Acoustic Night

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