After all the action of the Dorset Unsigned Music Awards, and with all the free events of the Bournemouth Live! Music festival still underway it's not easy to entice an audience to a paid gig.

Last night (Tuesday June 27th) was no exception but the quality of music and atmosphere of the evening would have left many music lovers kicking themselves for not turning up.  Enough people sat around the the candle-lit tables though to make this a wonderful, intimate acoustic event.

The night kicked off with the excellent Michael Wookey (without his band) singing a collection of haunting songs; sometimes with hammond organ accompaniment, and sometimes acoustic guitar.  A wonderful, heartfelt performance by a talented and confident musician.

Tinderbox followed with a collection of original tunes beginning with 'Oranges For Breakfast' and ending with what has recently become their standard finale, 'Ordinary Day'.  They also included an intricate cover of the Sandy Denny classic 'Who Knows Where The Time Goes'.  This was a welcome opportunity for the duo to perform in a warm, mellow acoustic atmosphere after weeks of competing with 4 and 5 piece groups during the DUMA competition.

The final act were 'Farther' a hugely talented and entertaining duo featuring Martin Barlow and Richard Allan, two acoustic guitars, some spine tingling vocal harmonies and a couple of straw cowboy hats!  This duo ensured that the audience went nowhere when they began their tight, catchy, and often humorous set.  A great sound from two obviously great friends. 

In all the music lasted approximately 2 hours - but those there would have stayed.  As one tired listener quietly pointed out: "This kind of thing is better than sleep..."

Finally - a big thank you to photographer Julian Stodd for providing Tinderbox with some great pictures of the show (including the one attached to this news item).  Please take a second to browse through Julian's other work at  http://homepage.mac.com/julianstodd