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REVIEW

18th March, 2014...Special Guests: LiTTLe MACHiNe

WRITE ANGLE MARCHES ON WITH 'THE LITTLE MACHINE' AT ITS HELM

March's Write Angle guests, The Little Machine, a three man band, filled the room with music and song, making it a magical evening! There's no question they're on the way to the top! 'One of a kind', they take poems from 3000 years ago to the present, including Sappho, Shakespeare, Keats, Byron, John Donne to 'anon' (and on and on) - to Lewis Carrolls's Jabberwocky to Philip Larkin's ''This be the Verse' to Carol Ann Duffy's 'Mean Time' and even Hylda Sims, of The Poetry Cafe, London – who came down especially to hear them sing her song, 'Summer's Gone Too Slow'. She was delighted..It was fabulous!

Though only three, Walter Wray (accoustic guitar & vocals), Chris Hardy, (electric guitar, vocals); and Steve Halliwell, (keyboards, bass, guitar & vocals), work so closely, they create an orchestra of sound; perfect coordination and even add elements of mystery using sound effects. From 'scary' to magical fun! No two songs alike. They ran from folk to blues to country to ballads to...you name it! They sang a song 'A Piece in Bloom' from their CD, 'Madam Life' – 'Madam Life's a piece in bloom, Death goes dogging everywhere, She's the tenant of the room, He's the ruffian on the stair... – the songs often have a sinister quality but then they're quickly followed by something completely different. Mesmerising sounds that kept the ambience of the room on a 'high' from start to finish!

And, music sheets were handed to the audience so they could read or sing along! Seeing the words as they were being played and sung, added a lot to the evening. It was hard not to get 'caught up' in the lyricism of the words! Every song was sung with a vitality and variety that prompted much applause. We do hope they'll come back again. By the way, when asked why they're called 'The Little Machine', they told us 'A poem is a little machine for remembering itself' (John Paterson) and they said their aim is to bring 'Poetry to the people and People to Poetry'. We've no doubt wherever they go, they'll succeed! They certainly did with Write Angle!

Meantime, our Open Mic had Hylda Sims, reading an excerpt from her latest book, 'Peckham in Person', about. Brian Walters, 40, overweight virgin, living in squalor – but a good poet, who not only gets discovered, changes his name but has his first sexual experience with a delectable gothic punk named Yula. Also a poem from 'Reaching Peckham' called 'Skin', the story of Brian(aka Olly) – and Yula! Barry Smith then spoke of attending a concert in Bath, the one place you meet people 'older than you'. 'This Way Up; (The chandelier casting light from another age on the wheelchairs steely back rest....'. Then 'Pay and Display' (on a car park) and 'Pilgrims of Light', about an ancient area on The Isle of Wight where pre-Raphaelite glass, built into the church of St Lawrence, brings description of the past; 'Quiescent solitude'. Beautifully written.

Dexter Morgan stimulated by a prase in the Bible, And Esau was an hairy man', aqnd his poem was about a hairy child, born out of wedlock, whose mother was given a banana for her 'baby chimpanzee'. Clever tale greeted with much laughter! Bruce Parry then read a short story about the adventures of first using his bus pass, 'first time' from Fareham to Gosport. Tea breaks for the drivers, no signs at the bus stops, and everyone having shopped at Iceland! Very funny tale! Maria Hewitt followed with poems based on a picture of a boy sitting on the edge of an infinity pool. Based on, we think, Sutherland, the man who earned £3m advising corporations – 'no limit to my imagination', 'They call me because of my infinite knowledge...'. (a bit of sarcism) She then read 'Ad Infinitum', starting with a happy couple going through life finding 'too much to do' to see each other – till it's too late!

David Roberts, did Woody Allen's 'Mighty Aphrodite, 'Deconstructing Harry'and 'Sleeper' in poetry form. 'Asleep for 200 years'. 'Time to kill the dictator and his dog and build a new Jeruselum'. Audi Maserati and his Appalachian Zither, then stood up to a lot of applause as usual. Between ad libbing, he did two DaDa poems, ' the piano speaking to the peach' (wonderful), - where 'all's well that ends well', and the four famous men ('you have to dispend belief') Aristotle, Jean Luc Goddard, Buffalo Bill and Billy the Kid got together, 'polished off the biscuits and sorted out the World'. Then a song about Clancy, 'never too late to be a rock star'!

Jack Warshaw used the 'theme of the year' and guitar/sang about 'The Green Fields of France' and WW1. His second song, written by a 13 year old Black girl in the Seeger household, was joined in by everyone. 'Freight Train, Freight Train, Run so Fast'. Michael Sherman did 'Homeward Plods His Weary Way', about time passing. Then, love poems. 'Love's Bargain', 'Once upon a kiss', (...slipping thin athletic nights no more. Now is the time for holding hands;' and Molly's World'. Daryl Revko, visiting from Cheltenham, read 'Get the pigs off the beach', a topical political poem, contrasting the haves and the have-nots. Leah did 'You know I'll go back' and 'Possimist', an optimist/pessimist. And Jake, every the gracious Compere, once again, managed to get everyone in! A credit to his skills. David Stone also did a grand job videoing the performers! Now time to make up youtubes!

It was a good evening, bringing out a lot of guitars and song but never excluding the poetry which makes up most of the Open Mic. The raffle was for a 'no limit' two free meals at the newly managed Links Tavern! A great restaurant where you can get anything from kids meals for £6 to sandwiches to light meals to seabass to T-Bone Steak! And the ice cream is home-made! Great prize – won by Daryl Revko.  

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

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