Seasick Steve @ Barrowland, 21 Oct

“I took the train from Liverpool today,” drawls Seasick Steve, and the crowd inexplicably woop and cheer. It appears that, much like his music, the magic lies not in what he says, but how; the warm and funny anecdotes scattered elsewhere in tonight’s set making the unwieldy Barrowlands feel intimate and cosy. Similarly, while his blues-rock lacks originality or finesse, it enthrals when performed live on a beat up six-string (well, four-string or three-string in most instances). During one song Steve takes umbrage at those who question his authenticity, while swigging a bottle of Jack to the sound of a scratched washboard. But regardless of the suspected theatricality of his hobo-props, Seasick Steve is the real deal: a bonafide star as comfortable performing to 1,900 here as he seemed on Paul O’Grady’s noisy televisual headache last week. Embracing the contradictions and challenging the naysayers, tonight Seasick Steve is the gin-u-wine article.