Acoustic Night

Hazel Hammond welcomed us all to AcousticNight and opened the show with her neat and clever poem ‘The history of sex in Brighton’ starting with the Prince Regent in Brighton and ending in Rottingdean. Even Errol Flynn got in somehow (story of his life) along with the many ‘Mr & Mrs Smiths’ who had to sign in this way when down for a dirty weekend. Hazel then introduced our first guest:

HAZEL HAMMOND
Gina Briganti Despite admitting to being very tired she gave us Just Jealous, a middle-aged woman who holds up a different idea of beauty ‘It’s a long time till their bums are as big as mine’ and (tired or not) she sang (beautifully) Abolition 200 ‘Do I know where I come from?’

James Bunting got us to choose between a poem and a song for openers, and launched into Symphony, a poem about a young boy so high on adrenaline that he just got up and carried on after he fell. James then picked up his guitar and gave us Devil Devil about someone selling his soul to become a good guitarist. ‘I wasn’t there when Lennon died’.

Stewart then performed the Nothing Show – a clever and unusual piece of mime built around the morning routine of getting up and out of the house, buzzing, humming and hissing all his own sound effects (to great effect).

STEWART

Pete Gioconda seemed to have a mean ornery guitar lead – which gave out a fusillade of gunfire that sounded like the fight at the OK Corral. While Andi was finding and fixing a new (unarmed) lead Hazel took the opportunity to insert her Shameless Plug for the Open Mind – a feast of creative talent in celebration of Mental Health Day 5^th Oct to 10^th .In the excitement (that’s Hazel!) I managed not to hear the name of Pete’s first number. ‘So Much Later On…’ was what I caught from the lyrics ‘she’s got your eyes’. His second song was billed as Anti-folk rock and roll and certainly lived up to its description.

John Wheway was our first virgin of the evening and gave us two poems about loss Poor Ghosts ‘the house seems diminished out of history’ and Tissue of Lies, where the metaphor takes on a real physical presence ‘I left it on a bus and couldn’t get it back.’ Excellent stuff, I hope we see more of James.

JOHN WHEWAY

David Bosankoe seemed to have gone temporally AWOL, so we were treated to another Shameless Plug from Hazel, and one from Julie Boston before –

Doc Satori stepped in to play ‘I’ll sing to you, I’ll drink to you’, and Tricks of the Light, about mental health ‘Councillors and shadows and tricks of the light’.
(Sorry from me to all musicians if I don’t get the titles right, but it’s not always easy to hear or understand them if you got as little musical knowledge as wot I got)

DOC SATORI

Anna (Yet another virgin – perhaps we should issue a health warning ‘Acoustic Night is habit-forming’) Two excellent poems by this husky voiced poet, I’m Messing Up, where a drunk girl pursues her boy friend ‘who wants a stalker alcoholic?’ followed by: I Gave Up Giving Up, about smoking this time, ‘I’m in the pit and I’m still digging it’.

ANNA FREEMAN

Next up was a bearded stranger, and I thought, Hey, this guy plays a Jew’s harp the same as David Bosankoe, and of course it WAS David, almost unrecognisable behind a thick bushy beard, but unmistakeable when he started playing. David seems to get more out of a Jew’s harp than Sir Colin Davis does from a whole orchestra.

After the break Hazel welcomed

Talkin’ Tekla who did two of his inimitable quick-fire pieces: The Would-Be Poet: ‘I want to be great, all I have to do is concentrate’ and, I Shot the Sheriff, which lived up to his billing of it as a ‘wild invention’.

TALKIN’ TEKLA DA NARRATOR

Gary Death, our special guest gave a rousing performance of Ego Testicles ‘footballers paid thousands a week who can’t stop a ball going in the net’.
An old favourite: Jesus Did It Backwards ‘what a kinky bastard’. Netherlands Girl was about Audrey Witherspoon, who at 6ft 8 inches tall (or just over 2 metres to our EU listeners) was ‘the only Glaswegian dominatrix in Amsterdam’.
Gangster Oak (for the trees against concrete and developers); One Week Down the Toilet, dedicated to anyone who’s done a long haul flight – New Zealand in this case – and the havoc it wreaks on your insides. Poem About Ibiza ‘people save up all year to get fucked up on the beach.’ Then Gary gave us One Second, that frighteningly short time in which all important life decisions and happenings take place. His final piece, 32 Years, was a heartfelt celebration and remembrance of his mother riding a horse on the beach in 2002, ‘my mum taking a chance and she loved it.’ ‘you’ve got to do one crazy thing a day to keep sane.’

GARY DEATH

Catherine Stott gave us a poem about her mum, or rather the handed down heirloom of an egg-slicer, proving the importance of continuance in our lives. ‘Catherine to Kate to Catherine’. Her second poem was a celebration of the joys of crapping outdoors, called Freedom.

CATHERINE STOTT

Stewart then performed the next episode of the Nothing Show; variations on his first piece, where he explored what can go wrong with your daily routine.

Ash Dickinson performed a poem which included cannibal cooking and celebrity fridges, What’s in Your Fridge, and What Can We See (Sea), about changing places with the ocean (see?)

ASH DICKINSON

Stewart and Pauline were two virgins (all the way from Clevedon) with two guitars who performed two Tom Petty songs (Lonely Nights and You’re So Bad) for us with great verve.

STUART & PAULINE
Oliver performed a clever and entertaining poem: The Bike Thief.

Hazel Hammond read I Want to be a Spider with great enjoyment (ours and hers) ‘Never have to shave my legs’ and ‘I’d eat all my lovers afterwards’.

John Terry then approached the brand-new mike stand with caution, (the best is the enemy of the good) but it remained upright for his two shorts: Eating the Apple and The Moon is Sun Enough, poems separated by more years than he wants to remember.

JOHN TERRY

Ed Keene performed with himself (should I rephrase that?) with the aid of mysterious electronic boxes which, after a few pistol shots from the leads, allowed him to layer his performance. One mike was down for the first number but immediate first aid from Andi had it working for the second number. Both pieces were instrumental with vocal accompaniment.

EDD KEENE

Andi Langford-Woods left her expert ministering of our sound system to perform Therapy ‘a smaller room to ‘therap’ in I’m sure they couldn’t find’ and Two Sides to Beauty, a delicate and sensitive piece. We don’t hear anything like enough of her excellent poetry, and I hope that the new audio equipment will need less mothering and allow her more space as a performer.

Stewart then performed the final and remarkably brief episode of the Nothing Show.

Cathy Keal then gave us Cold Toast, a remarkable litany of what can be done with leftovers, and the (unappreciated) shifts women are put to in order to run a home.

Wilf Merttens set out to prove that you can write about anything and told a story of a man swelling up like a balloon and exploding in Gloucester road, only what came out was little paper flowers.

Josie came on as our finale, and improvised blues for us in inimitable style. A pity she was last up, as this had been a long evening and so packed full of goodies that the adrenaline of the audience was severely run-down. But we did enjoy you, Josie, even if our responses were slow, we took it all in and it was great. Thank you. Thank you all for a great night.

JOSIE

And a big Thank You to John Terry for reviewing tonight.

ACOUSTIC NIGHT STATS

AUDIENCE 43
PERFORMERS 24
AN VIRGINS 4
SORE HEADS NEXT DAY several

42nd Acoustic Night at Halo, part of Bristol Poetry Festival and featuring the Instant Anthology. A night of mostly poetry with wool, a Cello and even some physical theatre thrown in…

This blog is dedicated to Catharine Stott. She might nit knots but she’s not a nit.

Ali Wade as MC unhinged us with ee cummings by way of an opening poem and then set about getting everyone on stage in good order and good spirits.

ALI WADE

First up was a welcome return from Poetry Jack, PJ Duncan all the way from Co. Durham. It was great to see her back in Halo and she served us a scrummy virtual birthday cake. A poetry ‘cake with true grit … and no Hallmark sentimentality’. Lovely, heartfelt and no empty calories.

POETRY JACK

Next was Gary Death who dedicated his poem The Room to Andi and the rest of the Acoustic Night team. The poem celebrates Open Mic nights throughout the country where ‘there’s no reality TV’ where you can ‘enjoy every body’s mind, we are one of a kind’. We appreciated your appreciation of The Room, Gary.

GARY DEATH

Craig Wilson followed with his Glastonbury poem. Darkness to light with organic food thrown in and a fight between a wizard and a witch. Craig said this was not a typical poem of his but that he has been affected by Glastonbury in the way he writes … which I can believe very easily, it’s that kind of place.

Mark Walton was next with Amazing, billed as a relentlessly upbeat poem it featured all the amazing things Mark can do. I really enjoyed it, especially lines like ‘I can dance you inside out’. This poem got a bit steamy in places and also had some brilliant twists ‘I can change the way you see … damn it - I can change the way you look.’ Slightly chilling yet cheering at the same time - smart.

I’m always enthralled by Gina Briganti and her songpoemsongs. Lies of Love has been haunting me since I first heard it a while ago and it was great to hear it again. Gina makes heartache so beautiful - ‘goose bumps rise in dawn cooled eddies’ ‘when love walks by, remember not to die, in public’ AND she sings a great brass section. I love her voice and I love all the cool stuff she said about Ali, too.

GINA BRIGANTI

Guy Herbert got up next and I had my fingers crossed that he’d do Owed to a Kiss and yep, he did. Some of the steamy atmosphere Mark started was carried on in this poem that set pulses racing. Bodies get entwined and bliss ensues - it took us a while to catch our breaths afterwards. Read the poem in the anthology and you’ll see what I mean. Phew!

GUY HERBERT

Andi Langford Woods then performed ‘Where are the gods?’ her horror expressed at those who persecute, maim and kill a young woman for loving the ‘wrong’ person, all in the name of religion. Never one to shy from tough subjects, Andi nails this one with precision poetry.

Derrick Hines read two short poems that are both in the anthology, Crush and Pleaser. Both tightly written with stylish word play and imagery, they tell something of the human condition and our relationships with others and ourselves. Derrick, you are a proper poet, mate, just like those on stage at Arnolfini on Sunday night.

DERRICK HINES

Ash Dickenson (the thinking man’s Axel Rose) was next and I am sorry but I was laughing so hard I hardly made any notes. Ash’s imagination is slightly scary at times and he produced a poem about a coffee table (that doubles as a shopping trolley) made out of a taxidermied bride - a work of art, for life, due to be announced as the next winner of the Turner Prize. Ash told me has travelled to here there and everywhere and I’m just glad he’s washed up in Bristol for a while, though a bit gutted that I’ll be away for his one man show.

ASH DICKENSON

I was on next and the poem’s in the anthology. It’s sort of a story, sort of a love poem - you decide. Please forgive the dodgy Irish accent.

POLLY MOYER

Richard Lawson can’t write a bad poem. He’s a top poet and performer and I thought Jobbing Squaddie was a fine fine piece. This poem gives a chilling insight into the lives and times of the cannon fodder soldier. It takes us from the beginning when ‘If we went out for a piss they’d put their hands up’ to the grim horror of being spat on by those you are trying to save and ordered about by those that will be given medals while you get court martialled. There’s lots of fine pieces in the anthology - if you have not already got one, get it so that you can read this poem again and again.

RICHARD LAWSON

And the same goes for Hazel Hammond’s In Avatar. Hazel just gets better and better and performed this beautiful, calm and moving love poem which was certainly worthy of inclusion in any Poetry Festival. She links love to sights and tastes and sensations and then ‘the delight drains away…I’m sensible once more’ - she lets her love fly but stays grounded. I could listen to her all night.

Voices you can listen to, almost no matter what they are saying, gave the theme for David Johnson’s Villanelle (he says he’s been going through a villanelle spell of late). Making rhymes work well in a villanelle is tricky but David pulled it off and his mellifluous tones matched the subject perfectly…’honeyed tones…tumble words…like gold coins from a purse’. As with several other poets tonight I felt a bit sad to just be hearing one piece. Another proper job poet.

DAVID JOHNSON

Sarah Tamar then made us all laugh with her ’summer revisited’ poem about rain, rain and more rain; Noah Revisited. In the style of an old testament bible reading, this was a list of the horrors of the wet weather ‘everything is rank’ and St Swithin sends ‘monsoonicidal lightening strikes’, making children, cats, dogs and insurance companies very unhappy. No good can come of it and there’s ‘Not a Dove in Sight’. For once I feel quite glad that I’m moving to the desert soon.

SARAH TAMAR

Next up was Julian Ramsey-Wade with his take on Gil Scott-Heron’s classic, The Revolution will not be Televised. Julian’s version (swap Evolution for Revolution and you’ve got it) is very faithful to the original with the rhyme scheme and verse length and everything. Which just shows that writing in forms (such as sonnets or villanelles or following someone else’s format) - which might seem restrictive - can lead to brilliant work, full of great metaphors and messages. Julian’s performance is always energetic and inclusive and this acoustic night audience certainly appreciated his work. Ten, without a doubt, any slam, any time, any place. In my not very humble opinion.

JULIAN RAMSEY-WADE
At this point we all went off to make our anthologies and chat about how good the first half had been.

Ali welcomed us back with a poem unmarked by sensationalism featuring the use of ‘hammers instead of silk’ - one of Mark Patrick’s pieces. She then plugged a few gigs especially the stuff happening for Mental Health Week. And then, with great joy and anticipation, she introduced the Acoustic Night Special Guest….drum roll….

Lucy English. Lucy ‘dontcha wish your mama was hot like me? dontcha, dontcha?’ confessed to having been a poet for over a decade and took us on a journey of ‘my life through the power of poetry’ including the Slam years, the Love and Sex years, the I’m Bored Now bit and other selected highlights of her turbulant and frankly quite naughty past. This was a mix of poems covering hippy chick personal growth, Bristol beauty spots (Sea Walls, not the Phone Box on Ashley Hill), drunk sluts (crafty, evil, mad, drunk sluts at that) and, yes, underwear. It got very steamy in places (I knew I was going to get to write that yet again!) Lucy said what she has learnt from all this time writing and performing poetry is that what a girl really needs is a good sturdy pair of elasticated knickers and she finished with one of her latest poems to prove the point. Rumbunctuous, sexy, cool, clever - she delivered all of that and more. Audiences throughout the world love Lucy and the Acoustic Night crowd was no exception.

LUCY ENGLISH

By this stage my pencil was wearing out so there’s just a few notes from the second half….sorry….

Ian Sills took us through the perils and pitfalls of electronic love letters - funny, yet sad, yet funny…

IAN SILLS

Nicky David gave us more steamy stuff about falling in love with a Gigolo - good poem with a terrific ending.

NICKY DAVID

Stuart (acoustic night virgin) mimed getting up in the morning with assorted sound effects - very clever and very funny.

STUART

Josie didn’t know if she was doing singing or poetry and she didn’t care - we didn’t either cos it was fun and funky, whatever it was.

Pete Gioconda sang ‘My life’ which featured rockets going off and questioning ‘will the world end in apathy or violence?’ accompanied by mouth organ and guitar. Well worth a gander at the piece he put in the anthology, too. It’s dark… and good.

Caleb Parkin (acoustic night virgin) failed to film Peregrine Falcons but succeeded in writing a great piece called Cull (after Hitchcock) about the ubiquitous Seagull, which he performed with a Cello background. I could tell most people in the room found the hairs on the backs of their necks raised by this piece.

CALEB PARKIN

Peter Hunter made us laugh and cry in the same poem, writing about his mum having Cancer. I know he hates me saying this but he’s so so talented and not just as a poet. Bastard.

PETER HUNTER

Cathy Keal got steamy (I think that’s the last time I get to write steamy, bother.) with a poem which was an invitation to do something very naughty. She said it was a bit like her, rather rough!!

CATHY KEAL

George Wade made music for us all with his poem Angels. He always makes my thoughts chime and just being in the same room as George makes me happy. There’s often a message or few in his poetry as well as subtle imagery and beautiful rhythm.

GEORGE WADE

Marco sang a short and simple song that he said had been haunting him for a while. It went ‘Give me your heart, for a while’ - I think we did.

MARCO

Andi came back with a piece concerning the two sides to beauty, showing life metabolised through experience. A metaphysical poem with the word metaphysical in it. Talented and beautiful and kind, that’s our Andi.

ANDI and CATHERINE STOTT

Gina performed the end of a poem, a slice of a diary about the reality following the fantasy. She can make us laugh while breaking our hearts. Piercing.

Guy had another poem for us, My Mountain. A very visceral piece, philosophical too. Something about how he knows the answers to his questions before he asks them so should leave the gurus alone and stay away from matchbox aphorisms. Deep. Fine.

Derrick said he was in love with the entire Wade family and performed a poem called Yes about what happens when he falls back in love with humanity. No matter how many blows, he won’t hit back. Strong words, tightly woven.

Then me again with a poem (ish) about being face to facebook with reality. Now, this is spooky, Derrick just sent me a friend message, which arrived in my in tray just as I was writing his bit of this blog. Wooooooo.

At this point it feels important to mention that Catharine was knitting a blanket for her sister’s baby. She’s finished it now.

Sarah told us she used to be a social worker and performed a very moving piece from the point of view of someone under the chemical cosh … ‘you are trying to turn my voices against me…cloak me in invisibility’. Powerful, empathetic and profound.

Julian did Ink, one of my personal favourites, about connecting people via the power of writing and performing poetry. Upbeat, lovely. Just like Julian, really.

Ian made us laugh again with Refreshing, his guide to mature student life. A fine example of how age and experience don’t always get the better of us.

Stuart came back and mimed his morning again, but with a few variations. Things went wrong. More things went wrong. It was flippin’ hilarous and I am sorry if you missed it ‘cos you truly had to be there to get how funny it was.

Ali, heart of a lion, sang a song about the assumptions people make and what is and isn’t acceptable - and what we might decide to do about it. Fab job as MC, Ali, plus a few great performances thrown in.

Josie sang down the show, telling us we had been sublime. Great end to a great night.

OK, I just want to say that I have talked to a few people recently who said they found acoustic night a bit intimidating because it felt like everyone else there knew each other. So I just want to say that some of us do and the way we got to know each other was … yep, you guessed … through Acoustic Night. So please come back, say hello and do your stuff.

A big thanks to Polly Moyer for the review, we’ll miss her when she disappears to the States (again) but we know she will be back next year.

ACOUSTIC NIGHT STATS

Performers: 19
Audience: great!
Virgins: a couple
Mouth organs: one
Cellos: one
Instant Anthologies: beautiful, collectors’ items.

HAZEL HAMMOND opens, asking for a bit of order, welcomes us to the forty first Acoustic Night at Halo Café Bar and proceeds to take the MC’s privilege with a truly charming piece filled with the pleasant imagery of her idea of utopia, a very fitting way to start what was to become, one of those magic nights.

Then she went on to introduce some guy called JULIAN who did a piece for his son Eric. “Oh, and incidentally, soppy dads who write poetry are cool ok?”

WILL LLOYD, our sound man just seemed to be on it from the off tonight, or maybe it was just MONTY’S voice, but he sounded great . He started off by saying I wanted to write a song about the type of person your parents wouldn’t worry about and then sang about how it was this way until someone came along with a mini skirt and thong, “Samson I worry for you” His voice was clear, crisp and true which made “Life’s Journey” a sweet serenade. This was one of those performances that had me thinking to myself, as I so often do, this is why I love it here.

Hazel has a calm and measured way of hosting which allows the artists to be the show, I lost count, by the end of the evening , as to how many people she claimed it was her pleasure to introduce, the endearing fact is that you could tell she really meant it, every time. I know from experience this is a joy to host but someone who definitely deserved all the acclaim that was heaped upon her, for all the hard work in Acoustic Night alone was ANDI LANGFORD-WOODS She started with a piece dedicated to all the eye candy she had seen at Shambala festival over the weekend followed by a tale lamenting “deep scars” of lost friendships over misunderstandings . “Gods could be Jesus or Jah in my house.”

Another thing I enjoy about Acoustic Night, is watching performers develop and mature. Step forward WENDY DAY Reading one of her poems from an anthology called Love Bullets “go through me until I’m in agony “ Sometimes less is more, this was simple, sweet and straight to the point, well done.

PHIL BABER is a regular performer here, who clearly works hard at his craft. It just so happens that he sang la Guitar the last time I did the blog, Acoustic Nights design is to afford performers the space to home their art and performance pieces, this rendition was consummate and was warmly received. Phil’s repertoire is diverse to say the least, his next piece was Russian reggae with English verses and a Polish chorus, it had a Polish title which I wouldn’t be able to remember even if he did say it “Once Again” “I’ve a fear of blades and Kalashnikovs and it’s cold out here in Siberia.”

RUPERT HOPKINS has a class which could too easily be missed in his understated delivery. I’m sure someone out there will correct me if I’m wrong but I think this is the first saxophone we have heard at Halo Acoustic Night? Setting the scene with music Rupert then poeticised us along a ten speed country side cycle ride “to see the setting sun and the end of an era” beautiful, he then proceeded to sax out the mood. The man can play.

Hazel introduces our next guest LADY RAZ as a virgin because she hasn’t played with us before! I think I know what she meant. With DYLAN on drums they played both songs Urban Cowboy and Save Yourself with a fineness which illustrated that they had clearly played with each other before,!. Ooh er.

Lady Raz (wish I knew her name) introduced the second piece, for those who are no longer free, saying, “This is sometimes called shave yourself but not tonight.” I don’t know weather this was a comment on social conformity or drunkenness but it was funny. There seemed to be an issue with the pick up on the guitar but both artists listened to each other well and delivered a performance that would see us glad to have them back any time and which ended the first half in style.

I made a note to myself in the break to make sure I mentioned this comment.

HELEN GREGORY has been trawling through the recorded archives looking for suitable gems for the best of Acoustic Night so far CD and she said, (If this is a misquote I’m sure she won’t mind because it is close enough to make the point,) “You see it every fortnight but sometimes don’t appreciate what your listening to, going through the recordings has made me realise how much talent we have here.”

Being a Bank Holiday, the night had started off quietly and I had wondered if there would be enough people in the house to justify the slot of our guest performer for the evening JAMES BUNTING

I needn’t have worried the room had filled nicely and by the time Hazel introduced him there were plenty there to enjoy his well constructed set.

He kicked off by saying “Right we’ll start with a depressing song because nobody wants to end with one.” And went on to sing about how being angry in pubs had got harder since the smoking ban and the way we drink whisky in the hope that it will make it stop.

“Sure as the sun goes round I’ll be back again” was a line from his untitled, traditional folk song. And then,,, James, dude, OK, a lot of artists enjoy to perform the “obligatory cover” but “My Umbrella” !?!?!  Any way moving on, his next song was called “crimes of passion” which was aptly introduced by saying, “I haven’t committed any crimes, knowingly.” “Close the door, destroy the key and pretend you never meant a thing to me” The people of somewhere other than James’ past are now also the people of our stories too, thank you. Jack the ripper, kings, queens, tramps and James then left us all with a tale of “Suitcases and Regrets.”

There were some tuning issues in this performance however there were moments of clarity when I was reminded of James Taylor and other quality 70’s LA stars whose names elude me at the moment.

In conversation at the end of the evening James told me that he will always remember his roots and keep coming back to Acoustic Night, watch this apace, we may have to hold him to that when he hit’s the big time.

DERRICK HINES was our next performer, what a treat. He started by saying that he wants to be a poet and a singer and a song writer and then went on to prove all three. His “Equals One” poem lifted the vale on the blindness of some religion and talked of “one beautiful jazz chord of existence” which struck me like a hand had reached into my heart and played it’s strings. “I’ve decided to call this The Last Song” Derrick says, “because, trust me, if I ever make an album it’s not going to be the first.” The first of three a cappella singers this evening, I’d never heard him sing before, wow, what a truly sweet voice

HELEN’S voice came as no surprise to me but only because I’d heard her sing before and very nice it was too. She sang unaccompanied, a song called Enchantment followed by Stop, which had us all, if not out loud, under our collective breaths, singing,

“Wo, wo, wo, yoouuld better stop; before you go and break my heart…”

SOPHIA GRADIN introduced herself by saying, “I’m Swedish, so I’m here artificially.”

“The Luxury Song” had some great lines. “I’m so much richer than you. My new phone is a space station. You wouldn’t believe how many suckers I fu*”£d over to get this.”

Also displaying multiple artistic talents, Sophia’s second piece was a poem, “With your words you limit me” she referred to walls closing in and how pigeon-holing a person results in “The end of me.”

SIMON LEAKE made me laugh, his first poem, I think, was called Dead Bird? “ How pointless life’s miracles become.” his second was definitely called “Armchair Anarchist” He referred to his brother. Someone heckled, (I wonder who) “All brothers are like that.” Chuckling, Simon responds, “yeah, especially mine!” In this poem “Samson / Superman” gets stoned and burns the curry.

GINA BRIGANTI opened by saying, “ooh, I’ve got a bit of a hang over.” Her performance far from reflected this. Her first piece was another a cappella song, a reworking of one of her pieces called “Do I Know” inter spliced with poetry. “Don’t be fooled by our different surnames.” Gina’s second piece was cleverly, entitled “Men-U” comparing “her darlings” to food. “I would never grate you,” “Come into my kitchen and we’ll make four courses.”

LIZ KEARTON is part of a band called Humana (sorry no clue about the spelling) (Hum ’n’ ah?) but she was singing solo today. It may have been her first time at Halo but she opened by confidently saying,

“Do I look like a virgin?” “This is the sanest song I’ve written about this whole failed love affair thing.” She made sweet sounds with a bitter lyrical kick. Her last song was called the “Obesity of Love” It had words which claimed nuclear war is the best way to clear the streets. Oh the irony.

I was so caught up in the moment that I neglected to write our next performers name down. (it’s MARCUS) I hope we see him again, going by what he said we will. “I never even knew things like this existed. I didn’t know people cared. This is great.” “I’ll keep my life, you keep the money.” Was a refrain from his first piece,
“Sharing a smile is worth more than honey,” It most certainly is Sir.
“Poetry is you .” was the title of his last piece.
“One God, us. In the bible, it says, which we wrote, by the way,,,,,”
This was one of those rare acoustic nights where, despite a show packed with a whole diversity of artistic talent, there was time at the end for, a one more piece from anybody who feels like it, open floor.

DERRICK started by saying that he had just been reminded how cool Acoustic Night is and then went on to sing a truly magnificent rendition of “One song,” Wow, again

GINA acknowledging my earlier poem for Eric, replied with a poem called “Baby Beautiful” and it was.

HELEN Then finished the night , very nicely with her version of “Lover Man”

I would like, at this point, to make no apology , for this blog sounding hopelessly complimentary and positive because that’s how the night left me feeling.

Do come again, log in to the website and post something, tell your friends, it’s you that makes this happen.

ACOUSTIC NIGHT STATS

AUDIENCE                  49
PERFORMERS              13
A.N VIRGINS                4
TV PRESENTERS           0   but did you see the programme on Wed 5th?

ANDI LANGFORD-WOODS stepped up to the mic and welcomed one and all to the Acoustic Night: this fortnight brought to everyone in conjunction with the Bristol Pride Fringe. Her first piece flitted across society and art, while her second was a new piece “to test the water”.

The next performer was our blogger (and next fortnight’s guest performer) JAMES BUNTING, who began by “medleying” a topical song of his own with a piece by Dylan (Bob, not Thomas). His second was “Dreaming of leaving”, recalling summers spent in Devon and elsewhere and the bittersweet solace he achieved there.

CAROL POOLE returned from we know not where (Devon, maybe?) to perform her very female poetry. Her first piece humourously expressed a bitterness against society’s gender roles (“Men are from Venus, women are from Venus”), while the second recounted the guilty pleasure and awful consequences of a passion for chocolate!

PETE LLOYD was our first virgin and played two delightful guitar pieces – the first very Spanish-sounding, the second more sombre – to pop his cherry. Beautifully played, Pete.

DRU MARLAND also returned from travels (around Wales): she occupied our stage and our thoughts briefly but bewitchingly with two of the numerous haikus she wrote en route.

SIMON THE MAGICIAN followed and overcame the limitations of the stationary mic for a wandering prestidigitator with chameleon thimbles, vanishing magazines, swinging wands and Chinese rings. Finishing with a trick that went deliberately, progressively wrong, Simon exited minus his jacket to loud laughter and applause.

ASH DICKINSON was our second virgin of the night – unbelieveably. His two poems were clever and funny: the first a hilarious description of the life of a temp; the second a deconstruction of the modern fashion industry. We hope to hear from him again, soon.

Next comes HELEN, a recent arrival on the Acoustic Night stage who is foolishly intimidated by following Ash. Her a cappella singing of two songs (“I’m beginning to see the light” and “When sunny gets blue”) is astonishing, the first song is slower but both are beautifully sung and (more difficult) paced without accompaniment.

IAN SILLS performed a piece consisting of in-jokes (sort of clerihews) about the in-crowd – the people who run Acoustic Night and sundry others. His second piece looked at the relationship of a couple who sing karaoke to each other and, more generally, the mess you would get into by living life according to song titles. (I spotted 53!).

Before the break we just had time to hear a song from our third virgin.DANIEL claimed to be terrified but judging by the way he played “Ten to two” was far from the quaking amateur he claimed.

Following the break, the special guest was BENITA JOHNSON. Having played in and around Bristol for quite a while (including previous incarnations of the Acoustic Night) it was great to see her here. She sang a number of original songs both from her recent CD and from older recordings (you could tell these by the audience reaction!). Comparisons are not always complimentary, but elements of Beth Orton were present in her smoky voice and subtle guitar playing, which in turn brought out the craft of her lyrics. The skillful and gentle style she displayed was hugely impressive. It was well worth hearing more of her material as the special guest for the evening.

PHIL BABER is our regular guitar hero – this week he performed “Dance me till I die” in his unique style and followed it with a multilingual love song . Quite wonderful, as usual.

JULIAN RAMSEY-WADE performed next and re-examined the famous Gil Scott-Heron piece as “The Evolution will not be televised”, complete with Julian’s familiar wit and complex wordplay – you miss one line thinking about the preceding one. Clever and powerful.

GUY HERBERT treated us to a poem from his wedding day …and one which he enclosed in a divorce card. Bittersweet! The first was gentle and passionate, the second darker and contemplative of love, loss and heartache. Very poignant and moving.

Next came DAISY, our fourth virgin, just before she departed on holiday. “White line woman” – her first song, showcased a powerful voice, stunning from a slight figure. Her second piece was its equal, leaving us hoping she is not on holiday for too long!

POLLY MOYER performed a poem by Elizabeth Wyman – unplugged and straight into the hearts of the audience. Exactly the effect her own pieces usually have – see you again soon??

GINA BRIGANTI mixed poetry and song into a muscular blues piece which tugged at the emotions – one is never sure what to expect from Gina, but it is always quality.

KIMBERLEY had waited all night to lose her virginity and did so in spectacular style – “On the toilet” was a philosophical look at life – “If you are light enough to fly then do so” and “Global Haunting” expressed firmly-held views on the world and climate change – we could do with hearing more of what she has to say.

Finally PETE ELDRIDGE performed “1989” – a cry for peace and a scream at the horrors of war - and a gentler piece taking a wry look at love and relationships.

Thanks for this weeks review by James Bunting

Apologies for lack of fresh pics, the camera batteries were flat. duh!! don’t hold your breath but the CD is coming…

as is the new carpet ( next week) and the speakers, a new mic and more stands ‘cos you buggers keep mashin’ dem up! bloody poseurs… luv y’all really

ACOUSTIC NIGHT STATS

AUDIENCE            55
PERFORMERS       19
A.N VIRGINS          5