Reviews

The evening is kicked off by a singer/songwriter who reminded me a hell of a lot of Elvis Costello. This wasn't simply because of the glasses you understand, his vocals had a very similiar feel to them. He intoduced himself simply as 'Al' and said that he had arranged to play at the last minute. A good songwriter with an appealing and very friendly demeanor. The first song was called 'Bravado' and he sang about "the competition preparing us for bad breath in women in shawls". How right he is. A nice melodic song based on a DVD Al had seen about a troupadour (can't remember the name) was second and then a short song called 'Self'. This was followed by a song that began with the words "I really don't wanna be here Francis" and the verse "I couldn't stop this, I wasn't trained for this, I couldn't catch you, I shouldn't have to". I may have heard this guy before because I remember the title of the next song 'Lemons Don't Juice Themselves'. He ended with a song written by a guy ! called David Allan Coe, an intimate track with the words "Grandad I've been thinking about you lately, wonder if you've found your piece of mind".

Ian Perry was next. Dressed modestly with a dark coat and long hair he sat center stage on a stool with his acoustic and sang some great blues tunes. He has a very soft and soulful voice which sounds a lot older than he actually looks. I was really impressed with his lyrics which were more akin to poetry. He backed his words with an equally impressive finger-picking style of playing along with the slide and bottleneck style for the blues. I'll run through a sample of lyrics as that was what really got me. In the second song he sang "solitude and silence walk the spaces in my heart" and "to the edges of the ocean I am bound". The third song had the lyrics "I stare into my own space and feel the world disappear beneath my feet" folowed by "I exhale and return my breath to the turning earth". A great blues song with slide and loads of energy was fourth and Ian sang "I'm like a broke down engine, got no driver at the wheel, if you ever lost a lady you know just how I feel". A fa! st paced song that sounded like a poetic description of the modern world was fifth followed by another blues tune about "a belly full of meloncholy". Ian ended his set with a slow bottleneck blues number and the words "Life fills my body and dreams fill my mind". Great set.

Next we have a treat. As its currently the Bath Fringe Festival we don't just get music, we get a whole host of other performers doing wierd and wonderful things. Tonight ladies and gentlemen we get to hear the poetry of 'The Bastard Of Bath', a young man wearing a baseball cap and a dishevelled tie. One word..genius. Actually one word is pretty much how long his first poem was, titled 'His & Hers'. Next was 'Romance Is Dead' ladies and gentlemen because 'it died last Tuesday'...something to do with a gerbil. The bastard preceeded to recite 'That Man', 'The Ponce In Black Leather' and the absolutely hilarious 'Granny Fanny' which begins with "It sags..." but I won't.spoil the surprise! He concluded with 'Private Premonitions' and 'Gypsies'...brilliant.

Mr. Daniel Rachel was next. He played a similiar set to the last time I reviewed him and put on an equally good performance being as animated as always! He stood up to play of course and began with the song 'Dear Friend'. The famous 'Hearts and Bones' was second, described by one reviewer as a cross between Buddy Holly and The Clash. As I said last time you can certainly hear the Buddy Holly influence in there. A good tune. Another memorable track was next. The 3 part song which deals with an encounter in a hotel room getting its inspiration from a painting by Edward Hope. A song with a chorus of "let it be mine" was next followed by yet another song I remembered about a certain cinema in Birmingham that also doubled as a porno cinema where your "just looking for your ticket, looking for that one stop show'. Mojo has described Daniels songs as 'a core of affectingly honest material and highly hummable'. His lyrics are entirely honest and the fact that I remembered three of h! is songs and enjoyed hearing them again proves they are hummable so I can't add anything more to that! He then played the first single from his album called 'Pearl' before finishing with 'The Bucket and Broom Song' a song that speaks of "late night drinking under the shadow of the moon'. A very engaging performer who really puts his heart into what he's singing.

Then the bastard returns for his final deliverence. The first poem is a tirade about 'a mate who fucked me over' and was simply called 'Betrayed'. More than fair enough. 'Riddled' was second and a riddle it certainly was because I heard squirrels mentioned and milkmen but I couldn't tell you anything else. He finished with that ever popular mark or grandeur and self-indulgence...a trilogy...all about mice. The first poem was called 'Speechless' followed by 'Electric Mice' and a description of "voices with monotones" before finishing with "Tyranny Singing Mice"...the famous uprising shall now live forever!!! All thanks to the bastard!

Ed Hutchinson