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Sean Taylor, Pete Christie, Jasmine Newsome Stone
FOE Benefit

Venue: Centre Stage
Town: Bournemouth
Date: 10th June
Website: http://www.foe.co.uk/groups/eastdorset/index.html

Before I get into the review proper, just a quick word of thanks to Funnybone for the use of Centre Stage, without their support East Dorset Friends Of The Earth wouldn't have been able to have raised so much for the cause and had as much fun doing so.

The gig was planned to represent the ideals of Friends Of The Earth, think nationally, act locally and encourage new growth.

The night started with Jasmine Newsome Stone, a singer-songwriter very much at the start of her career, though with a performance like the one that she put in you wouldn't think so. There is an attitude that some artists give off, one of a real confidence in their own ability, Jasmine has definitely got it.

As you listened to her well crafted songs you realised that you were listening to an artist that is really serious about what they are doing and who immediately put to one side the lie that today's youth are apathetic and uncaring, that want everything laid on for them.

Jasmine, accompanied by sound engineer for the night, Andy, was a great opening act and on the strength of this appears to have a great feature, as yet she's not been in the studio, but oh there is so much potential there, East Dorset definitely has some new growth emerging.

Pete Christie is a singer songwriter that has got a really shrewd sense of observation and a great way of turning that into poetry and songs. Pete has a way of turning the simple things in life into songs that have real meaning. It's quite easy to be inspired by the big things in life, another to be inspired by something everyday.

Pete has got the banter that goes with it as well, a Pete Christie set isn't just about the songs, it's about the start to finish the engagement between the songs as well as the songs themselves. The way he communicates with the crowd between the songs and seems to become absorbed by the songs when he's performing.

The songs cover pretty much all aspects of life, love and politics. "Ballad Of An Ordinary Man" is a seething resentment at the treatment of the working classes by the very people that are supposed to be making sure that hard work is rewarded. It goes down very well.

This being a charity gig, there's an opportunity to sell raffle tickets whilst the stage is being reset and people have an opportunity to get to the bar for a top up or two.

Raffle prizes despatched, it's time for the headliner of the evening, blues guitarist, singer-songwriter, Sean Taylor. Sean's most recent album "Love Against Death" is also his most political, so it's not without some irony that it's the album that has really accelerated his reaching a wider audience with songs getting more radio play and having been adopted by the occupy movement as far afield as Hawaii.

Like Pete before him, a lot of Sean's songs are about community and social justice, liberally mixed with the odd song about relationships. In the best folk/blues traditions there is a dark vein that infuses the material, "Calcutta Grove", from Sean's previous album, features an imaginary of London's canal network inhabited by alcoholics.

That darkness is heavily offset with a feeling of hope, people coming together to support each other. Most of the songs he plays are his own, but he does include the odd cover in his set, the most recent being "Sixteen Tons". As with the best of cover versions, it references the original, rather than copies it, it's also bang on with the message and sadly seems as relevant now as when it was written.

Sean has played Bournemouth before, but not for three years or so and it was really good to see him back down here, hopefully it won't be quite so long next time.

All in all a great night for a great cause, highly enjoyable.

Words & Pictures Neil King