Acoustic Night

Review by Ian Sills… apart from the cat bit, after he got the giggles, a little added grammar from Andi.

It’s quiet tonight. Silent streets, not even a cat scurrying across the damp dark Gloucester Rd.

Julian opens with ‘The band played Waltzing Matilda’, he sings this with such emotion.. then brings on DERRICK HINES who plays ‘Not Tonight’ a song successfully fighting the temptations of adultery and follows that with “the only other original I have finished… ‘Blackboard, no chalk… actions with no thought’…”. We all wish him well on his trip back to the States.

SARAH TAMAR gives us three short pieces (cheeky) First is ‘Sparklers from Asda’ - “anti-climactic, unorgasmic…no time to write my name…” then ‘Sad’ – “ sedimented sentiments that sear my soul…I am next in the queue of ancestral bones” and finally ‘Liverpool cathedral’ “ a silent colossus” concise and colourfully accurate words Sarah.

Recent arrival to Bristol ASH DICKINSON is in good spirits. He reels out a poem about going to the dentist and falling in love with the dental technician “ take a gondola down my root canal…” and then tells us how his fridge is in love with him “ using magnetic fridge poetry to declare its affection and worrying about it’s weight”

STUART GOODALL (our first virgin of the night) displayed some delicate string plucking and sang two songs notably ‘At the End’ - “the Earth burns up …incinerating what creation had begun”. Good stuff Stuart.

JOHN TERRY (great in the defensive line-up of tried and tested local poets) opens with a slice of bestial observation “ quiet as a mouse wanking… no animal reaches orgasm in total silence” then proceeds to rail against November “ Nothing to breathe except November’s breath”
Sighs all round… we know just how you feel John.

DAVID BOSANKOE – Utterly inimitable and indescribably rhythmic renditions of trance inducing jaws harp playing in two keys. Anyone remember Medicine Head? Well he’s funkier…

RUTH WEAL ( ANV 2) starts off with the longest title of the night ‘True love and a St*rb*cks coffee less than 2 feet from me and a thousand miles away’ detailing “your desire to devour my warm chocolate gaze” and then follows that with ‘Lady Darkness’.
A captivating debut Ruth. Come back soon.

PHIL BABER is really family now and we love him. Tonight we get a chat-up song from Ireland ‘A little drummer boy’ and then ‘Cantos Nuevos’ (New songs) based on words by Lorca. Cheers Phil, SEE YOU AFTER THE BREAK!
LAIENDA
And yes, here he is again with LAIENDA, no longer the fresh kids on the block Laienda have been gigging almost constantly this year and making their presence felt. They open with Phil’s song ‘La Guitarra’ a flamboyant latin styled tribute to his instrument followed by ‘Autumn’ more folksy in its delivery. ‘The ballad of Matty Groves’ – ‘Slow Song’ – ‘Flicker and Fly’ take us thru’ waltz time with added mandolin to more European linguistics with ‘Once Again’ and a debut performance for ‘A man you don’t meet every day’…
Sadly our reviewer was reduced to giggles at this point due to continued
reciprocal heckling twixt him and Mr Baber (from onstage I might add…) and his notes are incomprehensible. ed.

From here on there are only two more performers noted. Ash Dickinson came back with ‘Commuting to Jupiter’ – “though she had the back seats down in her Xsara” and Julian retold his tale of his alarm clock, BEEP! BEEEP!BEEEEP!!!!getting to work “ I’m thinking – now I’m thinking too much”

A cat slunk out of the shadows of the parked cars, scratched its ear, farted and scampered off towards the service yard. he was hungry and the rodents were stirring…

ACOUSTIC NIGHT STATS
AUDIENCE ENOUGH FOR A SMALL HOEDOWN
PERFORMERS 14
VIRGINS 2