Robbie Fulks's fears about two hours being a long time, as he contemplated his slot in the inaugural Glasgow Americana weekend, were surely a red herring.
The Chicago-based singer, songwriter and guitarist has enough quality songs at his disposal to meet this requirement and possesses the kind of musical energy that makes a couple of hours seem more like five minutes.
As well as having the kind of vocal talent that sounds at home in country, gospel, rockabilly and the Appalachian ballad tradition and displaying scary flatpicking guitar acceleration that occasionally takes on a humorous wanderlust, Fulks is a great raconteur. His tale of how he secured country legend George Jones's involvement in his album tribute to another music veteran, Johnny Paycheck, combined a musical heritage trail with hilarious mimicry and self-effacing narrative.
It's this off-the-cuff quality, allied to a willingness to play requests across the spectrum, from his most embittered song to his loopiest children's ditty, that makes this troubadour such good value.
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