Rory McLeod, Exeter Corn Exchange, Wednesday 12 November 2008
By Martin Hodge
Trying to explain an evening with Rory McLeod to a colleague, I said: “You know Billy Bragg? Well, he’s not like him at all but they both sing about political and personal issues. I didn’t get much further. ‘You’ll just have to see him – experience one of his gigs’, was the best I could add.
I arrived early with a friend and, pints in-hand, we went into the auditorium where everything was set café-style with little tables to sit around. Real cosy-like.
I spied Rory sitting drinking and chatting with presumably a group of friends, though I guess he might have just met them. I then saw some old friends that I hadn’t seen for ages sitting at a table.
They told me they’d seen Rory McLeod before years ago and loved him, particularly his way with words and wanted to see what his act was like now. They had seen him in the poetry tent at the Elephant Fair. That took me back. I probably would have avoided the poetry tent and missed Rory. The poetry tent, eh? It set me thinking – maybe a better comparison for Rory was James Joyce. An evening with Rory is a stream of consciousness in poetry and melodic music.
Rory stepped onto the floor and talked to us without a mike. He greeted us and began to play wild harmonica like you’ve never heard before – complete with amazing sound effects.
He stopped, picked up a glass and put it to his ear like a telephone. He spoke. Something like ‘Hello, mum. I’ve just started. Exeter. Yeh, loads – about a thousand (not true, unfortunately).’
Songs followed words, followed a wide range of musical styles, mainly using guitar and mouth organ and most of the time with rhythmical percussion from his shoes on the floor. That man never keeps still. And in his final encore he made us smile and laugh – and he continued to move us (Should I say me? No, I’m quite sure it was us) with a wonderful rendition on the trombone.
Most of the time Rory was on the stage in front of a microphone but it was all like he was chatting to you in the living room. Themes ranged from his mum to his grandma, to making love and producing smashing kids, to precarious and exciting travels around the world, to meeting up with fascinating characters, to the stupid things those in power do in our name, to the wonderfully positive things folk do too. Yet it was all about him and about us, about everyone really, especially ordinary people fighting for peace or justice or just fighting to live.
I could pick out some of the songs or tunes for particular mention but it wouldn’t mean anything to you unless you were there or have seen Rory before. If you haven’t, you really should.
Other comparisons with Rory come to mind – well, actually he mentioned them in his performance or in his songs on the double album I bought. They’re people who’ve inspired him – like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Che Gavara, Ghandi, Geronimo, Crazy Horse, Joe Hill, Stephen Biko, Thomas Paine, Malcolm X, Sojourner Truth, John Maclean, many more. Long live the spirit of these people. And Rory McLeod.
Rory McLeod’s performed as part of the Exeter Autumn Festival.
Website: http://www.rorymcleod.com/