The September Avebury Open Mic event
took place in the Keiller Room on Saturday 12th, starting
at 19:30. It took a while for things to get underway as
there was quite a bit of trouble with the PA equipment.
Philippe's photos from the previous month were projected
on the wall for the whole evening. As with the previous
month I was happy to open the event. It was close to the
Autumn Equinox and so I talked about the seasonal cycle
and performed my 48-line poem for this part of year,
sounding a Tibetan bowl after each verse. I then
performed the 80-line Life Observations 1 poem. Mike
followed me and performed several of his poignant songs.
Kerry and Tom came on next, Kerry with acoustic guitar
and Tom on bass. They performed two powerful songs
together and then Kerry did one on her own. Mark took
centre stage next, performing three songs on his banjo.
Will was next, with some fine songs and one or two jokes
at his own expense. Terry then came on and re-told the
story of his wife not realising what his mandolin was,
followed with a few songs. And Lawrie found time to
perform a couple of numbers, after spending most of his
time dealing with the technical issues, squeezing people
into the limited space and lining up the performers!Following a short break I returned and performed my 80-line Superstition poem again - this had been requested as many people had missed it on the previous outing. Alasdair followed, just back from a number of festival performances. He performed on guitar and percussion and would return more than once later on. Mike then came forward for a powerful performance on the electric piano, informing the audience that he couldn’t believe he was a month away from being 50. Paul arrived in his other persona and squeezed four songs into a set that was filled with impressively varied vocal styles. Louise and Frank from the previous Samhain returned for three songs, with percussion by Alasdair. They worked well together, considering they had only met two hours previously. Lauren was up next with her ukulele. She performed one song, with Liam drumming from the audience. She then launched into a stunning performance of a Turkish gypsy song. Liam then took the ukulele and did one of his songs, with Lauren on backing vocals. It was then time for him to perform on his own. He produced sounds from a didgeridoo that most of those present had probably never heard before. And he drummed at the same time! Neil didn’t perform with a guitar this time but instead read out two poems he had been inspired to write. One about the Iranian Embassy Siege and another about a local issue that affects him. After a bit of an absence Gordon came forward next, for several of his high energy performances that involved the crowd. Young Tom followed, who required a lot of encouragement from the audience as well as some physical help to get started. He did well on this occasion and will no doubt be back for more. Mike returned for another powerful session on the electric piano. With time running short there was just time for a three song jamming session with Lawrie, Tom, Mike and later joined by Alasdair. This included a memorable performance of Hey Jude. Overall this was an excellent evening, making the best of what was offer in the form of the alternative venue. As always, thanks go to Lawrie and Andree for the work they do to make the event possible.
