Acoustic Night

Helen Gregory introduced the evening on this bank holiday night….with no back drop
(Where’s the wee man??!)
Helen started with a poem named Diva. With her silky & well woven rhymes & words we delve into the performer’s longing for that glance of a spark to recreate the flame of yesteryear.

First up was Sarah, described as a ‘dabbling virgin’, as she has been to Halo before but only to watch. Two short poems read from the page, one of which a flowing Japanese poem about water. Unfortunately this piece missed out on a poetry competition deadline, but was welcome tonight as it started the proceedings of what came later from the open mic floor.

Lee Bateman, another Virgin to Halo, haunted the room with his powerful black shiny guitar cover songs which included the classic Johnny Cash number ‘Hurt’, and ‘Iris’, a soundtrack title from the Goo Goo Dolls, explaining about angels and mortals and angels again.

John Terry experimented with a German poem put into English words. A Christian Morgan Stern verse, it told about LSD being a term for old money and not drugs, and how the wealthy man discovered to his dismay that not even his riches would get him past the pearly gates.

Gina B. delivered a seasonal poem named ‘Succulent Beltane’, a tribute to the fire festival held usually on April 30^th. “Heaven is all around us in the garden”.
“The lies of love”, the loss of touch, saying you were never here to stay, but lies of love remain. Beautifully sung words with spoken lyrical twists filled the air with her second piece tonight.

GINA B

Gary Death stepped up to the mic opening with his wry observations on Poetry Slams, bringing some smiles of recognition from those who have been there. He followed up with Death Shorts, three of his typically acute pieces on life.

GARY DEATH

Barry’s slide guitar blues spilled over the acoustic room with its infectious melodies and rifts. The second number ‘Slaphead Serenade’ finished off with a rapturous applause.

BARRY

The final poet of the first half was Hazel Hammond from the Acoustic team. She treated us to an ode on the joys of retiring to bed when the outside world needs to be shut out. During the longer poem ‘In the pool’, Hazel’s softly spoken voice lifted and we hovered over the swimming pool observing territorial rights being fought over in the early morning dip. Observing fellow swimmers and exchanging exercise routines.

HAZEL HAMMOND

Vicky Burke another Virgin, this time with a harp (a first for the acoustic night). Vicky’s two songs transfixed the audience with a floating complex rhythmical string arrangement played with perfect ease and a singing voice to match.

VICKY BURKE

Andi opened the second half both in her dual role as MC and poet. She read El Fuego with passion and the full blooded approach she gives to the issues that concern women in her life and beyond.  She described Phil Baber, the special guest, as a stalwart and a regular of Acoustic Night and reminded the audience of his facility that some songs might be in other languages. A treat.

Phil started his set with an apology for the strings and the necessary tuning but the soft picking that accompanied this belied the passion to come.
His first song “L’Amoureuse” (based on a poem by Paul Elouard). A surrealist poem about the oneness of lovers. This was sung with energy and delight making one feel the strength of the inherent feelings of the original poem.
Phil followed this with a dark Jaques Brel song -  “Port of Amsterdam” – containing all the dark elements that appeal to some of us and can give such power to a song – death, drunkenness, low life, whores and a toast to the health of such company. With Phil managing to match such strong elements with his voice and the single guitar - the room was easily filled with a Brechtian mood.

Those who have been more than once to the Halo and heard Phil’s song about an invitation to the young girl to leave her olive picking and come with them to Cordoba, Grenada, Seville. (The song based around Lorca’s poem – “La Nina - No Los Escucha”) will have been surprised by the strength of this version…giving a much more urgent, oppressive feel to the mens’ demands and a more raw feel to woman’s absolute non-compliance, even to the point of answering them!

He followed this with another song based around Lorca’s work with ‘Sueno’ (Dream). Here there was a softer tone to the music reminding one of red wine and gathering dusk on a hot evening. About a young man losing his heart to the cool waters of a fountain, as a metaphor for falling in love. The music rolled towards a strong finishing chorus.

The next song, “Jeszcze Raz” (Once Again), also had a strong finishing chorus in Polish and the audience was invited to join in… my Polish is non existent really, but I was swept along in the enthusiastic singing about the blatant adultery of a Russian woman with a member of the Russian Mafia, and the unbelievable spiralling demise of her hapless former partner. The musical theme was repeated with increasing pace in the middle section as in the Russian folk tradition.

To end, a song that was started on the Ukrainian border and finished in a field in Dorset, where a man fell into a fire wearing a mini-skirt. “Dance Me ‘Til I Die”. A frenetic Arab/Gypsy dance rhythm. A song celebrating “seizing the moment” in love, pleasure and life….
You can hear downloadable tracks and learn more about Phil at http://www.myspace.com/philbabermusic

PHIL BABER

Rhiannon Buck(?) gave us a poem which united the Ukraine, Dorset and my notes include phrases such as “natural world invites us to dance - jaws on fire - oceans of desire…” naturally this is followed by philosophical, insistent and powerful from this performer.

Mark Gartside gave us quite a long song, looking at mortality - sadly the mike stand took him literally and almost expired.

Sean Saye. First a soft and gentle song addressed to his precious daughter followed up by a rhythmic shaking of the tree.

Andi gave us another world view of those musicians in her life through her poem ‘Ironing Mountains’. No irony here at all as she is a person who can certainly iron mountains too…

Karl gave us a piece called ‘Life’s Journey’ all swept forward through the instrumental keyboard.

Caleb Parkin entranced us with his words (or was that David Berkoff’s words) no deceit here intended just that I did not quite catch the introduction. I was really taken with the lauding of Boudicca. This came across clearly although the haiku to the upside deodorant completely phased me. How I love poetry… anything can be poetry as this was.

David Bosankoe filled the room a unique rhythmic and curiously ancient sound perhaps this is the music that could accompany ancient ceremonies at stone circles  He played small, medium and large Jaws Harps.

Josie let us all into her world with her unique combination of song and soft jazzy scat. Telling us about the strange differentness of New Zealand’s sea breezes. As ever she invited us to take it easy while she was on her way to Ireland.

JOSIE

Vincent , an acoustic night virgin gave us two tunes on his guitar with a delightful falsetto on Eve’s behalf followed by a song asking that we question we all respond to “Who is crazy now?”

VINCENT (we have your AC/DC t-shirt!)

Another Acoustic Night where the small bank holiday audience were treated to a fine evening of performance.

Our backdrop is missing as Halo moved the wall in and we have to wait for the render to dry before we can replace our cable.

Thanks to Gary Death and Hazel Hammond for the blog. We are delighted when we can get a member of the audience to write the blog. Fancy a go? Talk us when you arrive.

ACOUSTIC NIGHT STATS

AUDIENCE         36
PERFORMERS     19
VIRGINS             5

Andi Langford – Woods welcomed everyone and then introduced:

Steve Graham – a veteran from the Croft days who always went on first and did so here.  He performed two old songs – a springtime story “teasing life into many things” “losing nothing – now’s the time to free your soul” and a slower softer song (for and ex-lover? “I’m hoping you’ll find the love that you need”. Great to hear from him again.

John Terry said his second piece was rather weird so his first was something nice. It was. It was about two people making one perfect jigsaw box picture. “The art of falling” (about the Clifton Bridge but no relation to “32 feet per second per second”) had “squad cars disgorging a buzz of wasps…the laws of nature reject me”. This second piece gave Andi vertigo.

John and Alix – dual voice plus guitar – performed a John Prine song (“Souvenirs?) which talked of “broken hearts and dirty windows” and then “the first song we ever sang together” (Crosby Stills Nash and Young’s “helplessly hoping” we think).

JOHN AND ALIX

Simon Leake who writes good words but is really bad at self-promotion performed “Wilting Stone” (“within two hands I hold opposite scenarios”); and then read the lyrics to “Out of Time” by Blur (“Because I’m spending way too much time on the internet”).

SIMON LEAKE

Everton brought along another protégée (Sam) and borrowed Steve Graham’s guitar for versions of Son of a Preacher Man and Get Happy two different covers performed with distinction & understated guitar.

SAM AND EVERTON

Lucas Hadley from the Bath posse gave us “Boy Can Rhyme” in which he examined his own performance style: Anna Freeman then told a story of “my superhero” – a friend on the streets of San Francisco wasted by a fifteen year old with a BB gun. More quality writing and performing from the posse and not the last of the evening either.

Sean Saye played two songs with adept guitar accompaniment – “I don’t wanna fall in love” and “I believe in you”. Romantic, itinerant fool! (Who may be a special guest before long.)

SEAN SAYE

Helen Gregory – poet and co-organiser of Acoustic Night – surfaced all too rarely with a touching poem for her brother (saying that other girls might say they loved him like a brother but she was there first) and a new piece (inspired by a friend who had written forty poems about fish) which was one poem about forty fish (and about eighty sometimes painful puns). You’ve gotta laugh or you’ll groan!

BREAK

Following the break, our guests from The Studio Upstairs took the stage and took over for a while. Hazel, Steve, Carmen and Brian (together with contributions in absentia from Alison and Sarah) performed poems about Turkish Delight and perfume bottles, bikes and blossom and boxes. The performance was particularly effective when two or three successive pieces shared a title but varied considerably in style. It seems churlish to mention one piece ahead of another, especially since the whole performance was even greater than the sum of its talented parts.

STEVE

CARMEN

BRIAN

Pete Lloyd – on his last week in Bristol – played two pieces of sensitive and emotive Spanish guitar music. Bon Voyage Pete and good luck in the future.

Two more Bath poets came up next – James Davey performed “Death Is” (about death, surprisingly) and Molly Case performed an acutely observed poem about misguided but urgent teenage passion and first night nerves (and Matthew Kelly).

MOLLY CASE

Charlie Ansell – a strident soul in a red bandanna and t-shirt – sang and played “Barbara Allen” – a traditional folk song reworked as if by The Levellers. He then sang of a highwayman called “Alan Tyne” – rewritten as an anti-capitalist thief.

Agatha and Jake Tuckman represented the Bath posse next. She performed “Tribal Song” (“I roll into my female skin with ease…Our twisting guts remember chains”) and he followed with “the ginger gene” about the trials and tribulations of being ginger (and wasn’t very nice about Manchester).  Another neat pairing of very different poems.

Phil Baber (the biscuit-taking neighbour (c AL-W)) played Cantos Nuevas and then, with assistance from David Bosankoe’s Jew’s Harp playing, Dance Me Till I Die. See him next time as our special guest.

David Johnson “avoiding poems about death” gave us “A fairytale for our time” by the Brothers Grime and a tale of a visit to his therapist “a Valkyrie of rages “ which did not go to plan.

Pete E read “Invisible learners (“Ride poet ride and confide in your words”) and his poem in honour of Ginsburg, “Still howling, Alan.”

Kimberley – who never arrives early enough to get on the list but this time claimed to have been “doing an essay all day” performed “On the toilet” (“cos that’s where I wrote it”) and a piece about lovers who “lie restful in ambiguous memory”.

Rene performed powerful and personal pieces: “Fire Come No More” and a second piece which drew attention to negative images of black people in the media - slightly uncomfortable listening for some of the mostly white audience and probably quite right too!

RENE

David Bosankoe gave us two more short pieces of Jew’s Harp.

Ian Sills stepped up to read “Lost Weekend” (as today is his Dad’s seventieth birthday (Hello Dad!)) and (left until second) “Procrastinate”.

Dave ? performed a strong poem about addiction and lifestyle.

DAVE?

Pete E returned with a new piece “The Struggle” and the struggle was ended.

Thanks to Ian Sills for the blog.

ACOUSTIC NIGHT STATS

AUDIENCE         43
PERFORMERS    30
VIRGINS            6