The Bluebird Café Edinburgh August 14th 2017
One of the things I love about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is that you take a chance on something which catches your eye and you end up in places you would never normally expect to. So it was last night when my wife and I, along with two friends, pitched up in this tiny little café joining perhaps fifteen others for what turned out to be a very enjoyable evening of music. To say that this was up close and personal, as Libby and Chuck took to what little remained of the floor space, is somewhat of an understatement. Over the course of two sets taking song about Libby and Chuck regaled us with musical tales from Texas some funny and others sad. This was pure Americana at its best. Simple in presentation just two acoustic guitars and two voices there was no need for any sort of sound re-enforcement in fact it would have detracted from the warmth and intimacy. In circumstances like this there is absolutely no hiding place not that either of these two performers had any need of such things. It was clear that in every sense they were fully professional and had been for many years. When it was Chuck’s turn to play one of his songs Libby added some harmonies and additional guitar parts but oddly enough Chuck did not return the favour. This did not leave an imbalance at all and I’m guessing that adding harmonies just comes more naturally to her. Drawing, in part, from their individual latest releases of Libby - Just Move On and Chuck - Silverline our musical needs were well satiated. If you get a chance do take a moment to seek them out via the internet. Good music from two excellent writers like Libby and Chuck deserves to be heard.