I'm of the opinion that Bristol follows its own distinct musical path. You'll hear things in Bristol you're less likely to hear anywhere else on account of a long tradition of eclectic, electronic and dance music influences. I'm not saying it's better than other cities, it's just different - which makes it a great place for music. If you read my book you'll know where I'm coming from, Bristol has its own musical micro-climate.
This night at Mr Wolfs is run by musician Jack Baldus and takes place every week on a Wednesday night. Mr Wolfs is an independent bar and music venue in an area of the city centre where there are mostly generic pubs and clubs to be found. The focus at Mr Wolfs is on the latest up and coming music (and sometimes art) with a stage that is set squarely looking out through the three areas of the bar.
Jack Baldus and the house band start the musical proceedings at around 9.30 with a nice funk influenced stretch of music. The house band is made up of Jack on Nord keyboard, Dave on drums and a superb bass player whose name I didn't catch. They pack a powerful musicality and you wouldn't know that they hadn't rehearsed, particularly given the way they work the jazzy audio into a genius cover of a Radiohead tune.
A nice mix of R&B tunes follow the house band from a duo called Miss Mally and Miss Twist, and an acapella vocal goes down well with the decent crowd that have gathered here on this night. I follow up with some of the digital beat poetry and it feels good to be playing in Bristol again. I finish my set with 'Disappeared Friend'.
Disappeared Friend (unmixed) by Poet and the Loops
A full band play some upbeat rock classics such as Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd and OK, this isn't the Bristolian uniqueness I've been going on about - but it's still fun. A poet called John from Birmingham treats the audience to just the right amount of ranting, dealing skillfully with a bit of friendly heckling. An MC follows and she is accompanied by a multi-talented keyboard player, who also adds some neat human beatbox (unlike the version I described in my recent Manchester post). The MC gets some audience participation going with a piece about having had way too much to drink the night before. And the house band finish the open mic to a now packed out Mr Wolfs.
Bristol is always a great place to play and listen to music. So if you're out and about on a Wednesday night you should definitely check out Mr Wolfs open mic.
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Open Mic Travels (the book) is available here:
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Open Mic Travels (the book) is available here:
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