The week's gigs went very well.  It was all open-mic and the chance for me to experiment with new material not previously read or performed before.  The audiences for each were very enthusiastic and each night had a different feel to it.

 

The first of these nights was Y Tuesday at the Poetry Club.  It's a monthly open-mic first Tuesday of every month with no featured slots, although there are a few (myself included) who perform there regularly.  The room they use at the top of the Three Kings pub in Clerkenwell is very tiny but it is always arranged and lit to give a feel of cosy, friendly intimacy.  The room is decorated with candles and there are cakes and nibbles laid on.  It's very informal and welcoming.  Ceri May is always a fun and lively host and is encouraging and friendly to everyone who performs.  

 

Throughout the night an envelope is passed around containing random quotes from a famous poet or author (like William Blake or J.G Ballard).  These are read out, one at a time, before each poet performs and the quotes are quite often highly amusing.

 

This month's reading saw the very moving David Kessell, a veteran of Survivors Poetry and an excellent published poet, along with the always entertaining Fran Isherwood with her send-up of slam poetry which I am hoping one day she will do at an actual slam - she'd win!

 

My own set saw the first (and last) performance of the perverse piece "Darling Vixen" and a performance of "The Last of the Time Lords" a monologue that I would like to do at an audition whenever Matt Smith, the current Doctor Who, decides to vacate the TARDIS.  Dream on, Alain.  Both pieces got a good reception.

 

Sadly, it was the last regular appearance at Y Tuesday of Steev Burgess - he has recently acquired a new job and the working hours prohibit him from hosting duties.  Steev is a gentle and considerate man and a fine poet as well, with some great pieces including "The Beautiful Untrue" (which makes me think of the model Lily Cole) and "Poetry Gaslight and Gin".  He will be missed at Y Tuesday.

 

Another Y Tuesday regular hosted the night I attended the following evening at the Poetry Cafe. 'Dog Day's Night Again'.  Alec Bell is a regular at Poetry events around the capital, including hosting his event "Sweet Thursdays" every third Thursday of the month in Richmond.  He invited me to "Dog Day's Night Again", and requested a piece I had recently posted online about the recently deceased snooker player Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins.  Alec's readings of his poems are usually rife with pregnant pauses and smatterings of wit and self-deprecation.

 

The Poetry Cafe is a great venue, although in it's downstairs performance space, it can get very hot especially when there's a lot of people in.  The numbers for the evening were small at first but gradually increased as the night progressed.  I read well, although my concentration was disturbed slightly by latecomers and then losing my place in my poetry.

 

Alec's other featured poets were Farrago Slam winner Mark Walton, whose pieces are always highly articulate and moving, as well as Alan Franks, whose book was on sale.  Alan read out a couple of his poems, but most of his set saw his songs being performed by Patty Vetta and Charlotte Moore.  I loved listening to the ballads and the folk-style music was something I don't see very often at gigs.  It was a pleasure to listen to.  I'd recommend finding out more about Alan at his website http://www.alanfranks.com/Home_Page.html.

 

On Thursday, there was Rum Punch, hosted by Partners in Rhyme (Saran Green and Comfort Cydelle) at Rudy's Revenge in Holborn.  It was an open-mic and Punch competition - sort of like a poetry slam but where singers and rappers, along with rappers get to compete.  There was some fantastic performers including Emerge MC, a political rapper and eventual winner JJ Bola.  All were terrific performers, and it was good to have their company.  Comfort Cydelle did a great rendition of her poem "Wasteman" although Saran, hosting, found herself repeatedly upstaged by her young nephew who was in to watch her.  She handled it well.

 

Kat Francois and her partner Rob 'Sloetry' Covell were there for good support and Victoria of Jotspeak was around and we spoke about promoting Jotspeak at future performances.

 

This was probably my best gig of the week even though I only did one unlearned piece - it was called "I Like Strong Women But I Can't Stand Bitches".  It was an in-yer-face piece, quite unlike the quieter stuff I'd been doing at previous gigs, about women and what I like and dislike about them.  The audience reaction was off-the-scale.  They were laughing and cheering really hard and even the women seemed to like it.  I feared I might come across as sexist but apparently this was not the case with the people I spoke to.  One thing's for sure - on this reaction, this piece was going in the repertoire for future featured gigs!

 

My last gig of the week on the Friday was at Bingo Master's Breakout, hosted by Vintage Poison.  Vintage Poison are quality published poets, with a keen sense of the random and the totally bizarre.  Although they attract a lot of good names to feature, their emphasis at their live events is really more on fun than quality control.  So is it with Bingo Master's Breakout, an evening that combines both poetry and karaoke.  It's in the St Aloysius Social Club in Euston.  Participants get to do one poem, either their own or one from the pool table of poetry, as well as one song.  There is also a round of bingo and a group singalong at the end.

 

Head man Kevin Reinhardt was hosting and asked me at the last minute to feature as his previous choice was unable to perform.  I obliged, with a set including "Boss", about my deceased old mentor, and two pieces on snooker - the one about Hurricane Higgins and "The Greatest Game of All" about the famous 1985 World Championship Final where Dennis Taylor came from behind to defeat Steve Davis on the very last ball.  I tend to use the latter poem as the finale to my featured sets as it ends the selection on a high.  This poem fed into my choice of song - "Snooker Loopy" by Chas N'Dave and the Matchroom Mob, a group of snooker players from the 1980s including Davis and Taylor.  The set was not my best but I poured my soul into it and had a beer afterward.

 

Other memorable moments from the night included Fran Isherwood's rendition of Barry Manilow's 'Copacabana' and VP regular Mike West playing the bingo caller with a memorable line "46 - the Nuremberg trials, unlucky for some.' 

 

It was a great string of gigs and I got a lot out of them.  I enjoy performing my poems and it is good to share them with people, as well as hearing the material and viewpoints of many other great poets.

 

Roll on next week where I'm featuring with RRRANTS!