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Rhythm and Rap Review

Harry Baker, Kof and Ady Suleiman at the Anglican Cathedral
Saturday 11th May 2013

Reviewed by Tom Calderbank
Thanks to Photography Liverpool for the photographs

Now! THIS was a special night. When they said it would be “a unique evening showcasing the talents of Harry Baker, World Poetry Slam Champion with singer songwriter Kof and 1Xtra favourite Ady Suleiman”, they weren’t kidding. I cycled here, with the wind dead set against me, but I was not to be denied. This was a one-off performance as part of the inaugural In Other Words Literary Festival, in collaboration with the lovely folk of Writing on the Wall.

Some gigs are memorable for stunning performances, others for individual moments of brilliance. Not many take place in a world class space like this, inside Giles Gilbert Scott’s architectural masterpiece. The vicar welcomed us all, and underlined the church’s commitment to celebrating talent, young people and supporting great vision. Didn’t know that GGS designed the red phone box too – must stay in more. And read.

There’s a lovely vibe inside God’s Big House and it’s beautifully lit. The sunset light in the early evening throwing lovely colours through the stained glass, bouncing off the columns and huge vaulted ceiling. It’s warm as hot-buttered soul, a welcome respite from the awful summer outside. Tracy Emin’s neon sign still brings a lump to the throat: ‘I Felt You And I Knew You Loved Me’.

Ady Suleiman opened the show proper, with backing from Edward Black on guitar. First track ‘Running Away’ echoed around the cavernous space. I thought the echo would get in the way, but it only added depth to the whole performance. He’s melodic, hits the notes he needs to hit, and obviously feels the music and rhythm in his boots. The over 170-strong crowd gave Ady a good reception, and all too soon he was off, to make way for Kof. I remember him when he was young. This is the first time I’ve heard him doing ballads instead of raps, and he comes across as a relaxed, lyrically conscious soul singer bringing a nice twist to the genre.

Then it was time for the headliner. Harry Baker is the world poetry slam winner, and takes ‘geek chic’ to another level. He had a warm and self-deprecating style that was very engaging. He began with Bumble Bee, which brilliantly used the humble bumble as a symbol for doing what they say you can’t. Harry really showed off his clever and effervescent delivery style with this one; he fumbled, humbled, mumbled, crumbled, jumbled his way through what is possibly the most important topic of the moment - saving the bees. Buzzing, kid!

He told us that he used to be a rapper (which really shows, with rapid fire delivery that was right on time), and writing about what he knew, his raps were about doing a paper round, maths, or playing with lego.

The tale of his weird poetry pilgrimage to the US, as well as the poem ‘Real Men’, was great. So many nice lines stuck in mind: “Real men cry; that’s why they make man-sized tissues for the man-sized eye”; “I did Movember, and no-one noticed. Twice”; “Growing up is something not every lad has a chance to do”. He wrapped up the first half of the show with the pun-tastic ‘Ed Sheerhan’, a mishearing of Sheerhan’s ‘A Team’ with more pudding-related puns than all the cakes in Sayers, including the marvellous “meringue…but you never rang back”. He also gets top marks from me for pointing out that ‘desserts’ backwards is ‘stressed’….

Ady opened the second half with an acoustic guitar, his mate Mr Black on electric. He could easily have turned his second tune, ‘I Need Somebody to Love’ into a crowd exciter, but it doesn’t seem his style. Maybe in time, Ady will have some of Kof’s relaxing and crowd-friendly manner; in any case, I’d have loved to have heard more from this huge talent.

After a bit of confusion over running order (a good show of fallibility there), it was time for more Harry, who reminded me a little of Mike Skinner from The Streets in his delivery of his second set. The bittersweet tale ‘I Fell In Love at Fresher’s Fair’ was funny, poignant and true. He cemented his status as King of the Puns with this one: a mobile fast food joint called Jason Donner Van. His prop up paper pop up purple people poem was ace, with his half-sung refrain: “I believe in people” made really meaningful by the echo of the setting. And he’s surely 100% spot on when he says: “People have potential to be powerful”.

His love poem ‘Dinosaur Love’ underscores how awesome dinosaurs really are (and if you closed your eyes, you could almost believe there was one there before you, of the particularly screechy variety. His last poem about old man sunshine was like oooooold school speaking in tongues, an ecstasy of accent echoing around the temple. Check him out on You Tube and especially live, if you can. Mr Baker will not disappoint.

Then it was time for the finale. It’s easy to see why they’ve put Kof on last: his voice and spirit are warming and consoling. His material consists of redemption songs, little candles in the darkness, sweet melodies to soothe your soul. ‘Thugz Mansion Smells Like Teen Spirit’ in particular demanded the crowd say hello, and with that verbal sampling of the ‘Hello, hello, hello…’ bit, this could be the worldwide introduction to our very own Kof. He took it down a gear with the tune ‘Never Sober’ (surely an anthem for a Saturday night, in Liverpool and elsewhere), which segued easily into Marvin’s ‘What’s Goin’ On?’ He sent us into the cold and windy night with a real warmth in our bones. A quick word to promote Kof’s new CD ‘An Alternative Soul’ – an absolute cracker of an album, and with 16 tunes and a half-hour professionally shot DVD for £5, the bargain of the night.

On the strength of this great showing, these are three artists to watch closely. If they ever collaborate again, don’t you dare miss them!

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