Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The Edinburgh Fringe is perhaps arguably the most exciting and diverse event to place in the U.K. during the optimistically lazy days of August. The thought of the dark days and nights to come as the year gallops towards its end not quite lingering in the air like a last minute firework set off well after the others have fallen and crashed spent to the floor but still floating in its embryonic state, it is with that in mind that August should be about letting go, of doing things differently and playing it fast and loose with convention as the Edinburgh Fringe suggests.

For Justin Currie, the voice of Del Amitri, the man who can seemingly send a shiver of sadness and blissful ecstasy down the spines of his fans in equal measure, fast and loose can only mean one thing, performing in the beautiful Queen’s Hall twice in the same evening. Young actors and seasoned Fringe professionals don’t even attempt that, to be in the hall watching Justin Currie pull out all the stops was a venture worth attending, no matter which part of the night you went to.

The thought of two gigs straight after another, a 15 minute break in between in which to perhaps change your footwear, take a swig of reviving fluid or even just sit down and wonder exactly why you placed your thoughts into believing you can do it is enough to even send a fan into the type of stupor usually reserved for the attending a one sided hockey match in which you know Australia are going to roll over your team, for Justin Currie though it only seemed to invigorate the musician.

With a new solo album out, Lower Reaches, it was only to be expected that Justin Currie would spend time exploring the new songs for the vast and vocally appreciative audience inside The Queen’s Hall but with the set straddling both the solo experience and the Del Amitri back catalogue there wasn’t a disappointed facial expression to be seen anywhere in the building.

Tracks such as the openers Every Song’s The Same and What Is Love For? set the tone for a wonderful evening entertainment and songs such as Priscilla, Fred Partington’s Daughter, Last To Know, Tonight I’m Gonna Hurt Everyone I love, the phenomenally good The Girl Inside with its well observed lyrical prose, Driving With The Brakes On and the fan favourite Nothing Ever Happens, Justin Currie gave his audience all they could have ever wanted on the final weekend of the Edinburgh Festival.

If the Festival shows everything that is good about the art in the city of Edinburgh and in Scotland, then Justin Currie more than added to that sense of belonging, of being in the right city at the right time, a cool and calm performance punctuated by the element of the downright superb.

Justin Currie performs at The Epstein Theatre in Liverpool on Friday 7th November

Ian D. Hall