Sarah Gillespie @ Cluny 2. February 2nd

Sarah Gillespie (vocals & guitar), Gilad Atzmon (soprano saxophone, clarinet, accordion & harmonica) & Beb Bastin (double bass) Cluny 2, the smaller annexe to the well established Cluny venue in the Ouseburn, drew a good number of listeners to Sarah Gillespie's first appearance on Tyneside. Gillespie played six string acoustic finger style, bassist Ben Bastin played sympathetically throughout, often deploying a slap bass technique and Gilad Atzmon, no stranger to Newcastle audiences, was on good form musically and as stand up comedian.

Gillespie cites Bob Dylan as an influence and many others including Joan As Police Woman, Radiohead and Be Good Tanyas with the latter two most evident in her writing and vocal style. The Be Goods' connection made one think of Gillespie as an ideal performer for the Jumpin' Hot Club with its policy of programming Americana acts not least the Be Goods.

Featured material came from the CDs Stalking Juliet (Malicious Simone and Big Mistake) and In The Current Climate (Lucifer's High Chair and How The West Was Won). A blues - Nobody Loves You When You're Down and Out - and a rockabilly version of All Of Me were quirky highlights with Atzmon excelling on soprano. Russell