Free Entry

Thursday 23rd June 2005
Glasgow Jazz Festival....Supporting The Gus Munro Blues Band & The Blues Buddahs
THE EDGE BAR, 57 Cochrane Street, George Square, Glasgow,
7.30pm. Tickets �3.00

Thursday 16th June 2005
Bar Budda, 142 St Vincent Street, Glasgow
7.30pm, Free Entry

More reviews

THE EDGE BAR, GEORGE SQUARE
23rd JUNE 2005

The Jazz Festival 2005 had Courtney Pine in Glasgow's George Square - overlooking him was the windows of The Edge Bar! This gig was Mud & Butter's first support slot - here to Glasgow blues bands The Gus Monro Band and the ubiquitous Blues Buddahs, who you may have noticed elsewhere in these pages. The gig was attended by internet-journo Stephen McKenna, in charge of the Whats On Section of the icscotland.co.uk pages. Here is the full body of his review, which was first posted on www.icscotland.co.uk on 27th June 2005:

The Blues Buddahs

By Stephen McKenna

Rating :

My second trip into the Glasgow Jazz Festival saw me discovering three new bands and a new venue. Not bad for a night's work!

The Edge Bar in Glasgow's George Square was pretty quiet downstairs, but as I made my way upstairs through the stylish modern interior I saw a much busier crowd listening to the first band of the night, Mud & Butter.

Clever jazzy blues three-piece Mud & Butter are a solid young band made up of acoustic guitar, vocals, drums and sax.

Dressed up in white shirts, black ties and Blues Brothers style black hats, the boys from Mud & Butter definitely looked the part!

Sitting on a stool with his acoustic guitar, lead singer Michael played some excellent jazzy riffs with the utmost ease and looked like he was enjoying himself too!

Drummer Stephen would have benefited greatly from a vocal mic at his disposal as he frequently stole the snare mic from its stand and spoke between songs. His stripped down drum kit took centre stage and his subtle brush strokes added a gentle feel to the set.

Considering that their new sax player has only been with them a few weeks, the band played really well together and the influence of the new member was evident as she dropped the sax and let loose with a lead vocal on one song.

After much stage adjustment, second up were The Gus Munro Blues Band. The Glasgow three-piece were more rock than roll.

Singer Gus is a good guitarist, but his guitar was far too loud for the mix and it drowned out everything else. The essence of the music was lost in a wall of distortion.

The bassist played some great funky, bluesy bass lines and knitted together really well with the drummer. The band didn't really make too much of a connection with the crowd, however and most of Gus's vocals were lost as the venue isn't built for sound.

Headliners The Blues Buddahs came on stage just after 10pm and were an instant hit with the crowd. They played a gutsy two-hour set with only a small break in the middle.

The Blues Buddahs are not your average blues band. All confines of clich� blues predictability is thrown out of the window as their influences span from psychedelic rock to soul and jazz.

Charismatic lead singer Dennis Smalley is renowned for being a Ricky Tomlinson look alike. This may be true, but his singing skill is a lot better than the famous beer guzzler from The Royle Family.

The un-disputed star of last night's show was the guitarist. His dextrous fingers are impeccably quick and he sounds like a modern day Jimi Hendrix or Dave Gilmour.

The Blues Buddahs have a natural ability for involving the whole audience in their performance and making everyone feel at home. Front man Dennis kept the crowd amused with his on stage banter and got everyone singing and dancing along to their mix of covers and original material. The Buddahs have built up a loyal fan base since they first formed in 1999 and play gigs all over Scotland.

Their next gig is on July 2nd in The Bon Accord in Glasgow. After that they play the Dundee Blues Bonanza on July 3rd.

For more information on The Blues Buddahs visit: thebluesbuddahs.4t.com

BAR BUDDA, 142 ST VINCENT STREET, GLASGOW
16th JUNE 2005

This was Mud & Butters Debut gig, and was met with great enthusiasm by the Budda management team led by James Rusk. The gig kicked off about 7.45pm and the band payed two 50 minute sets to great response from the patrons of the bar. The set itself featured a large variety of self penned numbers, with singer/guitarist/songwriter Michael Strain at the helm, along some well well chosen jazz classics such as "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", "Nows The Time" and the ubiquitous "Take Five". The latter of these was met with great applause as Fiona's sax playing lit up this atmospheric bar. Advertised as "Dinner with Jazz - but you can just have a drink if you want", the mood was intimate, candle lit and suited the style of Mud & Butter down to a tee.

Michael & Stephen were suitably attired in 1940s style hats, shirts and ties! The crowd called for an encore at the end of gig ; which was the Michael Strain number "Dukes at 8", a swingin' little ditty about good times in a local bar!

In fact, the band have been asked to play in Bar Budda again in two weeks time. A great time was had the band and from early reports the crowd loved it too. Some Promotional shots of the band were taken whilst playing and we hope to have them appear here shortly.

Mud & Butter