Live Review
Night Stew – The Bernard Shaw, Dublin
Open mic nights can be a lot of things, but they are always a risk. You can see new unsigned acts full of potential and feel as though you’ve just done your bit to keep music real. Or they can be rubbish.
Night Stew in the Bernard Shaw on Richmond Street kicks off every Tuesday night around 9:30, under the loose stewardship of Tony and Tommy Benn. Instead of a stage, the artists (not just musicians) balance themselves on a chair perched at the top of three steps, their heads almost touching the low ceiling. Behind the mic is a unlit section of the bar, where you can just make out shadows and outlines. The Commitments might have been rehearsing in here ten minutes earlier, complete with black dresses and early 90s hair.
Tony kicked off the night with a short set. Armed with just a voice and a guitar, it’s tough for a singer-songwriter to distinguish themselves, but Tony’s voice does it for him. Between songs he invited anyone to come forward – this mic is definitely open.
For his last song, ‘Black Horse’, Tony was joined on stage by Rebecca Massey, definitely a talent to watch. Their sound is Irish without being Irish – much closer to the Stunning than Clannad, although they do perform together in a ceili band. Their soul covers band, which is just called ‘Soul Band’ (Google-unfriendly!), are now on my must-see list, as I’m curious to see what such a distinctively Irish sound will do to the soul greats, and I’m guessing it will be good.
Next up was Stephen Cloak, another singer-songwriter who uses his lyrics to stand out, preferring storytelling to the usual emotional-catharsis-my-girlfriend-like-totally-dumped-me open mic fare. ‘Foxy Noxy’ tells the story of the main players in a murder case, and the title of ‘My Imaginary Friend Has An Eating Disorder’ speaks for itself.
Despite Tony’s best efforts, no one volunteered to recite Dirty Limericks, but when Northern girl Lisa took to the stage people stopped caring. She sang Sheryl Crow and Tasmin Archer, but with a deeper and more bluesy edge. I can’t remember which female singer every female vocalist must be compared to this week, but Lisa stands up well among women with rich voices who trade off singing well rather than just being female. More please.
This was an open mic that went well. There’s an everyone-welcome, chilled-out vibe and I left with names scribbled in my notebook for my morning Google. With the mixing desk on the bar, a red plastic lamp on top of the speaker and a shelf full of Buckfast behind the bar, you get the feeling that if something new could happen at an open mic night, it’s probably going to happen here.