BMTH Unplugged Final
O’ Neills, Bournemouth
Si Crockett wanders on stage backed by the incredible Si Genaro, harmonica extraordinaire, and Nacho Jase on the bongo drums. His chances are good.
The first of four acts for the BMTH Unplugged grand finale, his opening number is simple but confident, conjuring images of the desert, mostly through the bongo drums and mournful harmonica of Mr Genaro.
A somewhat predictable cover of Jason Mraz’ “I’m Yours” is given new life with the bongos and harp, although the image of a man with an acoustic guitar singing that song will always be that of a man trying desperately to get a girl’s pants off. He does look like he’s having fun though. A sped up outro is a breath of fresh air after the horrifically cliche sentimental lyrics. (Irony)
He moves on to a Nirvana-esque bit of grunge, although with falsetto vocals and less sentimental lyrics.
Si Genaro makes a perfect partner for Crockett, stealing the show with his eccentric dancing and phenomenal harmonica.
Although it'd be nice to see Tubbs
A serious contender for the BMTH Unplugged crown, Crockett plays a slick, if unoriginal performance, evidenced by the riff from “You’re a selfish spiteful bitch” lifted straight from a T-Rex best hits, and the rhythm from an old steam train.
There’s nothing particularly new or original in Crocketts performance, but that’s not always a bad thing. Like bacon, it is generic but brilliant.
Next up is Chris Woodford, equipped with a twelve string guitar and probably some anger management issues as he proceeds to beat that guitar to within an inch of its life.
Rattling off a storm of notes which sounds like the battle of Passchendaele taking place in a guitar store, Woodford is a man of awe-inspiring technical skill. Watching any performance of his is similar to running headlong into a wall of lemon flavoured marshmallow: satisfying, but it leaves a sour taste in your mouth as you realise that nothing you do will ever be that good.
In spite of this it’s difficult to see Chris Woodford claiming the crown. He’d be great in a cavernous concert hall, but in the confines of a local the note storm rips through your brain like a brain damaged hippo trying to seduce a china shop: lots of noise, and you can’t help but admire it. In other words “Chris you insane bastard how are you doing that?! Your guitar is going to summon dread Cthulu who will devour us all! Flee my children, begone from this place!”
Good though. Incredible.
In stark contrast to the opening two acts, Phil King is more laid back, taking to the stage on his own with a chilled folk set. Sounding very similar to REM, he doesn’t sound at all as he looks, just going to prove you should never judge a book by its cover.
Actually, this book is fairly obvious
As befits the BMTH Unplugged grand finale the skill shown is extremely high, but the crowd don’t seem as interested in King’s performance, possibly due to his position as the third act, a time when audience attention often begins to wane. Poor bugger.
Still, he’s worth looking up if you like REM, but unlikely to take the crown.
A cover of the Beatles’ “Come Together” marks the absolute highlight of the evening, a boost of energy for the crowd, going down perfectly, like a hungry hooker in a recession.
Finally, with a massive round of applause comes Krista Green. Smiling throughout, she is a charisma supernova, a mixture of the laid back vibe of Phil King and the infectious fun of Si Crockett.
She is the most balanced of all the artists on show. Throughout the contest she has been plagued with technical problems, and tonight is no exception. She handles it with a laugh and a joke, smiling all the way.
She slows down for “Let’s Rewind”, one of her strongest songs, with a catchy hook that Simon Cowell would give his right testicle for. Towards the end of the set, we see musical talent runs in the family as he brother leaps on stage to play harmonica. While lacking the virtuosity of Si Genaro, the extra instrument mixes perfectly, like Jesus would if he was working in a cocktail bar.
AND THE WINNER IS…
While you can, in a sense, say that they were all winners, this isn’t strictly true. Krista Green was the overall winner, and will be doing a tour of O’Neills pubs in the not so distant future.
