Gig Review

To Surgeon’s Hall, then, on Friday 22nd, for Night Owl’s show ‘Dylan Under Cover.’ Now, two caveats to what might sound like a negative review of what was in reality a very pleasant way to spend an hour during the Fringe madness.

Firstly, Night Owl are a professional covers outfit that do tribute shows of many artists, including Amy Winehouse, Fleetwood Mac, and Blondie, to name but three of many. I’m not sure therefore how much you can expect of them – and, again, they were very good.

Secondly, I’m not a stranger myself to doing Dylan covers, having put on a night of Dylan tributes some years ago and then, in 2023, pulling together a band to do the entirety of his Bobness’s album ‘Oh Mercy.’ In fact, by coincidence, Graham and I had but 48 hours before been in a rehearsal room with others hashing out a new version of ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ for a future performance.

So, accompanied as I was by Graham and Mark, both of whom had been in the ‘Oh Mercy’ band with me, we weren’t going to be short of opinions, what with them having played in bands forever and me being a partially rehabilitated Dylan nut.

The show began with a bit of AV on the screen behind the stage, talking about the youthful Bobby Zimmerman’s first rock and roll performance, which his headmaster pulled the plug on (you can imagine the old boy in his dotage putting on one of Dylan’s 80s clinkers, ‘Down in the Groove,’ for example, and saying, ‘See? Told you he had no talent!’). Then, instead of an 18-year-old Dylan, we got the beautiful and talented 18-year-old Hannah Richards, singing a couple of initial numbers by herself with acoustic guitar.

This was in many ways a highlight of the show. Richards has a lovely voice – reminiscent at times of Joan Baez, without the tiresome warbling – and her simple fingerpicking was all ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright’ and ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ needed.

Richards was then joined by a band: drummer, bass, acoustic guitar and keyboards. And that would be where the nitpicking starts. First off, not that he seemed to be doing much, the guitarist was pretty inaudible from our side of the room: he was joined for the final number, inevitably ‘Rolling Stone,’ by the boy that held up the signage during ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ on a Strat, but he didn’t seem to be doing much beyond a bit of strumming either.

That may have been because the drummer, who had a full kit, was so loud: the keyboard player, who was great by the way, did most of the heavy lifting by way of accompaniment. The result was an unbalanced noise that was at its best during full-on numbers like ‘Homesick,’ ‘Rainy Day Women,’ and ‘Rolling Stone.’ Other songs like ‘Tangled Up In Blue,’ and ‘Hurricane’ would’ve benefited from a much lighter drum pattern and the acoustic guitar much further up in the mix.

Richards did her best against the wall of sound, and a slightly lighter arrangement worked really well on ‘that Adele song,’ ‘Make You Feel My Love.’ That to me was the highlight, with the singer picking up her guitar again, and the drummer finally dialling it back. The AV that backed it, about the lost dreams of the Sixties, was particularly well done too.

Still. I would’ve loved to have heard Richards backed just by the keyboard player on one of Dylan’s later songs, ‘Blind Willie McTell,’ or ‘Ring Them Bells.’ Perhaps that’s too much to ask, but I told you I’d be picky. Also, no moothie! How can you do a Dylan show without harmonica? I’m available for a reasonable fee. Just saying.

Recipe

Now, since that was just a brief review of a show you may never see, and if I don’t write it down I’ll probably forget it, here’s a recipe for pork fillet that’s as good as I’ve ever done with pork fillet!

Ingredients: enough pork fillet for the number of people; slug of olive oil; salt; 1/2 tsp pimenton (smoked paprika) 1 tsp kabsah spice; chopped garlic; dribble of red wine; juice of a lemon; fresh basil to garnish.

Have I told you before about kabsah (or kabseh) spice? Oh, let me count the ways it’s enhanced various dishes of mine since I gave it a go 3 or so years ago! It’s basically my go to Middle Eastern spice mix now. I use Sofra’s ready ground mix (they also do a whole spice version, but it’s not quite as good even when you roast and grind it yourself). You can get it at a grocer’s up in Newington, but it also appears online.

Cut the fillet into medallions. Marinade it for a few hours in the fridge with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, kabsah and pimenton. Take it out an hour before you cook it to reach room temperature and make sure the meat is turned at least once.

Fry the garlic and the meat in a griddle pan, then when it’s basically done add the marinade to reduce it a bit. Then take the meat out and plate it up to rest: if you’re doing a veg like courgette, you could add it to the pan at this stage. Dribble in some red wine to enrich the gravy, then reduce it down until the veg is done. Pour over the meat and garnish with fresh basil. I served it with flatbread, but other forms of carb like tatties would do just as well.

If you can’t find a red wine to go with it there’s something wrong with you. Or your supermarket.