“This is a cigar box with a piece of wood on it and four strings,” explained Seasick Steve of his custom-made string instrument that he's holding onto, a strange implement which somewhat resembles a guitar. “And it's a piece of s***...”
Not that it stopped the crowd from adoring his lovably shambolic set of stomping blues-rock. Steve subsequently unveiled his three-string guitar, then his one-piece instrument which – in his own words – makes his previous weapon of choice seem amazing by comparison.
He also elicited whoops and cheers when he whipped off his lumberjack shirt to strip down to his vest. “Normally I get arrested for that,” he warned. You don't doubt the grizzled 60-something bluesman for a single second.
A drummer in tow to make the tunes even more driving, Steve then enquired “Can I get me a girl?” and ventured down from stage, coming back up with a lovely lady in tow, to which he sung a little ol' love song.
“Oh, look at me darling, don't look at them,” he pleaded when noticing her attention has been momentarily diverted, the Main Stage crowd also then refocused on his superbly entertaining set.
No wonder he called last year's T in the Park “crazy” while hailing the festival as his favourite place to be. “Last year when we played I thought we was going to war,” he recalled. Well, whatever the outcome of that occasion was, he's certainly won today's battle.
Meanwhile The Gaslight Anthem trudge through a perfunctionary - if well received - slew of blue-collar punk-rock anthems.
They pull out Miles Davis And The Cool and though I'd consider it little to get excited about, the crowd happily appear to disagree. Ho hum.
