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I am very pleased to be able to review a show that I've loved ever since I have set foot in Pink Lane Poetry and Performance about a year and 3 months or so ago. In my opinion (and to a very significant bunch of people) it is the most enjoyable gig in Newcastle and has two great hosts in Jessica and Robbie, not to meantion the most forgiving and respectful audience this side of Pluto. As usual the show was packed, even Straight my puppet dragon ended up losing his seat and having to watch from the floor! The atmosphere was expectant and buzzing, and I was really looking forward to this months Pink Lane as one of the best things about it is, your always guaranteed a great night at the Jazz Cafe.

As usual the rather adorable Robbie Lee Hurst introduced the show in his usual funny and relaxing way. The banter between the two hosts is always enjoyable, which is so nice to see as if you go to gigs in newcastle more often than not the hosts or organisers hate each other more than an audience might. Luckily the hosts love each other and the audience were in rob's hands as he introduced the new resident house band for Pink Lane 'F n' L'.

These guys are really making a name for themselves and the fact that you can see them every month at Pink Lane definitely adds to the spectacle. They started with a very funny sound check of 'Seven Nation Army' by 'White Stripes'. Their first official song was a great song 'Where Here at Pink Lane' which mentioned funnily enough that we were at Pink lLane and included mentions to all the people that made it happen (Keith, Robbie and jess etc). It was very well crafted and they may well have done that song due to the night being filmed by a documentary film celebrating the Jazz Cafe. They then did a selection of short punchy songs, one about a doctor and a very clever rendition of the Final Countdown to Countdown Final. My most particular favourite was changing 'Oh Sit Down' by James to 'Oh Zidane' in mention to his infamous head butt in the World Cup Final. They then did a hilarious cover of REM's 'Losing my Religion to Spark Electrician' which made the atmosphere electric (I know, I know). I could go on with the songs they did as they were quite a few but they were as always brilliant. My only criticism would be that they do a lot of short songs that it would be nice if they covered an entire song using the format that they've so expertly created. It sometimes felt that as you were enjoying a funny cover they were stopping and playing another one. They ended the section with a great parody of 'Take That's - The Flood' with who wants a doughnut, chucking doughnuts into the crowd (they did a similar thing last month with apple pie with very funny consequences! All in all, for a first act they were highly enjoyable. Make sure you remember 'F n' L' because I can see them becoming popular very soon. Check them out on Facebook to find where you can see them!

As in the title at Pink Lane it says Poetry and Performance, so next was Julie Watson a poet, someone I hadn't seen before. She seemed very shy but the great thing about Pink Lane as I said earlier, the hosts and the audience are very encouraging, not that she needed any once she started. Her first poem 'Hairdresser on Fire' was brilliant, and I really liked her appearance, quirky and fun just like her poetry. Her style was in particular impressive, she has a way of being gentle but also piercing, it really made you take notice. You really began to notice this in the second poem that her delivery is great and the audience was silent, a different yet great feeling that happens when you get spoken word done really well. She got a great round of applause after her first two poems, of which I was a proud member. Her next poem 'Pillow Talk' let me become aware of how good at writer she is. I'm not in any way suggesting I'm a poet critic, or even an event critic, or even a critic! but I thought the structure was clever and well crafted, her use of oxymoron's was brilliant and I really liked this poem in that I understood it very well. The last two poems she did were really well received and I thought she was the most enjoyable surprise at this particular Pink Lane event. I spent more time listening to her than writing notes, which tells you more than you need to know.

Richard Tyrone Jones was next, and I got to be honest when he first started I thought he was annoying and a bit full of himself. He spent most of his set plugging other works he is doing, something I'm really not fond of. To his credit, once he started doing his poetry he was good and my particular favourite being the very clever 'Wheel Clamper' poem. After this is a very good example of why Pink Lane is one of a kind, as he started to share with everyone his recent problem and life saving surgery he had, and the great thing about Pink Lane is your allowed to be serious. If you're anywhere close to that at a stand up gig you get scrutinised for it. He did two really great poems the called 'Heart Stopper' being really unnerving and honest. In the serious subject there was laughter in between and I was really impressed with that. He ended on a very funny poem about Richard Dawns that made me laugh a lot, so in the end he won me over, he just needs to learn to do what he came for and cut out the stuff in between.

After a 10 minute break (it was a very long first half) Robbie then introduced Maggie Moonbeam and the Funny Crew to the stage, and the first thing is when they started playing I started laughing hysterically. It was like enjoyable karaoke, I had no idea what was going on but everyone wanted to join in. Other than the microphone not being loud enough and the clear lack of rehearsal, it was very enjoyable; everyone took it all in good humour. Maggie then did some poetry which I was pleased about as she's a good poet and she looked stunning. I know her to be a good laugh and probably as mad as me so I knew it would be enjoyable. Her poetry is like a flowing stream in that it's very gentle to listen to, but underneath it has depth and she was very well received. I hope to see her do more poetry in the future and the band is welcoming to cheer me up at any time!

Before Robbie introduced the next act he did a poem, a real treat for me as personally love it when he performs. the first thing you notice and he will probably kill me for saying, is that he looks confident and has a great way of conveying himself. You know when you watch him perform that he isn't messing with you, he just is saying it how he wants to. You can also tell that he has done poetry for a while as even though he was reading from a pad his tone and delivery was spot on. It was really nice to see and I think the host should do the odd poet as they both the heart of the shows.

Next up was an actor Thomas Williams, a rarity in Pink Lane unfortunately as they go down really well with the audience when they do appear. I have seen Thomas a few times and he did monologues the first of which was from 300. The first thing you notice with Thomas is that he needs to convey his passion more, as it felt he was just reciting the words rather than conveying something he really cares about. He did get better as his set progressed and his last monologue about buying condoms was very funny, and he ended on a good round of applause.

Next up was a woman I think is so incredibly talented in Lulu James. I am fortunate enough that she was on my show right here on YRadio (feel free to have a listen) and Robbie as he introduced her summed her up perfectly by saying, you run out of words to describe her. I think she's just a brilliant singer! She started with a track she gave exclusive to YRadio called 'Rope Mirage' and then did a song called 'Personality Disorder' which was great. In my opinion she is better live than the recording because she has an aura about her that's hard to ignore and you also get a true sense of how talented she is. She ended with a memorising song called 'Heartbeat' (which was a very well crafted song) and the best way to end talking about Lulu would be to say that she has all she needs, she's beautiful, talented elegant, but also humble, a combination that hard to beat. That's the best compliment I could give her, really unbelievably good.

We were then treated to Jess coming up and doing a couple of poems, and I got to say she doesn't give herself enough credit. She's a phenomenal performer. One of the greatest things about her is her honesty but also if you ever see her perform live you can never say she doesn't give it all she's got. She's like Scotty trying to get the best out of the enterprise in Star trek. Her 'Domestic Violence' poem, which I honest can't remember too much of what she said, I was too busy laughing, mainly because I know her for her lovable, easy going friendly nature, but underneath it all is this brilliantly brutal demeanour, something I find really intriguing. It's another great side to her and it was a real thrill to see her perform and the audience lapped her up just as much as I did.

Next up was an act that started at pink lane Alix and Justin. Alix performed solely a few months ago and went down a storm so I was really looking forward to seeing her along with her partner Justin. Alix is really endearing as she is really shy when she performs but plays with it to the crowd, and played a song on her own first. Pink Lane went all politics as her songs was about the recent riots. (I'm going to London next week so gosh!) and the first thing you notice is she's got a great voice. Really easy to listen to and you can feel her emotion when she sings, something I really like seeing in a performer. Justin then came on to perform a track by himself and I really liked the riff, one of them riffs you'd hum along to when you hear it again. Justin was great, they make a great couple it has to be said and as a partnership they really work well together, something that was evident when they performed together in their last song. Even when they made a little mistake in the song the way they handled it was adorable and the audience really didn't care. That's the best part of Pink Lane, you allowed to try again. Really great performance I hope they continue to persevere with it.

After a break we had Robbie do a poem on behalf of Dan (there's no harm in hogging the limelight Dan) that was very well received, as I said earlier Robbie has a great gift in conveying himself and even doing someone else's poem he was highly enjoyable. Next we had Drew Knight who is very experimental and last performed at Pink Lane around 3 months or so ago. After doing a rather strange item frenzied intro including putting string on the microphone, Drew starting playing guitar and was enjoyable, really short set and is not really my cup of tea in all honesty but the audience appreciated the effort as they always do at pink lane.

Last but certainly not least was the poet Shaft who got a personal introduction from Jess, which I've never seen at Pink Lane before. High praise indeed and I could see what Jess meant once Shaft started perfuming his poetry. He has a way of being piercingly beautiful, the response was like a dogs ears after hearing a dog whistle. Very startling. Shaft talked candidly and honestly about his addiction problems and it was a very suitable end to the night, as the audience really paid attention to him, and right so because he is an exceptionally good poet.

The end of another great night at pink lane ends by both Jess and Robbie shouting good night in their usual adorable way. My thoughts? I enjoyed the night as I know I always do. The majority of the acts kept my attention and as mentioned there were a few surprises thrown in that made my night. That's the risk of Pink Lane, it's worth the gamble in that you're not sure whose going to see performing, but to have an audience that lets you try anything more than once is a blessing. If you haven't been to Pink Poetry and Performance, go, you won't be disappointed, great crowd, beautiful hosts and a great venue all connected by an air of unpredictably. They really have built a great night out of it and they should be honoured I go to it....no seriously!

Overall YRadio Score

75%

August 2011

Reviewed by: Steven Hesse

YRadio Rating System

• 0.5 Star = 0% - 10%
• 1 Star = 11% - 20%
• 1.5 Star = 21% - 30%
• 2 Star = 31% - 40%
• 2.5 Star = 41% - 50%
• 3 Star = 51% - 60%
• 3.5 Star = 61% - 70%
• 4 Star = 71% - 80%
• 4.5 Star = 81% - 90%
• 5 Star = 91% - 100%