There are Banjo jokes too numerous – and withering – but after an evening with Ordinary Elephant, in the apt setting of the Traverse bar, erstwhile gag-writers might be forced to revise their material. In the hands of Pete Damore are revealed hitherto unknown sensitivities and tasteful textures, a perfect complement to the soaring vocals and gentle guitar strumming of Crystal Hariu-Damore. It’s atmospheric and dreamy yet with an edge courtesy of insightful, well-observed lyrics, reminding one instantly of The Delines. ‘…born to be a bigot… don’t mean that I am one…’ from ‘Scars We Keep’ appears to hit home with every member of the audience. And the thing one quickly forgets is that it’s just them, husband and wife, with lushly matched vocals and a stringed instrument each. There’s nothing percussive in sight but the music has a pleasing rhythm which extends to the between-song chat, primarily from Crystal, as the scene is set for each track. They’re stories in most cases, vulnerably, honestly and bravely sung into two old-skool Brother-Where-Art-Thou mics.
The entire performance is testament to a relationship one can only marvel at; having met at an Open Mic night in Texas in 2009 they began playing and writing together for a few years before setting off in a mobile home to tour for a further five, winning the IFMA Artist Of The Year award along the way (2017), settling in Louisiana late in 2019, just before Covid struck. Due to the sparse instrumentation the music’s deceptively simple but Pete’s switches between banjo, guitar and octave mandolin alter the dynamics seamlessly. Most of the songs are taken from their three albums and there’s a clear evolution underlined towards the end as a couple of new creations display more obvious twists and changes. Finally, ‘Once Upon A Time’ proved to be more than worth the wait and an encore of ‘Jenny & James’ rounded proceedings off perfectly.
Just one more date on this Scottish tour, tonight, Tuesday July 28 at Stirling’s Tolbooth.
Reviewer: Roger Jacobs
Reviewed: 27th July 2026
North West End UK Rating:
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