jeudi 21 Jui 2007, 5h23m

Wed 20 Jun – Britannia Panopticon

Last night was a fun night. The Panopticon is a very special venue. It's the oldest show house in Glasgow, built in 1857. As you walk in you can smell that stale scent of old wood. Because of the age of the building safety regulations restricted the attendance to just 80 people, giving a very intimate opportunity to watch and listen to the artist. Two shows were done on the day, one starting at 04.30pm and the other at 07:30pm.

Colleen was the perfect artist for this venue. The beautiful sounds of the cello and the subtle acoustics of the venue made the sound so satisfying to hear. Colleen came on quietly and set up her equipment, using just her cello, a digital four-track/sampler and some expert improvisation with wind chimes, Colleen performed an excellent set of four songs which I will never forget.

The second support act, Nalle was also interesting to hear. The singers voice was very talented and I enjoyed their set too. I will have to give their debut album, By Chance Upon Waking from 2006 a listen to.

I also have to note the first support act, Phosphene. I wasn't into them at all. The first 2 songs were interesting because of the improvised use of various pedals and a synth, which I like to see (when it's done well) but it descended into a display of something I can't find polite words to describe.

And for the duration of the support acts there was a projector with some amateur art school guy randomly putting slides up. I guessed the slides had something to do with the Panopticon and Glasgow, but they just irritated me, and I felt they only served to distract me from listening to the music. Although at one point he was using a technique of placing two acetate images over one another and 'wiggling' them around a bit. This gave a cool sort of effect that pleased me, but still the substance of his performance was well under par. Luckily Colleen had the artistic sense to not have any of that visual stuff and let the beauty of her music enlighten us.

All in all, it was a very interesting and entertaining night. I hope to see Colleen again soon, and wish the Panopticon all the best in continuing to keep alive what is a unique venue in Glasgow.