As one young and very shy musician said as she appeared on stage at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre on Dec. 29 in the first ever open mic night of the Artesia Coffee House: "Everyone here is doing what they love."
Organizers of the popular monthly Coffee House, presented by members of the Coast Cultural Alliance, thought they would be lacking for an audience when they decided to hold the monthly Coffee House in that vegetative space between Christmas and New Year's. They were wrong. Twenty acts turned out to give brief turns on stage to a full house during a three-hour concert that did not flag, even once, in enjoyable entertainment.
This was a departure from the usual Coffee House evening in which a few performers are booked in advance for longer sets. This one was wide open to any would-be performer succumbing to the lure of the microphone. It brought out the musicians, of course, and also, the spoken word performers. Richard Austin was first up. His passion in life is to perform the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, the 19th century English poet, priest and musician.
"Hopkins intended for his work to be read aloud," says Austin, who has produced a CD in which he reads Hopkins' poetry, Back to Beauty's Giver. Austin decided to read from his own work for the show and, in subdued Anglo tones, he recited a thoughtful poem about his dad and a comic poetic pondering called Vauxhall Viagra. Austin hopes to teach other writers how to read their work more effectively in a forthcoming workshop.
Writer Shelley Harrison Rae will also be leading a workshop entitled The Personal Power of Writing on Jan. 27. For the Coffee House, she donned a striking red hat and stood proudly to read from her collection Life Leaves Stains.
In the second half, Gibsons poet, writer and artist Sheila Weaver drew on a lifetime body of work to read several gentle but tough reminders about the power of nature in our lives.
Musical highlights included a selection from Coffee House organizer Linda Williams along with Gwen Gingerich who each played an African mbira. This percussion instrument is unusual in that the player hooks one finger through the instrument and strikes with thumb and forefinger to give a curious sound like water pinging on a metal tube. The performance is an auditory delight, but visually lifeless in that the performers need hardly move; they stare at the instruments as if casually reading books.
The audience could have heard more from Rose Kirchner who bowed out after one song because of an incipient cough. Nonetheless, her vocals on Beautiful Disaster were gorgeous. Young singers were a highlight: Ginny Cardinall played the violin and Emily Cardinall sang with Bonar Harris, while Erin Robertson played the guitar with verve on one of her own compositions. One performer, Laura Sigler, sang without any instrument, delivering a dynamite version of Stormy Weather.
Professional musician Janet Panic echoed the poets in her chatty, complex lyrics of her songs, while Angie McCauley demonstrated that she was done with the blues, a song taken from her new CD, Comfort Zone. Travelling troubadour Nathan Michael Marcuzzi topped the vote for socially relevant songs about materialism and peace. The lean, dark singer has a fine voice. The show closed with the return of former Ten Bear raconteur and musician Steve Schwabl, the big guy with the little guitar, followed by Charlotte Wrinch who sang an interesting song about physics and life called The String.
The next Artesia Coffee House takes place on Friday, Jan. 26 at the Arts Centre in Sechelt and will feature a stellar line-up: Fraser and Kaeli McArter (you know her from the 2005 pantomime), Walter Martella, Barry Taylor, Verna Chan and Paul Steenhuis, and a performance from the Tuesday Chamber Players. Doors open at 7 p.m., show is at 8. Trish in the kitchen will produce sweet things, coffee and maybe mulled cider. Admission is $8 to $10 at the door with the proceeds going to the musicians and sound guy. Those interested in performing at future coffee houses can talk to Linda at 604-740-5825.
