Photo:
Some people will do anything to win a wager and Ruarri Joseph is one of them tonight. When someone challenged him to perform six gigs in one night, he seized the opportunity. Bristol is the host city and Ruarri and his entourage (they’re filming the night for a documentary) will be hot footing it to six different venues to entertain with his laid back acoustic music.
The trouble with fitting in so many gigs in one night is that they’ve had to start early. And at 6pm on a Tuesday there aren’t many people at Thekla to see Ruarri’s opening set. In fact, the ship is empty. Not wanting to miss the filming opportunity, but also needing to conserve his energy, Ruarri puts on a spoof one minute joke set.
Next stop on the gig marathon is Tantric Jazz, a small bar and tapas restaurant. At last Ruarri can perform to a crowd, even if it’s a small one. His three song set is pleasant, he sings of the people he most cares about. In ‘Blankets’ he describes how he moved away from Cornwall only to return three days later and he sings with feeling about his daughter in ‘Infantise’ and how she drew an amazing picture of him.
When the set finishes he races off to the third gig. This time it’s at The Lousiana where he warms up for another band. It’s the biggest crowd so far. His gentle melodies draw a crowd in from outside, including local celebrities Anwar and Chris from Skins. Ruarri’s confidence grows with the size of the crowd as he plays the title track of his debut album ‘Tales of Grime of Grit’ and the ode to the happily unemployed ‘Won’t Work’.
There’s a bit of a delay before the next gig at The Old Duke pub. It’s open mic night and the pub is rammed full when Ruarri takes to the stage, For the third time tonight he sings 'Patience' but he mixes the rest up by playing 'Tales of Grime and Grit' without guitar, keeping rhythm with his flip-flopped feet. TO add variation to the film he gets everyone to boo him, then remain silent while his obsessive fan Luke cheers him on. He ends the set with another smooth song dedicates to his daughter Matilda ‘Baby Finn’.
It’s heavy metal tonight at The Fleece, but while Ruarri’s gentle folk sound is far from the usual thrash, it’s well received. In the biggest venue and largest stage so far, a beat boxer accompanies ‘Tales of Grime and Grit’, the crowd boo and throw abuse when he asks for it and we dance to his cover of Tom Waits’ ‘Walk Away’.
Ruarri’s off to Mr Wolf’s now but after four hours of following him around this Gigwise reporter’s heading home. With his sweet lyrics and lullaby melodies, he has more than risen to the challenge.
