Julian Ramsay-Wade was our MC for the evening and started with an (unnecessary) apology for reprising an old piece – “Front Room” (“smothered…in an as wide as wide is a kiss”) before introducing Andy and Simon. Firstly Andy performed solo: his straight-faced crowd-participating cover of Minnie Riperton’s “Loving You” being by some distance the least faithful cover of the night (in a good way!) Simon then joined him to cover (appropriately) Simon and Garfunkel’s “59^th Street Bridge Song” (better known as “Feelin’ Groovy”) – for their first performance together the harmonies were pretty good and the whistling was magnificent. After Andy attempted to leave the stage prematurely he returned and the duo covered Arlo Guthrie’s Woodstock anthem (Recurring theme number one of several!) with a fair degree of success for a debut performance. Simon then performed alone: a Zeppelinesque tune about “trilobite days” “off the Cambrian shore”. Very different.

Mike – a nervous second time poet – stepped up to read “The Four Doors” (a very mystical piece) and “A Story I Wrote” which took the audience wandering through the story as he wrote and read it. I’m still not sure I understood it all, but more please. John and Caroline followed with violin and voices to cover an “Uncle Earl” album track – a tale of a girl who dressed as a (male) sailor to find her lost love and shot him when she found him with another woman. (Recurring theme number two!).They followed this stirring folk song with the most Faithfull (sorry) cover of the night – As Tears Go By – and harmonised sweetly over the mournful violin. Thanks a lot.

Mary Crowder took advantage of our good nature to plug the Lansdown Poetry Festival Book Launch on Tuesday 9^th September (see Bristol Poetry Festival programme for more details) and then to practice performing a couple of short poems in advance of that event. “This is just to say” (by William Carlos Williams, I think) and “Five Thoughts” (“Thought Five – to greet – to greet all here, all there to say, seize the day!”) were both short but finely written and ably performed pieces, so we forgive her! Dan Ashton went a step further by taking the mickey out of a poet in his song “Abstract Poetry” (but he promised it was not aimed at anyone present!) A song in an English folk style, it described “a nine verse dirge entitled Abstract Poetry” which I am almost tempted to go away and write. Forget-me-not Eyes was a slower song, sounding slightly like an early Beatles ballad with killer major to minor chord progressions and a warning in the lyrics (“She’ll see through you”).Quality stuff.

Roisin shunned paper and performed “For Nick Moore” (“I watch you sleeping… vines riot across your chest…you’re the Green Man…distant as landscape”) and then sung words from a poem she had written previously (“Villages have turned to towns / Acorns into oak”). Thoroughly rural and natural poetry in the heart of the city. She was followed by Chara (Gaelic for “Friend”). Richard and Kiki were first-timers and therefore virgins at Halo and performed the title track from their recent CD “So close to killing you”. This was the story of a wronged woman who shot her lover’s girl instead of him (Recurring theme number two (again!)). The tale sped along merrily in a Country style as did the second song, “Chalk it up to experience” in which a naïve girl is abandoned in the big city and has to make her way as best she can. Very country, yet with a style of their own. Finally for the first half, John Terry pulled “a couple out of the old box file” – “Talking with Plants” in which husband betrays wife and wife tells all to the plants around her until his sins seep through the earth in every plant pot in his home; and “Water”, a study of the great and varied qualities and properties of Dihydrogen Oxide (?) or H2O. Pulled out a couple of plums again, John!

After a short break, Julian resumed with the poem ending “I am the captain of my fate” and introduced Malusi. Again apologising for performing “old” pieces (or as we call them “favourites”) his first piece namechecked dead heroes (Malcolm X, Bob Marley, Steve Biko (see recurring theme 3)) and slipped himself dextrously into the musical, rhythmic piece. His second piece – Nostal-Jah – is probably explained by the title but both pieces were performed with skill, feeling and a controlled force. Doreen and Stuart are the management team at the Hillgrove on Dove Street, which happens to be Andi’s local, so their appearance at Halo has been long encouraged. Officially a virgin, Doreen sang in a strong and rich voice a folk cover (?) (“I got the urge for going but I never got to go”) and Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock” (recurring theme 1), slower and therefore closer to the original than to the more successful cover.

Pete Hunter stepped up without paper and performed a piece as a dress rehearsal (“an exercise in accuracy rather than speed”) detailing his normal performance style (“I usually do this in a stadium to an audience of 100,000). The images got more and more extravagant (“demons dance…in a phantasmagorical quadrille”) until the last line dragged us back to earth (and no I won’t give it away!). His second piece was a psychic call and response poem which was slightly confusing but fortunately very amusing – one never knows what Pete will come up with next but it is usually great.

Stuart then stepped out of his accompanist shadow to play two songs himself – one “by the best poet I know” (Billy Bragg) and “Biko” by Peter Gabriiel (Recurring theme 3). His singing and playing were fine and his choice of covers was perfect.

Polly Moyer performed two poems about friendship. Her first was for Mark Armitage – a late friend of hers and of poetry in Bristol whose loss left a hole in the scene which the years have not seen filled. “Incremental changes” passed on the latest news to him (“There are now five branches of Sainsbury’s in the Gloucester Road alone!”) (“I can trace the path you took from here to there”) while her second “You touch me” was “for my platonic friend Guy” (“No lust to contort, distort emotion”) Lovely to hear them both.  She also mentioned Piers, another longtime friend of Acoustic Night, who is recovering in Istanbul from a paragliding accident. Gina Briganti “just a simple poet today” performed “Deep into Shallows” and “Treen Scene”, based on Westward Ho! Beach and Minack Beach, Cornwall respectively. For a short while, it seemed like we had had a summer after all.

Megan – a nervous (she claimed) Halo virgin recruited by Roisin – then sang Billie Holiday’s “God Bless The Child” in a simple, unaccompanied style that left the remaining audience wanting more. We would have to wait for another Monday, however, as she only wanted to sing that one song. Andi wound up the evening with the classic double whammy of “El Fuego” – a dark, dusty Latin saga of lust shed and love found – and “Insects” – a diatribe against the Swedish Blue Monster that dominates the Eastville skyline. Altogether now – “Shall we paint the walls in Tango? Or should it be Persimmon?

ACOUSTIC NIGHT STATS

Audience 29

Performers 18

Virgins 4

Covers 12

Great Covers 12

Photos 0 (sorry folks I’m crap with cameras! Andi)

There was a tangible air of anticipation in the room. It was another humid evening on the street and I was wondering if we were going to get another deluge like two weeks ago but it was a flood of talent that swept through the door. So much that some top drawer performers sat back and let new faces take the stage as part of this special night to acknowledge EMMA HARPER and her contribution to Bristol’s burgeoning Open Mic scene these last two years.

First up was ANDY with Streets of London and Perfect Day – two well known numbers delivered with passion as if they were were his own.

Next we have two firm favourites of the last year who travel over regularly from Bath. ANNA FREEMAN and AGATHA give us a brilliant set of poems about “the Illusion of fear” and the “strange and almost insane ponderings of the human mind”

AGATHA

The next pairing is one of those Acoustic Night meetings that ‘just happens’.
JOHN T and CAROLINE(v) overcome some D.I.box problems successfully and give us ‘Running to be on the run’ and ‘Story of Love’. A pleasant return to songs of innocence and truth.

JOHN T and CAROLINE

SIMON LEAKE takes us on the Heathrow Express and then ‘Built in Stone’ – poignant ponderings prompted by travel.

MIKE THE FOUR Ms(v) brings the most far-reaching considerations on the topics of ‘well advanced aged relationships’ and the two little boys of Rolf Harris fame who are now grown up and gay, quite memorable…

MIKE the 4 Ms

Another welcome return in the form of MIKE SCOTT. Who else could/would link the Royal Family with the problem of a buoyant turd, as well as a song about nostalgia where things were worse (not better). A genius of humour in song!

MIKE SCOTT

SIMON THE MAGICIAN (aka MAGIC SIMON) forsook his box of tricks tonight and gave us two cheeky limericks about nude participants and farmers wives milking cows. Magic or Poetry? You decide.

MAGIC SIMON

JAMES REVELL(v) began with ‘Green Eyes’ not a bad idea, when feeling down, to go and talk to a barmaid and come up with a song. Then ‘Weather Mill’ a lovely vocal rendition of a Dylan song.

JAMES REVELL

Break

Our Special Guest EMMA HARPER opens with ‘This Depravity’ a song about this town which somewhat rattled her mate Bex’s cage! Following on from this a PJ Harvey cover only, Emma gives the heart that songs need when she sings. This magic translates to her poems too. Then two more songs from one with a voice so lusty and clear, even engaging the audience on a typical irish folk song. Thank you Emma Harper!!!

EMMA HARPER

Birthday Girl POLLY MOYER selects ‘A Reader Writes’ pt2 dedicated to her mother “who knows best” and Polly, you know how to say it’s true. On her second poem ‘Breathe In’ Polly goes walkabout and her words are lost to the audience and denied a recording. Our reviewer deems it a gem.

POLLY MOYER

Well… Four virgins and an old hand fill stage under the name of BOXCAR ALDOUS HUXLEY. This band knows how to transport it’s listeners back to the mid 19^th century on a musical transport system comprising of Harmonium, Euphonium, Trombone, Clarinet, Banjo, Drums and Vocals. Andi likens it to Blue-grass Klezmer in Heckmondwike town square… which means she really liked it.

BOXCAR ALDOUS HUXLEY

BYRON VINCENT… This guy can’t help but let out humour in between sentences and short phrases of sense and sensibility, quaint yet quantifiable meaning and meanderings even when he’s being self-effacing. Love, Loris and Bob Holness…wonderful!

BYRON VINCENT

PHIL BABER and KEIRA(v) got a bit of a raw deal on the mics. Firstly on Phil’s sensuous song ‘Seeds’ his guitar mic suffered from droop and then Andi embarrassed Keira by disappearing to the loo without turning her mic up! Sorry hon! Andi
But two real songs that make you feel like you’re taking part in a wild wild western!

PHIL BABER and KEIRA

GINA BRIGANTI Shows us how to recite a poem and mix in a couple of songs, or how to sing a song and mix in a couple of poems? ‘Avebury’ tells of the stone circle in Wiltshire, and ‘Lies of Love Remains’ speaks quite easily for itself and all with an infectious rhythm and cues for instrumental additions plus that soulful jazzy voice.

GINA BRIGANTI

Stepping up to the mic JACK BIRD threw back his hair and opened his set with ‘My Girl’ a haunting lament befitting spurned love and was joined by Emma in an emotive duet. His second song was reminiscent of a lively Johnny Cash with very quick and interesting guitar work. Come back soon Jack.

JACK BIRD

JESS(v) gave us ‘The Power of a Smile’ a sweet innocent poem written from new experiences at University by someone with a singing voice that needs to be heard.

JESS

Our final performer ANGLUSKI had hung in there almost all night and manfully stepped up to sing two engaging folk songs from an Irish perspective.

ANDI closed the night with ‘Five Words’ one of her own observations on life in her inimitable style.

Thanks to Everton for the blog. Additions by Andi. Thanks to Kimberley for taking the fotos.

ACOUSTIC NIGHT STATS

AUDIENCE 60+
PERFORMERS 25
VIRGINS 9

Andi Langford-Woods overcame the bone-wearying tour schedule of recent weeks to MC this Acoustic Night and opened with an elegant outpouring of choice poetry. She then introduced the returning Keith and Wendy with a sad song about a singed seagull in their own inimicable fashion. Keith then sang a solo song, sadder, more serious but still stylish.

KEITH AND WENDY

Another returning star, Gary Death, then performed two pieces: one drawing us totally into the dark world of pondlife and the other more seriously describing his work with the visually-impaired. Again, the mix of silly and serious worked a treat.

GARY DEATH

Our first half blogger, Sarah, then stepped up to the stage and sang two lyrical guitar backed songs in a melodic voice. The second, entitled Darkness in My Heart, left light in others.

SARAH

Yet another long lost brother, Phil Baber, then performed two songs on his return: the first a Cohenesque piece of passion and fury (if that makes sense) and the second “La Guitarra”, in Spanish without subtitles but nevertheless lively and dramatic.

Simon the Magician followed with the usual clever magic and stupid jokes – as virtually the only performer who would not usually use a microphone he overcomes the difficulty with style and ease.

MAGIC SIMON

Our special guest then performed before the break. Stuart O’Connor was on a nationwide tour and played more Bristol gigs later in the week, but here he drew us into his world of loops, beeps, slapped guitars and a sometimes smooth, sometimes edgy vocal telling stories which teetered on the precipice of normality and sometimes tumbled off. He also stopped the music for a moment and read a moving and heartfelt poem. Glad we caught him this early – he’ll be playing bigger venues next time.

STUART O’CONNOR

BREAK

Caleb Parkin sat behind a cello and a laptop and in his first piece “Hexadecimalis” interchanges live and recorded speech and cello playing to great if weird effect. “Rat – an Exact Science” was the fourth in his “Vermin” series and brought a rat’s eye view of animal experimentation (“the light-up box of faces needs me”). Clever and different.

CALEB PARKIN

Rosemary Dun, another much missed performer (perhaps we should subtitle this evening the night of the comebacks?) previewed her set at the Harbourside Festival at the weekend with “Being English” (“we laugh at farts because we’re Anglo-Saxon”), a sideways look at her countrymen and women; and “Shipshape Bristol fashion” about her current home city (The Organic Ice-cream guy is Sunday hungover”) and the festival itself. Appetite whetted!

ROSEMARY DUN

James Bunting, another….yes, you’ve guessed it, sang about falling in love with a fictional character (“fireworks like Promethean fire”) and then read a poem, “Immortality and Mortality”, which treated its subject respectfully but not over-seriously (“Live, live, live because if you don’t you won’t know life”). A vibrant and resonant piece.

JAMES BUNTING

Pete Hunter then performed a two-line poem “I thought it would be cool to have a Chocolate Orange heart / but when I tapped it and unwrapped it, it fell apart”. He followed this with a descriptive poem about his days at college in Falmouth (“Sunny, sunny days of watching waves as sharp as language”). As usual his beautifully crafted serious pieces contrast sharply with his sillier efforts.

PETE HUNTER

Mr Bananas (Derek to his friends) performed an e e cummings poem (“I like my body”) which made fruity suggestions about using it and a frivolous poem about a red dress (“I want a red dress / I want it flimsy and cheap”) which shared a true sense of the ridiculous which came across to the audience.

MR BANANAS

Andy then played George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun” displaying a jangly guitar-playing style and sound vocals; which he followed with a poignant version of Don MacLean’s “Vincent”.

ANDY

George Wade (Grampy G) performed two pieces for and about his absent offspring: for Julian (Ramsay-Wade of this parish) he described his children “growing into their own skins” and for Ali his denial that he is “Proud” of his children because that implies ownership of them (“You’re not an acquisition”). Lovely to hear from him again.

GEORGE WADE

He was followed by John T, who had “just tried writing a song”. “Human greed is the cause of all poverty” was a serious theme but was offset by jangly guitars and a light touch. He followed that with a tale of a band touring Britain in the Seventies in a van – a descriptive piece with slide guitar accompaniment.

JOHN T

Nearly finally, the Bath Spa trio of Agatha, James and Taya walked onstage together. Taya (who may well have been the night’s only “Virgin”) read “Night Trial” (“My fingers feel for the fugitive tears”) and will be back, one trusts. James stated unarguably that “We all look more beautiful in black and white” (well we were much younger, then!) and suggested “Irony is our greatest authority, while Agatha invited us to spend “a day in my mind “ in “Insanity List” (Imagine you are a Hindu concubine”). Love them all, with their skills and varied styles.

Pausing only for a blast of the Jew’s (Jaws) harp courtesy of the ever-helpful and musically skilful David Bosankoe, another riotous recipe of rhymes and rhythms was complete. There were enough quality performers in the audience to have played on until 3am, but some of us have real jobs.

ACOUSTIC NIGHT STATS

AUDIENCE  53
PERFORMERS 20
VIRGINS 1
BEDOUINS not tonight!

Julian Ramsey-Wade, our MC for the evening, began with a poem written for his sister and our special guest, Ali Wade, who celebrates her birthday tomorrow. He also discloses that he is wearing a T shirt she gave him.

JULIAN RAMSEY-WADE
Polly Moyer then performed “Ali - the Lion Heart” for her (“talking to strangers is dangerous – for them”) and, in the absence of an imminent third in the series, “Lionheart 2001” (“we have, in trumps, the gift of serendipity”)

POLLY MOYER
Sarah-Jane and Katie were our first virgins of the night - Katie told us that she has recently arrived from Canada and only met Sarah-Jane tonight: they spent 5 minutes working on Sarah-Jane’s song “Bodmin Moor” which they then played adeptly with sweet harmonies. The song took us on a trek over the moor (“everyday is in the balance / like a rocking stone”) and was followed by Sarah-Jane alone with a song about a former home and relationship (?) (“your house is wild with orchids / and postcards … from the Himalayas”). More please!

SARAH-JANE

James and Agatha stepped up together but read separately – James presented “a new one ‘cos I still like it” in “An Interested Eye” including “a horologist keeping perfect time” and “clouds wrap around the sky like a scarf” (the audience seemed to like it too); Agatha’s piece “Shapeshifter” (“about what it’s like in my head”) declared “some of the skins I wear are abstract” and “I have spread my plumes and shown my colours proudly” to some considerable effect; and James’ “Buried Life” analysed himself humourously with lines like “if I were any more working class, I’d have a job”.

JAMES AND AGATHA
Martin played two tunes on his ukulele: “Hello Gorgeous” (about himself, he claimed) (“You know how much I miss you so”) and a George Formby song “My Granddad’s Flannelette Nightshirt” whose title says it all. The ukulele is a distinctive instrument and Martin played it adeptly and sang with the lightness the music requires.

MARTIN

Pete (not Hunter but our second virgin(?)) played guitar but didn’t sing (“you don’t want to hear me sing”) and gave us one long, skilfully played instrumental piece which flowed seamlessly through several moods and styles like an overture or a film score.

PETE

Gina Briganti namechecked Ali, apologised for her tiredness after a gig last night and gave us “Liminal G”, her autobiographical poem/rap/song (“this rhyme may be easy but I’m not”) and the self-explanatory “Different Ideas of Heaven” (over our imagined dub/reggae sound system) with a nod to Bob Marley.

GINA B
Anna Freeman followed “a full on weekend” with “A rubbish poem” in which the household waste issue spiralled out of control in an absurd but amusing manner (“make a shiny retro jacket out of empty crisp packets”); she then advocated the pigeon (“the chicken of the city”) as the solution to food shortages.

ANNA FREEMAN
Finally before the break, Dan Ashton (who performed several times at Acoustic Nights at The Croft some years ago) played keyboards and sang “Cavaldi – the portrait artist”, a dramatic tale based on a Browning poem with harpsichord-style backing; and “True Love Dance Hall”, a jazzy song of a dance competition reminiscent of The Kinks’ “Come Dancing”.

DAN ASHTON
After the break, Julian performed a short piece and then introduced our special guest – Ali Wade,

To whom the audience sang an enthusiastic if poorly executed “Happy Birthday”. Describing herself as “just a hopeless attention seeker” she opened with the evocative Dory Previn song “The Hollywood Sign” (“I doubt if the Statue of Liberty welcomed more refugees”) in spite of having to abandon the mic halfway through. The Jeanette Winterson poem, “Under the Black Bell” followed (“I am a warrior / I wear my breastplate proudly”) and then she performed a piece about her mum (“a nun without habits”). Ali then informed us that she had rejected an a capella version of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” in favour of “People” by Yevgeny Yevtushenko (a dilemma we are all familiar with!), which she then performed. A poem in memory of Dave Lovegrove was followed by “The Diggers” – a favourite song of both of theirs. She then confessed to murder – of slugs – and read a garden-inspired piece, after which she read a tale of true love in Thomas Hardy’s life: “I Found Her Out There” and finished with “Almost Like a Sister”. A high-quality, varied set well worth waiting 62 Acoustic Nights for.

ALI WADE
Andy attempted to follow our special guest with a couple of jingly-jangly Byrds covers – “All I Really Want To Do” and “Mr Tambourine Man”- which captured the flavour of the originals well.

ANDY

Steve was another performer new to Halo – “I Don’t Want To Go To Heaven” was a poem describing his very religious upbringing and his reaction to it (“I’m a simple guy / I Just want hip hop …and swanky nightclubs”) while “Pick a Pocket” delved into the world of crime (“even governments steal”).

STEVE

Katie (to much amusement heavily pregnant “virgin”) described herself “a long time ago” in “Northern Line” (“survey my little empire”) complete with Jamaican twang and then read out “Love” (Love is a corporate bastard in a cheap suit”).

KATIE

Pete Hunter then produced the fruits of his day as poet in residence in a Frome café, noting that “the ladies … tut their disapproval” and hearing “castanetting dentures”.

pETER hUNTER

The evening then sped on with one piece each from: Tweetie (Agatha’s choice of poem (“Make me like a tree”));

TWEEIE

Terry, who played guitar (left-handed) and sang “Bitch Man” (“If I were rich, man / I’d be a bitch, man” ”Oh kerching, kerching, kerching”);

TERRY

Annie McGann, whose poem “For the Information of the Former City Council Engineer” contained the unforgettable line (“If I light up the world / it’s with the torch I carry for you, babe”);

ANNIE McGANN

The New Root, a two guitar / two voice duo with a sweet and slow song sung by the female half; Rupert Hopkins;

Cathy Keal (with “Passport” for Ali);

CATHY KEAL

and finally Barry Walsh with his song telling the heartbreaking story of the “Eiderdown”. Julian then read a short piece and wound up the show.

Apologies for the delay in getting the fotos up here. Sometimes it takes a little longer than normal! Just hope I got it right!!

ACOUSTIC NIGHT STATS

AUDIENCE: 40
PEFORMERS: 21
VIRGINS: 4
MOOD: Celebratory
WISH YOU WERE HERE: Andi, Hazel, Dave Lovegrove