The Deaf Institute – Manchester (6.11.2010)

The name alone of this venue is intriguing enough to make you want to check it out.  And when I read the flier “Anything goes, all artists welcome”, it sounded like my kind of night.  In fact it’s a relatively new event and run by Guy, with help from his mate Ash, who have set up this night for “the talented lost and found”.

I arrive early to find the venue rammed with diners and drinkers, and there’s a lively feel to the place.  When Guy starts setting up the pa, a queue of musicians and performers quickly assemble around him to get their names on the list.  You get three songs or quarter of an hour for the whole set, which is more than enough for an open mic.  I choose a slot around 9.15 and then get a pint in.

There are three floors to this impressive old building and the open mic takes place on the ground floor.  The décor matches the Victorian architecture and there are several antelope skulls watching over me as I text a friend in Manchester to ask him why he's not here yet?  I’m joined at a long dining table by two lads who are enjoying a Sunday dinner and we get talking.  Turns out one of them is an illustrator who goes by the name of ‘starvinartist’, and I reckon he is starving judging by the way he’s tucking into his Yorkshire pudding.  Starvinartist and his mate are good company and we end up talking about all sorts.

That’s what I like about these nights, you get to meet people you may never otherwise have come across, transitory moments when you have in depth conversations with individuals who you most likely won’t see again.  I also found myself chatting with an array of other miscellaneous individuals; students, poets and musicians.  This was cool because my mate had texted back me to say he wasn’t going to make it – yeah, some people you just can’t rely on (you know who you are ha ha).

Amongst the first of the performers is a poet called Ben and he has some wise words to say about what you do for living, arguing that you would find out more about a person if you asked them what type of music they liste to.  This would, he said, give a better feel for the person, than the work they are in.  I’m inclined to agree because you have to make a living somehow and the stuff we love doing, is not necessarily what we end up doing, unless you want to be a starving artist, which is always an option.

Ben is followed by a young singer called Jealous of Girls who belts out a few of his own songs, including a lively number called ‘Sunnyside up’.  He tells us he’s just brought his own album out and has a few copies with him.  I like the way solo artists are giving themselves band type names at the moment.

I’m on after Jealous of Girls and introduce the audience to the kaoss poetry.  This follows in a long tradition of mixing poetry with music, from the experiments of the beat poets in the 50’s, through to the punk and reggae poets of the 70’s and on into hip hop poets like Sage Francis.  The audience seem a little surprised and I think it’s a positive response.  I recount a story of my Disappeared Friend (which is not a happy tail) and half way through turn an 80bpm chant into a 120bpm dance piece, with some help from a monotron filter.  Guy works hard to get the balance right and I have to thank him for that because it can’t be easy dealing with all these separate samples and vocals.

After my set I take a break out the back on the beer terrace and to wind down some.  There’s guitarist on stage during that time and I feel bad about missing him because he sounds pretty good.  When I go back inside he’s gone and there’s another performer on stage who introduces himself as Mike (Like).  The like is on account he’s from Liverpool.

Mike has pre-recorded and arranged some backing tracks that he sings along to.  It’s a ska like rendition of his original songs, with a scouser twang.  Drifting into the karaoke territory like this is fine by me, and Mike does it exceedingly well.  You can tell he’s enjoying himself and it rubs off on the audience.  Well most of the audience anyway because the geezer sat near me is rolling his eyes and doesn’t applaud once.  You can’t please all the people all the time, and there will always be someone who doesn’t like what you do.

Judging by the long list of performers I spotted near the stage area there is still more good music to come, but near 12 I head out into the Manchester night.  I got work in the morning and some distance to cover.

The Deaf Institute was the first open mic night I’d been to in Manchester and it was a top, top night.  Poetry, music, song and all kinds of performers made for a diverse evenings free entertainment.

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