The bar's been raised...

It was a night of lovely contrasts, beautiful songs and outstanding playing. Our guests Michael Garrett and Louis Brennan were both magnificent last Wednesday at our second SCE concert.

Michael Garrett

Michael's voice is light and  mellifluous; Louis' can make Tom Waits sound sweet. Michael draws us in with intriguing stories of historical characters and their devious deeds; Louis dares to tell the truth of his own heavyweight life experiences and challenges us not to look away. Both are consummate songwriters. Michael crafts his songs of others very finely, betraying a precise skill. Louis has an ear for a heart-skipping, 'did-he-really-sing-that?' line which demands a different kind of attention. They're both great artists and we were treated royally by their performances of the songs they've written.

Louis Brennan

We also found out a little about the what, why, when, how, where and who of their writing as they patiently responded to the host's (my) prompting. We learned that Louis likes to create in the prone position, that he listens to Leonard Cohen and that alcohol may play some part in the process. Michael is a fan of country music and loves writing as much as performing.

The host (me) played, too; a mixture of new and old, stories of London and California and sad songs with happy tunes (or 'Stealth Misery' as they're now known).

Our second evening was a top-quality affair. The bar's been set high.

Now for SCE#3: November 11th, 7.30 featuring Theo Bard - complete with recently released EP - a second guest TBC and yours truly.

If it's as good as SCE#2, it's going to be great.