| Vox Night | Past Vox Nights |
Review by Ollie Francis:
While watching this month’s VOX, I was completely taken by the amount of talent that people are willing to offer in exchange for a couple of beers. These people do what they do out of love for the creative arts and ask for nothing but an appreciative crowd in return; and that is exactly what they got.
Will’s acoustic folk welcomed everyone to the night with his silky smooth voice singing tales of heavens made of paper and wonderful conversations with an assortment of non-British animals. After we had all been made to feel at home by his lyrical lullabies, we were honoured to have Helen Mort take the stage to fill us with further tales of ghostly publicans and patrons from her collection ‘Pint for the Ghost’. Her flurry of tales seemed wonderfully suited to our venue and I’m sure they would have made her steel-clad Stainless Stephen feel quite at home in our humble setting.
We were soon to be shaken from our comfortable, dreamlike states by the oral explosion of Matt McAteer’s down-to-earth, down-and-out, deep-down-and-dirty spectacular of recital. Upon returning to the public house of his first ever public performance (sadly long before the existence of our young VOX community) his satirical lines flowed over us like verbal butter on hot, ear-shaped toast *licks lips*.
Andy Clegg wowed us all with the dexterity of his flamenco guitar, causing a little Latin fever to raise its Spanish head between pints. His pounding rhythms went some way to adding a little Spanish sun to our late January evening, proving his place as a Cubana regular to be well deserved.
All of this was set against the background of VOX frequenter Bella’s latest canvas projects. Fresh back from an African tour, her work drew more than a little attention thanks to its cheeky mixed-media collection of animal behinds. Zebra, rhino, lion – it seems that no safari dweller was safe from Bella’s playful lens. It certainly left an impression on the Riverside staff, as Bella was asked to keep her art up on display for the next few weeks. Well done Bella!
Overall, I’ve got to say that this was probably the best VOX yet. Please continue to check out the charities and spread the word. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen and I can’t wait ‘til the comedy special in Feb.
Until then,
-Ollie
Here are some pictures from the night:
