Rory McLeod

 RORY McLEOD

Musician Pub July 13th 2023

Unique start, around 8.00 we heard the plaintive strains of a harmonica from the back of the room... we turned and Rory was walking from the back playing harmonica... near the front he impersonated a telephone on the harp.. picked up and answered an empty glass and delivered his end of the conversation before walking around the audience playing superb harmonica before eventually taking the stage... he said he would do about 90 minutes maybe a little bit more, and go through without a break... so eventually after 2 hours 20 minutes he closed his set... and what a set it was

Clearly a superb harp player Rory spent the bulk of the evening accompanying himself on guitar. I loved his guitar playing, strong and percussive, and along with the stamp board ensured that the he maintained a strong rhythm throughout. The songs, all original, tended to be long and extremely wordy... never straight narrative but totally rivetting and taking in a range of subjects including songs about family... including a song about a friends death and his own conception... as well as many making strong social and indeed political points. And yes... on the last song he managed to sing, play harp, stamp-board and spoons simultaneously!!

The banter between songs echoed the songs... always fascinating, and many strong points being made with almost throwaway lines...

The delivery was almost scattergun, but never irrelevant or banal... Rory is a songwriter, singer, musician and story teller of the highest quality... at times his delivery had echoes of Billy Bragg and at other times more reminiscent of Bernard Cribbins...

Make no mistake... this was a wonderful and hugely entertaining 140 minutes in the hands of a master of his trade... superb

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