Acoustic Night

Ian Sills reports on Acoustic Night July 31  The downpours were bound to deter all but the hardiest performers and audience, so around 40 people present was not bad at all. 

The downpours were bound to deter all but the hardiest performers and audience, so around 40 people present was not bad at all. On after Andi’s opening piece was Helen Gregory, whose first poem was in praise(?) of hippies. Her second piece was a pun-crammed feast of herbo-erotic double entendres which left an exotic taste in the mouth. 

Next was regular singer/guitarist Phil Baber, who contributed two songs – Cat Country and Port of Amsterdam, a Jacques Brel song. John Terry followed with a poem called Love is Illegal, painting a nightmare futuristic vision of a world where emotions are banned; and an eerie poem named Slade, evoking the Wild West and cowboys. 

Doug, fast becoming a regular, played two songs: one Dylan cover and one original song. Carol performed a poem about a bad hair day in a hat and scarf, discarding them at the end to reveal a Max Wall wig! Her next piece, about comfort eating in the comfort zone, was strangely comforting. 

Next came Ella accompanied by Everton Hartley. Ella covered a Jewel song (Foolish Games) and This Love by Maroon 5: quality singing. Peter Hunter, the former Acoustic Night guv’nor, then performed two short pieces from his “Mid-Life Crisis” set, then recollected childhood holidays in Scotland “where the air was the gaps in the rain”. 

Dave followed with two pieces, which were unfortunately spoiled by his inebriation, then Magic Simon performed several new tricks, including turning red wine to white. 

BREAK 

Cute Loony did a great guest spot – these two talented performers have swiftly made a very good impression on the Acoustic Night audience. Their songs are quickly memorable without being simple, while some of their images are as distinctive as their bright red socks. 

Simon Leake followed with two of his thought-provoking, image-rich poems, as succinct as ever, after which Andi herself performed two more pieces – the “Fuck Up” poem and “Ironing Mountains”, a newer piece full of imagery. 

Pete Eldridge then performed three poems in his usual confident, fast-moving style, followed by Ella, who returned to sing one song (Next Lifetime) with Everton and one solo acapella (a Tracy Chapman cover). 

Alan Summers read several haiku(s?) by a Japanese-American female poet, then Cathy Keal performed one for Alan. She followed this with “At the Viennale” (at the second attempt) and a remembrance of sitting at the piano. 

END