Gig Review: Pete Bentham and the Dinner Ladies, Oorya, Nana Funk and Leslie DeBondeville, Faniel Dord and M. Cthulhu at Hobo Kiosk, Liverpool - 18 September 2022
‘It’s a gig, it’s a gig, it’s a fucking gig’ to paraphrase the Dinner Ladies themselves. Except it's not a straightforward gig. For starters its in a bar where the decor can easily outshine an average performer and the bands aren’t all, well. bands.
Faniel Dord opens, he performs almost as a mime artist, but with sound, singing along to his backing tracks whilst swapping props and costumes to illuminate the songs and almost act them out - or at least provide some context. What it is is extremely funny and he can catch you out suddenly, a doll a gun, I’ll say no more but its shocking and shocking that it elucidates a nervous but dramatic exhalation of laughter from the audience.
M.CTHULU, or non other than Mr. Hobo Tristan Brady-Jacobs, takes the stage (as well as providing occasional backing on Vuvuzela for the other acts. He provides a narrative on the impact of poetry and somewhat fundamentalist belief systems that is funny as hell, informative and then ends with a twist that leaves me a little gob-smacked. No revelations here in case you choose to see him repeat this but it really made me think whilst being uproariously entertaining then that final payoff! Intelligent and really bears seeing.
Nana Funk is joined by Leslie DeBondeville for a smattering of music, a mass of audience participation and a deadly accurate and spot on spiritualist show. ‘Is there any one there with a name? Leslie asks, yes we all reply ‘the spirits are never wrong’ Leslie deadpans. Its laugh out loud funny, the audience are dragged up, the interaction with the crowd never stops and the banter and ad-hoc comments add to what its a perfect and often hilarious
Oorya is a jolt to the system even for those familiar with her work. Let's get the introduction out of the way, much as Oorya does herself, the name is pronounced ‘Whooo Are Yer’. At the rate Oorya is conquering audiences, or at least leaving them slack jawed, her name may well need to be changed to WENOOOOYAR (ahem ‘We know who you are’). There’s music, sometimes as a background to Oorya’s personal narrative, then it takes centre stage. Everything is done with full commitment and the result is lightning fast, shockingly entertaining and shockingly thought provoking.
The Dinner Ladies are cut down version of the band tonight, Pete singing along to his acoustic guitar, accompanied by stalwart dinner ladies on Double Bass and Melodica (and possibly a few other instruments). Its still all there though, infectious and catchy, political and informative. They run through a half hour set and then as the audience yell for more and permission is given Pete seems to consider what to do. The result is an ad-hoc version of the Sex Pistols ‘God Save the Queen’ complete with double bass accompaniment and sharp melodica riffs that take it into another world. By the time this is over the audience are happy and satiated. They’ve laughed, they’ve sung and danced, it been an evening of true entertainment and one of the best gigs (not quite a gig?) that I’ve been to in a long time.
Words/Photos: Richie Yates
Links:
Dinner Ladies: https://www.facebook.com/dinnerladiesliverpool
Nana Funk: https://www.facebook.com/nanafunk01
Daniel Ford: https://www.facebook.com/MrFanielDord
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