Pictish Trail

Having seen Pictish Trail aka Johnny Lynch a few times, I knew to expect quirk and last night we got it in spades. Multi-lingual support act Bunty is at her most fluent when layering and looping found sounds, some from musical instruments, using pedals arranged on a tiger skin across an ironing board. This was interesting for a while but she checked if she had 5 more minutes, before doing another 10, then did a "very tiny" encore that went on, frankly, a little bit too long. The audience were wildly appreciative (this tiny venue - this was my first time here - can't be faulted for its warm and friendly vibe), but I think we had the idea after the first 20 minutes. Johnny aka PT started his set with a few songs accompanied by just an acoustic guitar, before switching gears and going electric. His eccentricity (the man chooses to live on the Isle of Eigg, for heaven sake) is a key element of his performance style, so we were treated to stories of watching ASMR slime videos during lockdown (inspiring a whole album), the adoption of a false head and much else besides. Nothing if not entertaining, this was value for money. Tickets less than a tenner, a couple of hours sonic experimentation and a cosy bar. No complaints from me.