There were ten acts tonight, all of which deserve a mention, but I shall talk about the ones that had the most impact on their audience. 

A few weeks ago I reviewed a ladies’ night here and I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw that Ginni Hogarth had returned.  She writes inspiring lyrics that evoke all sorts of emotions, and captivates the crowd with her unique voice.  She played a couple of mellow piano tunes but really comes into her own when playing her guitar.  During Big Yellow Sun, Ginni stomps her feet, curls her lip and projects confidence daring to look right into the eyes of her audience.  Her album Between These Walls, is due for release in the near future and you can find out more by emailing.  Or watch this space of course.

Local boys DaftLane were there, promoting their EP which will be available early April.  They played a three-song set, one of which was the title track Cast Aside (like old toys), and as ever they were outstanding.  They always go down well as they have a universal appeal and are regularly invited back to the Bier Keller.  You can see a fully amped set at Bar Oz in Reading on Sunday 25 March 2001.

Of the two songs played by Simon Freeman (and friends) it was the first that lasts in my memory.  A witty number about the ridiculous arguments possessions can cause when a relationship fails – “I’ll only talk to you when you return my Bob Dylan CD’s and my baseball cap, or at least when Hell freezes over”.  I’ve just listened to this guy’s album, which is in the final stages of the mix. It features a beautiful song about his daughter and how he feels about another man raising her.  Very moving.  I look forward to hearing him again and this type of acoustic environment suits his gentle voice perfectly.

Amrit Sond uses an implement called an Eebo, which clips onto his guitar.  Big Country has also been known to use one.  It excites the strings through vibration and produces ambient almost eerie sounds.  He doesn’t sing, as he doesn’t need to.  Amrit uses his guitar like Bobby McFerrin uses his chest, he drums on it, flicks his hand across the frets to generate one type of sound, taps on the strings teasing them, and then pulls his down sharply to create another.  An experimental, almost freeform jazz style that crosses over into an ethnic even Spanish feel at times.  The audience were totally mesmerised and not a word was uttered throughout.  Very interesting indeed.  Amrit will be playing at Windsor Arts Centre 21 April 2001 and Wit-Fest on 30 June 2001 in Wittenham near Wallingford.  This is a charity event to raise money for the Helen House children’s hospice.  Contact by email for more info. 

The last two acts were Ryan McDaid who played a happy song about walking in the rain, and Jerry Power.  Apparently they do perform together sometimes but decided to do their own thing on this occasion.  They both have wonderful voices and the charisma, that is so often lacking in some ‘one man and his guitar’ type set-ups, to keep you interested.

By Samantha Carter

14/03/01