OMS 287 — 21st May
May 22, 01:46 Surgeries
Open Mic “don’t mention the F word” 287 was a special edition for people unmoved by the beautiful game. All except Cayn, who had a tenner riding on the red devils.
Tom (id est, me) and Cayn compered this week, with Cayn kicking off for the first half with his poem “Royal Game” — controversial among the royalist anarchists (no, really) of Bradford. “Not controversial enough!”, says Colm.
Duncan bravely stepped up first, making a start with “Making A Star”. He also gets his scouting association Luthier Badge — the house guitar was missing a string, and ever prepared, Duncan donated one. Many of the songs below wouldn’t‘ve been possible…
Liz was at the mercy of love with Pete supplying the melody — she’s so cool these days, stepping up without knowing what song she’s doing. That only gave us more time to harvest the fruits of Pete’s fingers.
Talented newcomer Richard branched out from the blues, rendering Kathy’s Song as well as any guitarist ever did.
Mand silenced the room with her pretty and melancholic “Oh Boy”. I never tire of hearing it, the girl’s a damn strong songwriter.
Alice played newish song “Happily Ever After”, a very strong addition to her oevre. It took me back — I haven’t skimmed stones in a long time.
Next our favourite keyboarder Derek laid out all the colours in his palate: the spooky “X-Files” theme, the bawdy “Vicar Song”, and a soulful piece to finish.
Big Jo-Nathan was a “Steel Ridin’ Man” (maybe not the title, but fitting!), blinding the room with his flashy guitar and, naturally, the music he teased out of it.
Colm sang a birthday song for Israel (with perhaps a hint of irony) — sixty today! I don’t think I’ll go to the party, it doesn’t sound very fun.
Continuing this ethnic cleansing theme, Liz returned with a beautiful if sad Scottish lullaby, from the time of the Fuadaich nan Gàidheal, or Highland Clearances.
And popping one in before the half-time whistle, Andy and Antonio collaborated on a conspiracy theory about time. It took a while to write, apparently, hmm, mysterious… Sterling work lads.
It’s a night of two halves, and Tom went out on a limb with a leprosy joke (told to me in the beer break by an anonymous donor), and followed it with the classic “Leprosy” parody of Yesterday.
This was quickly followed by a summary raffle, breaking only to hug Claudia, who didn’t otherwise perform (though I’m sure she’ll critique my grammar).
Mick wasn’t in the room, and I’ve only just realised we didn’t have him on later! Sorry Mick! You can have my spot next week! His instant stand-in Paul tickled us with “I’m Only Snoring”; soothing and funny in one breath.
James sauntered onstage for a typically perfect rendition of Dylan’s “My Back Pages”.
Pete returned for a one-man spot, rendering the best “Fly me to the Moon” I’ve ever heard (sorry dad). Was it just me, or did it want to become “Tequila”? Images of Pee-wee Herman (non-traumatic) flashed into my mind.
Antonio, assisted by James, wowed us again with another of his songs, “Yellow Hazy Moon”. Kali Malakia, it was good. Unlike my Greek.
Sarah dropped into D to improvise on the fretboard. Quietly beautiful, and beautifully quiet.
Derek broke taboo and mentioned the F word, before redeeming himself with “High Heeled Sneakers”, a stonking bit of Rock n Roll.
Mand was “Passing Through”, another finely penned melody. Not new, but new to me, and I liked every note.
It went into extra time, and Jonathan‘s final comeallye was gracing our ears even as the bar staff collected our glasses and swept us out the door. A perfect end to an evening that featured diverse talent, a few surprises, and a good crowd from start to finish, even without the footie fans.
Oh God, there I go with the F word.
- The Amazing Tom Brother
Liz said,
May 22, 09:38 #
Very amazing, Tom-brother, were you up all night getting the write-up posted? Nice laid-back intimate evening – high point for me was Antonio’s songs. We want more!
And many thanks to Mick the human pitch-pipe. x
Amazing Tom Brother said,
May 22, 10:28 #
I was indeed. The posting date doesn’t show the half of it — there were the corrections, the typography… Mandy too took notes (I didn’t realise this until the very end), so there could be more reflection on the evening from her.
You’re just making me feel worse about forgetting Mick. God knows how we crossed him off the list… Maybe I’ll blame it on Cayn and hope he never reads this. Yeahhh…
cayn said,
May 22, 11:35 #
Ahem!
I’m making no comment about the disapearance of Mick West at last nights oms.
mand said,
May 22, 16:56 #
awsome write up amazing tom brother !! i think the only thing i would add is what a great job as comperes you both did and thanks for the nice comments you made about peoples performances so nice to get positive feed back ! til next week …......
derekelton said,
May 22, 19:20 #
I thought it was a good night too.
I liked Jonathan,s first half spot and it’s true James always seems to get it right on. Makes it look easy- – - ?!!|\! I don’t like foul language but you know what I mean.
I liked Tom Brother’s leper song. Very close to the line but just managed to hang on – - great stuff.
I just read the Pirates section on Amazing Tom Brother link very funny stuff on there.
Why are they called Pirates?
Because they arrrrr.
love derek
Cayn said,
May 22, 20:20 #
It was a very enjoyable night in my opinion great performers with a wide diversity of styles. And in case anyones wondering, I won my bet!
Tom Brother said,
May 23, 10:11 #
Me and Cayn work well together, it’s true – we’ll ahve to do it again sometime! It is good to have positive feedback, you’re right – I don’t think we we re doing it inetntionally, just in a good mood :-)
Ahh thanks Derek, my “website” is really just a backup of some stuff on my computer (and allows me to “work” away from home) – that said, the pirates stuff is coming together and my lyrics/ideas are more complete and readable now. I’m working on a parody of “My Way”.
Jude said,
May 24, 13:09 #
Great write up, but I’m shocked to see that you ‘ahve’ (un)‘inetntionally’ used the ‘f’ word! You may get a posting from Claudia to BURN!!!!
Cayn knows all about burning…....!
;D
Tom Brother said,
May 25, 22:03 #
Somehow my fingers always write “ahve”. if something supposedly written by me spells “have” correctly, it’s probably a forgery.
Does Cayn have venereal diseases? I don’t understand!
Jude said,
May 26, 16:26 #
Cayn has chip pan fires….don’t know about vd, you’ll have to ask him!!
;D
Cayn said,
May 29, 09:44 #
To my knowledge I do not have Vd, but thanks for your concern in the matter!
See you all in two weeks
Alice =]] said,
Jun 1, 16:58 #
I thought that night was great! :D
Cayn and tom are acee compares :)
The.. other alice?? O_o said,
Jun 18, 14:54 #
Haha! Brilliant write up =) thankyou!
>_> And Tom you should really skip stones again! its fun! you dont know what your missing! xD haha!
And you two did a great job as comperes. was a really nice evening!
And why not mention football?
Cayn said,
Jun 22, 15:05 #
Football is a really sore subject with me after the not so mighty Derby County getting relegated with the lowest points ever in the Premiership, so thats one reason why football is a no no!
Glad everyone thought we did a good job as comperes, Tom was right we will have to do it again sometime in the not too distant future.