NICK RYAN:
It was fantastic to catch more of Nick Ryans work - I was happy to hear a well known singer/songwriter enjoying the night also, make favourable comments on his performance and his songwriting skills.
Nick had some assistance tonight from harmonica player, Phil Hewitt. Phil added a little more depth to Nicks wonderful words and it made me think of just how great it would be to hear Nick's songs performed by a full band - now THAT would be a treat... I will wait for that with eager anticipation!


ANA KATOULAS:
Ana Katoulis is a local singer/songwriter with a most definitive "Aussie" taste to her work. The accent added a sense of quirkiness to her songs. It was akin to an innocent, youthful story telling session. It was quite refreshing.
On stage with Ana was sister Jesse helping with some lovely harmonies on a few tunes until she handed the stage and the spotlight back to her sister for her solo performance.
Ana's songs have a soulful, moral and earthy theme to them.. they seem more mature and experienced than young Ana appears. Her debut performance of "Simple" was a treat. Ana mostly does some performances in the big smoke but I can see her sitting at a few cosy venues up here entertaining our locals and visitors with her unique sound.

THE SHANE ROMEYN SOLUTION:
Shane Romeyn Solution tonight consisted of Shane Romeyn on guitar and Shane Brown on drums (a full kit).
The sound of the full kit and the unusual effect of Shanes guitar was big and I am at a loss as to what genre to describe Shane's solution as.
I think I would have to have leant toward the bluesy side of a genre but I think in this room it was a bit too big to make a fair judgement. I had images of Shane up on a big stage in the open, as in a festival setting. I will look forward to a chance to catch Shane at a larger, more accomodating venue for his style of music.

HITCHCOKS REGRET:
With just a glimpse of the assortment of 'instruments' that Mr Lang was setting up on the stage it did promise to be a most entertaining and intersting set... but, how amazing it was to witness the almost black hole, vacuum like effect of Mark Moldre's quiet and artistic performance virtually suck the attention of those in the room to the stage for this performance. Hitchcocks Regrets' name itself implies the class of the style of this band. A movie like comaprison would be something like "The Last Samurai" or "Lord Of The Rings" (omitting of course the classic Hitchcock films here) to "Legally Blonde"!
Endeavoruing to describe the hypnotic style that is Hitchcocks Regret is like trying to describe a cool breeze on a sweltering day - until you feel it yourself you really cannot get the whole picture... suffice to say there are three albums available and an ability to hear them from the Hitchcocks Regret Website. As the hatted man used to say - "Do yourself a favour"...