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Please contact us at |
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email to:- |
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performers@rrrants.co.uk |
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Or Call Paul on |
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07921 764712 |
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For more information
info@rrrants.co.uk |
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Any members
wishing to have their books, discs reviewed by members
of our team please send two copies and a covering letter to:
rrrants towers, 10 twitchell lane, aston clinton, bucks. HP22
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Reviews -
Independent, objective reviews on Performances & Publications |
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Bard-Aid in Camden - An Excerpt from the Blog of Helen
McCookerybook
Posted by Helen
McCookerybook at Sunday,
August 08, 2010 

Bard-Aid is an organisation
that raises money to provide poetry books for secondary
schools, and last night's gig was organised by Paul
Eccentric, a member of the Rrrants Collective.
The gig lasted all day, and was held upstairs at the Camden
Eye, a pub that is negotiated by pushing a channel through
the sea of pissed young people that swarm around Camden Tube
station at weekends.
Up the steep stairs that are hemmed in by nattily-tiled
walls, the Kissing Lounge hosted a warm and friendly crowd
who lounged on an assortment of odd chairs, jumbled together
in a peaceful end-of-Saturday bonhomie.
I found a corner to slot myself into and listened to the
quirky jazz of Paul's band (Sly
Quip & The Quickwits) , which sounded like a cross
between ABC (except Paul has a much nicer voice than the
frightening warbling of whats-his-name) and Michael
Garrick's band (he was a 1970s oddball English jazz
bandleader whose vinyl recordings currently command
phenomenal sums on eBay). I liked their music; I am very
fond of the alternative universe and this band would not
have been out of place in the bar in the original Star
Wars film (above).
It was my turn next, and the head-turning Green Gretsch
turned heads; I loved the audience, who were a perfect mix
of ages, styles and smiles. One group was noshing their way
through their tea (chicken and chips out of polystyrene
containers). Other supped pints of lager or drank cans of
Red Stripe. It was hot and sweaty, not good singing weather,
but I abandoned my miserable songs and sang the uppy songs
instead. People tapped legs, fingers, and I was told, bums
along to Loverman.
This was probably my favourite gig in terms of atmosphere
and audience this year.
I also have invented a new way with set lists- a paper
luggage label tied to a machine-head of the guitar.
It does the trick brilliantly! You don't need to bend down
to peer at the floor, it's there at the end of you guitar
neck ready for you to refer to or ignore as the mood takes
you. You could have a selection, with different set lists on
them....
Lovely gig, and thanks to Paul for inviting me. It is nice
to feel appreciated at a gig!
LA
Salami had a good night too and I am looking forward to
being on the bill with him at the 12 Bar on the 23rd August.
I had wanted him to play at one of my nights of new songs,
which I had to abandon because people got cross when I
didn't invite them to play (it was one night, and I was
planning more, and the cross people were going to be invited
to play, but I got put off).
The other Rrrants events look good: I will certainly be
going along to another.
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Review of Ant
Smith &
Bertram Trotar's -
The Fools Of Love
Edinburgh Fringe Preview
Rrrants
Extraordinary Event
25th July
2010
The Camden
Eye
Review By
Beth Dawes
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Last
Sunday (25th July 2010) was a hot and sultry night in trendy
Camden. I use words like ‘trendy’ because I’m getting on a bit
now and I experience a kind of awkward awe around vibrant young
things wearing nose rings and clothes that look like they’ve
been through a blender. However, in the packed, and steaming,
upstairs room of the Camden Eye I felt right at home amongst a
bunch of glorious eccentrics occupying various points on the
chronological age spectrum, and all wholly and deliberately
indifferent to the conventions of age. There were awkward young
geeks giving vent to insights beyond their years, and old
geezers waxing lyrical, satirical and sometimes outright profane
about lurve, York and their mammies.
Though the event was mainly to preview Ant Smith’s Edinburgh act, the
plethora of supporting poets were wonderful - shocking,
refreshing, touching and hilarious. The assortment of acts
included a guy with two hats (Alan Wolfson), a former extra on
Byker Grove (Tony Hickson) who held a peculiar grudge against
York, a guy (Ernesto Sarzale) spouting forth on invisible
lesbians and what to do when you find a belly button in your bed
(delivered in what can only be described as the only appropriate
state of dress for the weather), and Alvin Colvin whose mammy
had something against breastfeeding. My personal highlight was
Sophie Cameron. If Tracy Emin wrote poetry…well, she’d be a lot
more pretentious than this straight forward Yorkshire lass. In
my personal view the frank, sometimes poignant and often
truculent relationship a woman has with her own undercarriage
just hasn’t been eulogised enough in literature. Sophie remedies
this in the only accent that can do justice to such a life-long
and earthy relationship.
But the main act was Ant Smith and his partner Bertram Trotter, doing
their Edinburgh preview (The Fools of Love). I’m one of Ant’s
groupies so have seen him a few times now, but for those who
don’t know his particular personal style it’s rather like being
savaged by a rampant, naked id. He communicates from the centre
of his savage soul and it’s not pretty, but it is inexorably
sincere. His ferocity never fails to blow his audience into the
corners of the room like autumn leaves. Freud would have a lot
to say about it. But bugger Freud.
For his Edinburgh gig he has teamed up with Bertram Trotar. An unusual
coupling - the latter’s style is gauche and foppish, a perfect
counter-point to Ant’s style. But this coupling turns out to be
perfectly suited to a fresh treatment of the theme of love. If
you’re hapless in love you’ll love Bertie Trotar. If you’ve just
been dumped your raging heart will find solace in Ant’s rants.
And if you’re in love and sickening everyone around you then
you’ll be pounced on to play the couples game, and thus given
the opportunity to either ruin your relationship or inject some
much needed reality into your pink cloud.
As it happens I’m going to be seeing this in Edinburgh too – 23rd
and 24th August (Banshee Labyrinth). I’d wholly
recommend it for anyone who’s around then.
You don’t
have to be cool for Rrrants poetry, you just have to be ready
for anything! |
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Review of Bard-Aid at the Poetry Cafe,
21st July
By Danni Antagonist
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....Introducing us to a night of poetry and punk rock, Paul
Eccentric kicked off the evening but was very quick to usher on
the first act, which established a pace and energy for the night
which didn’t falter.
First up was
“Captain of the Rant” who ditched the microphone for his
rapid-fire dressings-down of internet social networking, Estate
Agents, and women’s magazines. Similarly irrepressible was
Sophie Cameron, billed as the family favourite and, a force of
nature as ever with her onslaught of finely executed filth.
Never wasting
a word, the charismatic Mat Lloyd’s performance is always
confident but never cocky, and his pieces on bank managers and
prejudice are simultaneously acerbic and heartfelt.
The seating
in the Poetry Cafe does deserve a mention, as by this point I
was incredibly uncomfortable on the cheap plastic chairs, which
somewhat blighted the evening for me.
Snatching
back my attention, Alain English launched into a phenomenal
performance of the autobiographical “snakes in my ears”, edging
his already dynamic and warmly impassioned style up another
notch. His poems are always intricately crafted and flawlessly
delivered.
Jammy Sammy’s
struggles to strum a clean chord belie her incredible wit and
fudge-sweet voice. She started with her latest offering, “AA
Man” which benefits from a more measured pace than some of her
more established numbers. She always raises the roof, and
tonight ends on the singalong “Weirdo”, which managed to set the
place alight.
After Sammy,
Paul contributed a (new?) piece on the joys (ahem) of aging,
followed by Vinnie Gibbons. Vinnie’s barbed “Sole Trader” is
smart and very dark, with his characteristically underplayed
wit. And his “Heston Blumanthal” was scathing and hilarious.
Following him
was Ant Smith. Now there’s no denying the jet-engine vehemence
of his bellowed works, but in a small space with uncomfortable
seating it’s a bit too intense for me!
With the bar
and the volume well and truly raised, The Antipoet launch into
an established set, ending on the deliciously naughty “Tights
not Stockings”
The piercing
blue eyes of the dashingly dishevelled Ed Tudor-Pole, fix the
audience with a maniacal stare. His bluesy rock style is
impressive, but his goading of the audience to dance seemed
rather uncomfortable in this stiffly-seated place. Also, both
his vocal mic and his guitar seemed to be overdriven, making
some fantastic music a bit painful. However, Ed is an incredible
player and utterly charming performer, which more than
outweighed these problems.
His laments
on being called “not a punk” raised the issue of truth and
artifice, very suitable for a poetry gig! Tearing up the
rule-book, what a great thought to go home on after such a
strong night from the Rrrants stable, where there is variety of
everything, except for effort and passion. And every performer
did themselves proud on both of those fronts. Bravo!
RRRANTS replys: Agreed
re sound but the room is not designed for the full punk
experience (Must give that guy a bigger venue!) |
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Review of Philfy Phil's
SEEDY CD.

by Paul
Eccentric
Click
for Shop |
We've waited a long time for
this. Philfy Phil is a living legend and his many fans around
the globe have been demanding hard copy of the man's material
for years.
But translating a live act
onto any form of stored medium can be a risky operation. A
straight live recording; however professionally captured, will
usually sound as if it's lacking something and it is: the
atmosphere of the event itself. Similarly, hearing what is
essentially a live act turned into a slick and overly produced
glossy product can be an equally disappointing experience for
the artist's original fans.
Philfy Phil is a live
performer. While his lyrics are exceptionally clever and funny,
the real genius and charm of his act is in his live performance.
A collective breath was held
at Rrrants when Phil announced the arrival of his debut CD.
Would it live up to the sheer hilarity of his shows? Would it
work as well without the parody maestro's obligatory corpsing on
final approach of a punch line? Would it sound better or worse
if his guests had rehearsed their backing lines before
performing them?
What
Phil has produced is the perfect compromise of the live v studio
debate. This is a studio recording, but he has wisely chosen to
eschew the trappings of too much faf'n polish and gone for an
accessible, no frills adaptation which instantly evokes the very
best of his live shows! Phew. Coulda' gone either way there, but
like i said before, the man's a genius. |
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Review of
Jammiesammy
The
George & Dragon, Chesham,
27th of
March 2010
by Paul
Eccentric |
Sammy is
the perfect choice of entertainer, wherever and whatever the
occasion. I truly believe this!
I've
lost count of the number of times that I've seen her perform
over the past year, from pubs to libraries; festivals to canal
boats and I have never known her fail to storm an event. Having
studied her act, I'm putting it down to the fact that as she
stands up to the mic, tonight with that ostentatious red satin
and velvet fifties dress, red hair, pink be stickered guitar and
the mischievous grin of a five year old whose just learned her
first naughty word, only four of us in this packed venue have
any idea what's coming next. Nobody is expecting this sweet
little girl to rhyme 'vibrator' with 'chronic masturbator' nor
sing them a song about how desperately she needs to pee, and all
with the most perfect comic timing and subtlety of delivery.
It's
the wry little looks to camera; it's the innocence of that smile
despite the fact that she's just said fuck at a children's
party; it's the total lack of an ego whist retaining a confident
stage charm; it's Sammy, once again trouncing everybody else on
the bill with her. See to believe!
Paul
Eccentric |
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Review of 'The Odd Eccentric'
'The Horns - March 2010'
By Jammiesammy |
Standing in
the crowd watching the band set up their instruments is in
itself a sight to behold. 9 members of the band edge around one
another on a tiny stage as they set up an electric keyboard,
guitars, a trumpet and saxophone stand, the double bass is put
to one side and mics are set up for the 2 backing singers and
the lead singer (Who has the biggest pair of cymbols i've ever
seen). Needless to say there is little room for manouver. yet
everyone manages to wait their turn politely to do what they
need to do to ensure their ready for the nights entertainment.
Now couple
this with the fact that some of the band members live in places
like Bournemouth, Brighton and Cambridge means that rehersals
are far and few between, it makes you realise that what you are
about to witness is nothing short of technical genius, and thats
before anyones even actually played a song.
The Odd
Eccentric. How would one describe this particular ensemble of
musicians. Its almost like trying to describe colours to a
blind person, if you haven't heard any of their music its
difficult to explain just how different they sound in comparison
to anything else out there. Each song has its own style yet sung
and performed in a way that ties the whole set together.
Different and unique yet alluringly familiar. Monday the 15th
of March was the first time I had ever heard any of The Odd
Eccentric and instantly I knew I was a fan. The lyrics are
brilliant the melodies are catchy and drive you insane for days
afterwards when they wont get out of your head. Basically if
you ever have a chance to get along to one of their gigs. I
would do it without hesitation. You'll never be the same again.
This I promise you.
Sammy |
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Review of: Mervyn Cooke's
'O Derry Boy'
by Paul Eccentric
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People write poetry for as many different reasons as there are
poets in the world. Some write to exorcise demons, some to
express a viewpoint. Some do it to charm their readers, while
others set out to shock. Mervyn follows none of these paths, but
his passions are equally as valid. 'O Derry Boy' sets out to
capture a lost moment in history; a hitherto forgotten time and
place that most of us will never have experienced; a harsher
time, yet a time afforded a seductive allure by his evocatively
wistful reminiscences. Is this Mervyn's childhood in twentieth
century rural Northern Ireland or is this a magical dream world
that only those with true poetry in their souls will ever visit?
You'll have to buy the book to decide, but before you do, spend
an evening in his company and let him tell you his story in the
accent that matches the pictures. |
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Review of 'from the outside in' CD by SuperPennie. (£5 from the
rrrants shop):
There is an
easy warmth to Pennie's oration that makes me feel as if i am a
part of this conversation; drawn into her narrative like a
co-conspirator sitting with her in a private booth of a back
street pub: a true one-to-one audience experience. She's talking
to me, and although i'm from a different time and a different
place, i feel as if i'm there with her I was privaleged to
witness her first live performance of some of this material back
in April 09 and i felt the same way then, even though that bar
was far from intimate. 'Isn't she happy' and 'pictures flicker'
have haunted my conscience ever since. This isn't my mind, but
for the duration of this disc it feels like it should be. Pennie
is a master of conversational storytelling. Let her take you
into her confidence as well! |
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Rrrants
at The Camden Eye
31st January 2010

Review by
Sophie Cameron
Video highlights of this
event can be found at
 |
Get Your Ass to Camden
Pronto! Sunday 31st January
What can I say? I hardly have
lungs left to breathe or pants that aren’t soiled. I am sending
my dry cleaning and health bill to Rrrants for fucking me up. OK
I didn’t have to pay for the evening and apart from the fact
that it was the best evening’s entertainment in the whole world
this is a recession and my briefs were expensive. I could use
massive words and poetic smooches to try and re-fashion the
night before your very eyes, like a sleazy attempt to wank at a
long gone shag marathon, but the end product will undoubtedly be
lack lustre.
Live poetry of this quality is a
rare and beautiful (notice I didn’t say sexy) beast. The
audience poised - mouths open and hearts laid out for treading
on, the poets full up with words and aggressive lunges, I cannot
express to you the explosion in ones brain when poetry becomes
more than just dead verse on the page, but true physical full
frontal expression, right from the epicentre of human humanness.
One day I will switch on my telly
and see the anti-poet, Ant Smith, Rob Auton, Philfy Phil and the
other man that I can’t remember his name, as he didn’t look like
he was going to be any good but in actual fact he was amazing,
on the screen and I will smile. I will smile bloody big as it is
fucking about time. These guys are genii and if I have to take a
used copy of Shakespeare’s complete works into the BBC and set
it on fire to show them that then maybe I will. |
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Rrrants
at The Camden Eye
31st January 2010

Review by
Mervyn Cooke Video highlights of this
event can be found at
 |
Take an intimate setting, the Camden Eye,
avec les francais, perched eyrie-eyed above the Camden
thoroughfare, a garret full of garrulous poets and musicians
and you get yet ANOTHER RRRants star show.
lia Avroutine –
always delivers a solid set , Lada like in his durability, even
if the place name poetry had us all guessing --poetry is indeed
a strange language -why not have in Russian?
Sophie Cameron
– shock and awe – what can I say – Sophie? what can I say ?– is
there a column in the Sun or the Daily Star for you?
Harmonica Lewinski
captivated us with his acrobatic interpretation of the Ian Drury
classic, Billericay Dickie, His words danced the taut acoustic
tightrope as we swayed from side to side with his re-telling of
adolescent sex in the back of the Cortina, ramming her hymena…oh
the night was worth it just to hear that one song!
And a hard act
to follow admitted our Lesser Spotted Derry Wordsmith, Mervyn
Cooke, shades of Heaney, shades of Hughes, words hewn from
the heart.. “ Very poignant , very humbling “
commented a fellow RRRanter.
No notes, no props, no idea how Rural Ireland
1950-1960’s would appeal to the younger audience- there are
universal themes of love and loss, toil and tenderness that
touch all our heartstrings. Watch out for the next gig , a
unique rendition of Ted Hughes ‘ February 14 th – a lamb
could not get born’
Richard Frost–
the Shamen of the North – strode Gandalf like, Noggin the Nog
and foretold the future, a King Arthur of the Northern Line –
God could I do with that pair of oven gloves he wore! ..100%
inspirational and original.
Robert Auton is
the poet sniper among us – he picks us off with his tales told
through the prism of the absurd. Very creative and delivered
with verve. Pizza Poetry –what’s your topping?
Ant Smith –
shock and awe too! – I was gobsmacked!
Philphy Phil ––
the troubadour, the wandering minstrel of the shires, the
ballader with cheer…tongue in cheek – we love it!
And finally Poeterry – nervy in
preparations, his words slide of the page like the lavish women
he lusts after, oily and willing all over.
And there you have it a unique mix of the
avant-garde, the luscious and the lavish – you get what is says
on the tin , Rhythmical, Ravings & Rants. Catch it again on
the 31 March at the Goat in St Albans. |
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Rrrants Bard-Aid
at The Etcetera Theatre
28th January 2010
 Review by
Christine Adams |
My brother had a punk compilation
LP called ‘20 of Another Kind’. I’m sure if you looked at side
1, track 8 under a microscope, you would notice much more wear
and tear to the groove here than on any of the tracks on that
record.
That track was ‘Gary Gilmore’s
Eyes’ by The Adverts. I didn’t really understand the lyrics but
to a gangly 13 year old they were suitably sinister and
subversive.
Some thirty years later, Ant, my
husband, asks me if I fancy going to see TV Smith in Camden.
I pause.....Never meet your
heroes.
It’s Thursday 28th
January and we head to the Etcetera Theatre above the Oxford
Arms, Camden. We are greeted by the lovely Donna who could be a
shampoo model and makes us feel like old friends. In fact, the
atmosphere was of an intimate party full of fun, sweet, anything
goes characters - Rrrants events are clearly about
inclusiveness.
The evening begins with the
Antipoet - a double-bass/vocal duo that performs a far too short
set of wickedly funny and brutal satire. I can’t really compare
them to anyone else but the piece ‘Artists’ is bugging me as it
reminds me of a track that was continually played on Annie
Nightingale’s request show in the ‘80s and I can’t remember the
artist or the title.
They are followed by the
sartorially elegant Terence whose confidence in his dress is
sadly not matched by confidence in his material. The rhythms of
the words sound great but because he seems afraid to project I
can’t get a clear grasp of his message. Shout up Terence mate –
we want to hear you!
Rachel Pantechnicon is up next.
Goodness me, she is fantastic. I can’t hear all her jokes and
cracks as I’m laughing too much but, for me, the highlight is
her children’s book about the lion with cheese grater legs - I
am bent double and gasping for breath when she reveals the cover
for adults.
So, finally, TV Smith takes to the
stage. He is a bouncy, grey-haired chap who wears his place in
music history with pride. Considering that many of the songs in
his energetic, acoustic set were written when he was a teenager,
there’s no navel-gazing angst or cod-intellectualism but pretty
sharp and well-constructed lyrics. During the set he makes a
mischievous comment about Iggy Pop starring in the adverts and
then before I know it we’re at the penultimate song. The hit.
Ok, it’s an acoustic version but that doesn’t matter, he sings
the quite strange melody in the chorus perfectly and, all of a
sudden, I feel tears streaming down my face. I am so relieved
that I am not as bitter and world-weary as I thought when a 30
year-old (plus) song about a murderer can still affect me.
The night is over. TV Smith is
stood at the end of my row chatting to Donna. I want to gush
effusively but I’m covered in teary snot so I shuffle out of the
little theatre on a beautiful high.
Brilliant. |
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Review of "Splat That
Spider"
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For anybody who has ever regretted buying an
album on the strength of a solitary hit single, Jammie Sammy's
'Splat That Spider' should rank as a welcome antidote. If, like
me, you have already become addicted to her Youtube smash 'The
Kitkat Song', but were not expecting her to have a whole album
of catchy, sarky and laugh out loud funny, yet nod'n wink
poignant songs up her brightly coloured sleeves, then think
again! 'Splat That Spider' is a studio recording of her infamous
2009 live set, which although benefitting from the odd
overdubbed backing line and a sharper vocal mix, still manages
to retain the raw edge of her live performances. Every track is
classic Sammy! I quite liked Aberdeen when i went there, but
then i didn't grow up there and i now know why they hounded her
out of the city! Buy it from the rrrants shop priced £5 with £1
from each disc kindly donated to Bardaid! Go Sammy
Paul
Eccentric Jan' 2010 |
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Rrrants Bard-Aid
at The Etcetera
28th Jan 2010 |
The
Etcetera Theatre is a small, compact, cosy
little venue which fills you with a sense of
comfort in a homely fashion, this was to be the
stage for which the first Bard aid event was to
be set. It looked more like a little mini
cinema, you're almost expecting there to be an
interval with ice-cream. Poeterry was first up
on the bill for the evenings entertainment.
Anyone who has seen him before will be familiar
with his mastery of words. He just keeps going
from strength to strength, he did some old
familiar pieces and threw in some new material
for good measure. Dressed to impress its hard
not to make a lasting impression with both words
and presence.
Following Poeterry was the wonderful Antipoet.
I could happily listen to their pieces all day,
a mixture of humorous and thought provoking beat
poetry, 'Hypothetically Speaking' being one of
my new favourites of theirs. Their set was over
far too quickly, but you couldn't lament for too
long because they were quickly replaced by the
wonderful Rachel Pantechnicon.
Rachel has an eclectic variety of poetry, often
accompanied by visual props which compliment her
words very well. I enjoyed her tale of
Cheesegrater Legiron Lion, and the Quetzalcoatl
hotwaterbottle cover was a very odd poem yet
highly appealing to the the ears. Her presence
on stage was a delight and I hope to see her
perform again very soon.
Then
came the headline act. Having seen T.V.Smith
perform a number of times over the years I
couldn't help but feel excited at the prospect
of him performing at this rather cosy little
venue. As expected the gig was indeed compact,
which allowed him to play his guitar unplugged
which contributed to the intimate feeling of the
evening. A pure delight for a T.V Smith fan
such as myself, he played old favourites such as
Bored Teenagers and Generation Y not to mention
the obvious Gary Gilmour's Eyes. He seemed to
enjoy it just as much as those in the audience.
Me
and my husband had a wonderful night out and
left feeling warmly content at the level of
entertainment we had witnessed. Anyone who
missed this gig really did miss out on a lyrical
treat. This was fucking Ace!!!
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Review by
JammieSammy
Video highlights of this
event can be found at
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Rrrants
at The Camden Eye
8th December 2009 |
I must admit to having seen
the mayhem that this band or merry miscreants can wreak once
before, and to have being hooked upon that singular
exposure. The Rhythmical Raving and Rants collective
(delightfully pronounced with a roll of the tongue as
rrrants) are mad, bad and dangerous to know. So it was with
the delight that only a naked terror can induce that I
hauled myself down to the Camden Eye on Tuesday the 8th
of December.
I’d gone there to perform,
amongst a collective that counts in their number the likes
of Attila the Stockbroker and Rachel Pantechnicon. I was
sure, I would die of a Tuesday (rip. Stan Laurel). But this
group is welcoming, open and genuinely friendly. Safe to
say, I had a hoot. Safe to say, so did the non-performing
members of the audience.
An intimate little space the
upstairs of the Eye, or so it seemed with a good 50 or so
packed in there. It could so easily have ended in revolt,
but for the formidable boots and marshalling commands of our
MC and anti-poet, Paul Eccentric. He set the tone from the
off with his call to arms to take bad language poetry into
schools. In a world where kids face the dangers of stabbings
and shootings on the street, this mission is more important
than it is crazy. The range of performers gave testament to
that. Free speech pushing boundaries in the healthiest of
ways.
It’s always tough in a review
to pick out single players, so unfair – but to give a
flavour of the night – we bore witness to the one open-mic’er
of the night Mr Dan Cockrill. Host of the Bang Said The Gun
night reading from his Pie and Papier-Mâché
collection. We heard Jammie Sammy’s delicious Kitkat song,
Philfy Phil’s tongue twisting Al Qeada Leader, and Danni
Antagonist’s requiem to dust and ashes. There were of course
many, many more. A scintillating mix of styles, themes and
subjects.
There’s a veritable plethora
of poetry nights around in London right now, but rrrants
sets itself apart. It’s unselfish (er, I mean free of
charge), unjudgemental (I mean free of speech) and just
damned HOT (I mean happening, totally happening)
So how was it for me to
perform? Probably not fair to say in my own review! But you
can check it out for yourself on
rrrantstv
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Review by
Ant Smith
Video highlights of this
event can be found at
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'Sevenths:
twisted tales for sinners'
by
Danni Antagonist.
(Available now @50p plus p+p. See her link on the
'performers' page.) |
Anyone
who says that they haven't, at some point in their lives, shamelessly
indulged in all seven of The Deadly Sins is a bloody liar. But how many
of us have allowed our thoughts to linger long enough in this avaricious
realm to ponder each and return with the clarity of mind to compose
seven deadly poems on the subject? These sort of themed collections
often run out of steam once their authors realise that it isn't actually
that easy to come up with an interesting and unique take on each item of
a specified hit list such as this, but Danni certainly knows her sins;
whether through personal experience or innocent postulation is up to her
readers to decide. This is her third short collection. We wait for
number four. |
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RRRants. The Watford library
12th November 2009
Review by Heather Merrison after her first ever performance in
public |
I found last nights gig to be really
intellectually phenomenal. The RRRants company are by far the most warm,
laid back and profound performers ever. Not to mention hilarious, I
haven’t laughed so much in a long time. They made me feel really welcome
like part of a very large weird, wacky, wonderful and talented family, I
was quite nervous about making a mistake but I quickly learnt that all
cock ups were embraced with laughter and light heartedness, nor did I
think I’d ever find a place that I felt like I belonged, I couldn’t have
been more wrong! I felt more at home with the RRRants group than a child
in a 3 story sweet shop. They have something really amazingly special
that I don’t think you would find with another performance company. I
would love to perform, grow and learn with RRRants for as long as
they’ll have me. |
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– Unplugged
Review -
Wendover Library 8 October 2009
I
arrived at Wendover library expecting to see the regular and engaging assemblage
of vaudevillians that gather for an Antipoet performance, but goodness,
was I surprised. Before me sat an audience looking way out of their
comfort zone as two rock stars stood either side of a Stand-Up-Bass
preparing to perform. I soon learned that the audience were a local
writer’s group who were most likely expecting an evening of genteel
poetry reading followed by a question and answer session, but to their
horror, found they had inadvertently booked a Rock-n’-Roll band. Take it
away.…The Antipoet.
I watched
eyebrows rise, jaws drop, and bemusement dissolve into total engagement
as Paul Eccentric, an accomplished performer with a touch of ‘attitude’
about him, delivered his perfectly written observations with just the
right mix of anger, angst, irony and pathos. Alongside him, Ian Newman,
whose magical bass playing floats out notes that entwine, caress and
when called for supply a powerful counterpoint to Eccentric’s words.
This evening The Antipoet’s collective genius wove a magical dance,
showering the audience with unique sensual delights; sweet, light and
some beautifully dark.
Many in
the audience I thought had had their perceptions of ‘creativity’
deconstructed in an instant. I could see though, they were hugely
entertained and some I noticed moved by the experience. Invited to
operate in a different world of consciousness by The Antipoet
experience, the group had been offered exciting new possibilities and
unlimited creative horizons. I’m sure they will take up the challenge.
Barry J
Macey |
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Sir Lobby Lud
At The Cock in Sarratt, Herts, 27th of July- reviewed by Nobby Thorts for
'Hubble Bubble:
Poetry In Potions' magazine, issue #6 summer 09
Leading the vanguard of
1930s kitsch revivalism is Watford's own, Sir Lobby Lud.
Surely it is time that we saw a return to ukulele based pop?
Lobby seems to think so, and after being transported back
through a hookah smoke portal to an English seafront pier in
1933 by his anachronistic melodies and halcyon lyrics, I'm
forced to agree. These were the days when popstars were cravat
wearing gentlemen who knew how to dress, had proper diction,
wouldn't even dream of smackin' their bitches up and sang
sanguine dittys about custard creams and wireless sets. But is
it poetry? It is if i say it is and i do.
'And isn't that the
Basswhore on loan from The Antipoet slapping some feisty
rhythms, adding a new dimension to an already damn spiffing act?
Top hole!! |
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Review of The NakedPoetryFestival',11th
& 12th July 09 by Fawn Kate for KultureShock.
Fifteen poets in
three venues over two days. The first annual RRRANTS
NakedPoetryFestival was a storming success!
From the cramped and sultry confines of Covent Garden's
iconic Poetry Cafè, through the rock concert excesses of the
Marquee stage of Boxmoor's Music On The Moor Festival to the
bawdy barroom blitz of The Horns in Watford,
RRRANTS did what
RRRANTS does best: promoting an eclectic mix of straight and
comic poetry to an equally diverse blend of punter over a
variety of different venues.
Each of the three shows forming the core of the festival gave
it's audience a unique smorgasbord of heartfelt emotion, comic
observation and surreallist weirdness.
Tears flowed throughout the weekend, some from empathy, but
others from humour. If you haven't caught a RRRANTS performance
yet, then get yourself to the next one!! |
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Review of 'I Taste The Rain' by
Ilia
Avroutine. Published by Captain Eagle in Toronto, Canada,
2003
ISBN:0-9731488-1-0
I have respect for anyone who can convey their musings and their
observations in such a way that the result can transport their
readers to another time and place. But to be able to do this in
two totally disperate languages as Russian and English takes a
special kind of poet!
Ilia Avroutine is that man.
I Taste The Rain takes the reader on a journey from one culture
to the next, told through the eyes of a Canadian educated
Russian now living in England. For the full experience, find the
man himself and hear him reading it in the accent that fits the
text! |
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REVIEW OF
POETERRY at The
Maltings Arts Theatre, St.Albans, 20.5.09 by Jim
Reaper~
WET AS A
FISH TANK!
Anyone who
saw Poeterry's live debut at The Flint Cottage in High Wycombe
exactly one year ago would be astounded by his recent form. No
more the shy fumbling heckler fodder of those early open mic'
performances, the Poeterry that supported the great Francesca
Beard at Wednesday night's Oral Cabaret is now a bubbling
cauldron of rhythmic passion and Caribbean soul. From his
opener, 'My Dad', the heartrending story of the three words that
he was never able to say to his father, to the flagrant sexual
imagery of 'Untitled', (though I think it should be called
'Masterpiece'), his current 'love' set will undoubtedly leave
you "as wet as a fish tank"! |
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REVIEW OF
'DEMO TAPE' BY MAT LLOYD
Published
2.4.09 - ISBN: 978-1-4092-6270-1
priced £5.
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The
book is entitled 'Demo Tape', a knowing nod to the fact that
Mat's words are written to be spoken aloud. But that's not to
say that his poetry doesn't work on the page. In fact,
particularly with pieces like 'This Town' and 'Blokes Poem',
there is even more to be gained by seeing the stories laid out
in front of you. The pieces in this collection are more than
just poems. They read like individual novellas; tightly crafted
short stories cast with characters that you are bound to miss
once their tales have been told. It's a dark dystopian dimension
that they inhabit and then you realise that it's the real world
and you're living it too. Mat wants to make poetry cool, but
with this book we think he could raise those expectations and
make poetry rule! |
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April 1, 2009 - Wednesday
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Review of Rrrants at The
Bell - Princes Risborough - 21st March 2009
Following our successful RRRANTS
debut at Covent Garden's Poetry Cafe in January, our
second standup poetry event took place on Saturday the
21st of march at The Bell in Prince's Risborough, bucks.
This was only the second time that the venue had
attempted live entertainment under the current
management and a brave choice for a pub more used to Sky
sports and bridge evenings. It was, however, an unlikely
success.
With contributions from RRRANTS
stalwarts, satirist George Stanworth; punk poet Dave
Wallis; and compere and beatranter Paul Eccentric, the
event also featured the British debut of Russian
Canadian poet Ilia Avroutine, and the heart wrenching
observations of Gill Wallis, who brought a tear to more
than one unsuspecting eye.
The evening was
headlined by Gloucestershire's laureate, the multi award
winning Peter Wyton and interspersed with musical parody
by the inimitable Filthy Phil. ...Bass rhiffs and sound
control were, as ever, provided by the bass whore
himself, Mr Ian Newman.
We all had a fantastic time and
hope to see you at our next gig. Check the Events page
for up to date details on who will be performing. |
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Rrrants Fairness & Respect Policy |
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The Owners of Rhythmical
Ravings & Rants' operate a strict anti bigotry policy for
individuals work, but at the same time are firm advocates of
free speech and the right to reply. We do however reserve the
right to make a decision about submissions to this forum based
on our own opinions and will remove inappropriate content,
without debate. |
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