Phillip Roebuck @ Nice 'n' Sleazies

Phillip Roebuck walks onto the stage, straps himself into what looks like a medieval torture device with a bass drum and a tambourine attached and clips something onto his shoes. People stand on stools and benches to try and get a better look. Someone cogitates over what's happening, eventually declaring, "He's a one-man band." Then suddenly, after a few seconds of tuning up, the noise of a banjo being played at breakneck speed and the thud-thud-thud of the bass drum on Roebuck's back fills the room. Hollering through songs from 'One Man Band' and forthcoming release 'Fever Pitch', Roebuck captures and rallies his newfound audience so well that it calls for quiet, even when he's only tuning up. When a 53 year-old called "John" crashes the stage, removes his shirt and dances along, the ardour of what the basement of Nice 'n' Sleazies has just seen quickly becomes apparent. [Neil Ferguson]