Art is difficult to define. Poetry is hard to confine. Many of us spend our lives trying to place these terms into a category or categories, yet we inevitably fall short. Döggerél (Sean Maroney) and Hal Jones (Julia Christensen) “seek and destroy” what poetry is, breaking down barriers with help from a stellar group of multi-dimensional poets.
The Bordello Room on the fourth level of King’s Cross Hotel proves an apt location for a night of revelry and experimentation as a diverse company of performers share the creative space with a receptive audience. Music from local DJ, Rubric coaxes crowd members in innocuously before the larger-than-life Inner Westies, Dög and Hal, welcome everyone.
Those looking for a night of light-hearted fun are quickly shocked into examining the very fibres of their beings as second artist, James Bretherton reminds us “The Murray-Darling, the lifeblood of this nation... for millions of years, is drying, kookaburras and cockatoos are dying.” Bretherton seems to channel a higher plane while delivering his sometimes frenzied, often poignant words, moving seamlessly between the two states.
Robin M Eames’ words strike a chord instantly. The self-described "queer crip poet" divulges candid, gracefully intimate details of a life spent trying to confront and overcome questions of gender, ability and health. Their tone moves from witty to melancholy, triumphant to wistful, their poetry disparate and unique yet unifying.
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Melanie Ree starts slowly, her dark eyes penetrating the watchful audience, her breath focused and deep. Her performance fuses an awareness of the natural, an airing of trauma and an undeniable sensuality, delivered with a rich timbre which crescendos in a caterwaul, crying out for the plight of Gaia. “Mother!” she screams, shocking the audience into further reflection.
When novelist, poet and train guard, Oliver Mol speaks, his voice croons in a confessional tone. “Turn your seats around or come sit by the projector,” Hal instructs while a projection of tracks seen from the tail of a northbound train colours the wall. Mol spins dark, yet relatable yarns infused with humour.
After a short break, musical master chefs, Cookbook Book Club take to the stage serving up a smorgasbord of succulent and sharp songs full to the brim with baking banter and culinary quips. Their chef-inspired punk ballads whisk up a soufflé-light sentiment that would make even Gordon Ramsay smile.
Experimental musical poet, RoyBattyJr creates a sonic maelstrom, looping vocal samples and burrowing into the minds of listeners, moving with methodical grace, pulling and connecting chords to immerse us in evocative, liminal darkness.
Keggles Emcee and Mumbles come together on a velveteen couch to close the night with a culmination of lyrical elasticity and rhythmic dexterity. The hip hop duo are the perfect cocktail of suave, silly and serious, blending infectious beats with thought-provoking and personal words spat out with a flawless flow.
Featuring as part of KXT bAKEHOUSE's Pop-Up, Come-Out festival, this night has proven to be as advertised: a celebration of “the radical, relevant, and JOYOUS thing that is poetry”.
