Acoustic alchemy in Joburg

The featured act was young Italian maestro Andrea Valeri at 22 already more technically accomplished than many guitarists who have been playing for longer than he’s been alive.

Valeri makes a point of entertaining with his inter-song banter as well as his playing, though, and the revelation that he first picked up a guitar because he was enamoured of the theme tune for, of all things, Walker Texas Ranger (“I play guitar because of Chuck Norris,” he grinned) guaranteed a laugh from the audience.

Valeri’s set included covers (Elvis’s A Little Less Conversation provided an opportunity for some pelvic thrusts and Sultans Of Swing saw the youngster adding in more notes than even Mark Knopfler might be comfortable with) as well as originals that tended towards the melodic rather than virtuosic, being easy on the ear rather than subjecting listeners to a muddle of technically impressive but unlistenable noodling.

Support act Thomas Selmer-Olsen offered more traditional singer-songwriter fare, and was the only performer on the night to include vocals in his act. Selmer-Olsen has plenty of range, and went from riffy pop to wistful country and blues rock in the space of a few songs.

The event’s most intriguing performer was opener David Baudains who, though operating with a suitcase full of guitar pedals, relies on incredible dexterity (he has freakishly long fingers, which probably helps), imagination – in terms of the writing of his original material and a goody charm that makes it easy for audiences to connect with him.

Baudains’s admission that he is at heart a dance fan (“The first album I ever owned was by Technotronic,” he proclaimed) was unexpected; his attempt to recreate that sort of music using only an acoustic guitar and effects pedals less so.

Even he had to admit defeat once one too many improvised basslines started intersecting with everything else in baffling ways, but the result was amusing rather than annoying.