Stew Review
 by Leeming

You never know what you are going to get when you visit a club on an Open Mic night, and this past Wednesday was no exception.  I have kind of taken a liking to the Aardvark's weekly event, in which you might hear anything.
 
  There are the regulars who show up every week, whether to sing, play guitar, or do the spoken word.  Two such regulars are Robbie Potts and Kevin Allenson.  Potts is a spoken word artist, and his writings have an angst within them that make it easy to relate to what he is saying.  My favorite from Wednesday night was "I like to say 'fuck' a lot", which basically
told of how the world uses sex and sexual images to an infinite degree to sell, intimidate, embarrass, or tease.  Allenson, a guitar player and singer, played three songs (in addition to his usual duty of sitting in with various artists).  All three were originals, beginning with "Kingdom of One", "I don't know what to call it" (sic), and "Just Dreaming", in which the lyrics are the collection of three poems written by a friend of his.  Allenson, as usual, was very precise and fluid in his playing.  Thumbs up to both guys.
 
  Then, a special surprise came in the door as local artist Brad Thompson paid a visit.  The emcee (Ron) invited Brad on stage to do a few songs and he obliged with his own "Wishful Thinking" and a Sting cover song in honor of the Solstice Moon.  As stated in one of my earlier reviews, Brad was very engaging on stage and thoroughly entertaining.  It was a very
pleasant surprise to see him, but not the only surprise of the evening.
 
  Ray Nelson, a Ft Worth native in town from Montana, had the unfortunate task of following Thompson, but he did so admirably.  He opened with Cracker's "Mr. Wrong", then played an original that was written for Natalie of the Dixie Chicks.  In it, he thanked her for keeping him company while he is driving and for being on his radio.  That song was followed
by a slowed-down acoustic version of R.E.M.'s "It's The End Of The World..." in which the audience was clearly pleased, with a few even singing along - especially when it came time to say "Right".  After those three songs, Ray was encouraged by Ron to play one more.  Ron said "I want these people to hear you."  Ray obliged by playing an original that was a little on
the bluesy side of things.  All in all, a very nice debut.
 
  Later in the evening, Leah Gloria took the stage and put on an impressive performance of folk-like tunes.  She had a very commanding presence (and a Jewelesque voice) and the crowd clearly liked her.  She was also very unpredictable.  In one song, in which she sang of the trivial things that people fret over, she stopped playing and stood up shouting "Oh my
God!  Ross and Rachel broke up!"  (Someone told me later that the song was a cover tune, so I will take their word for it.)  She also sang a song about not wearing any panties.  In the middle of this song, after singing of sweet things, she stopped to flip off the crowd and say "I'm not wearing any panties."  It was all in good fun, and the laughter reflected that.
 
  Then it was time for surprise number two.  Bill Petrie of pop poppins fame made a cameo appearance and was implored to play a couple of songs.  His set included a cover of "Suspicious Minds" (which I heard another artist do at this same venue the week before - that is irony number one) and added his own little brand of humor to the song.  Bill is an entertainer - period.  I last saw him at Edgefest II (or was it III?  I'm getting old...) and he has not lost his touch.  In fact, he plugged the upcoming concert that pop poppins is doing at the Curtain Club on Christmas night.  I have had arrangements to go see them there for two weeks, and here comes Bill unexpectedly (yet not un welcomely) into the scene of my review.  I guess you will be reading more about him next week from me.  (That is irony number 2.)  I guess you could also call it ironic that Brad Thompson also stopped in, seeing as that I have also reviewed him for this site.  Oh, and I almost forgot, I also spotted Kevin (the lead singer for Brasco) in the Aardvark as well.  Now I have lost count of the ironies...
 
  Back to the music, Clint Deossie closed out my portion of the evening with a nice three song set that started with a Book of Love cover.  That was an interesting choice considering that Book of Love consisted of four keyboardists while Clint played only a guitar.  However, he pulled it off very nicely.  He followed that up with two more songs ("Dive, Dutch, Dive" and
"Man in My Machine) and included a very funny voice range effect in which he held a note for about 10 seconds while ranging from high to low.  He was yet another stand out performer at the Aardvark that night.
 
  Anyway, when you go see an open mic night, you take your chances.  You might hear absolute crap, or you might have the good fortune that I had Wednesday night.  Either way, you will probably be entertained and even amused.  I was lucky enough to be both.  I will go back to the Aardvark Open Mic Night, and probably often.  Maybe I'll see you there.

Leeming