I like the form of poetry to jazz music, and I like the fact that Lydia Lockett has tried something somewhat different at the Fringe, taking a risk. But while I can't quite quantify it, I kept thinking "this form could be better".
One immediate thought is that the music was too lout. It sounded to me like it was at the same level as her voice, when I'd say the form has the music more like background (though that may not work so well if you've got a live jazz band performing). The music was also generic (and in some cases, not all that jazzy), which suggests it was chosen to show off the form, rather than have the poetry a reaction to the jazz.
But maybe I've mythologized the form too much. The music becomes a catalyst for the poetry, maybe even the poetry is improvization as a reaction to the music. Here, the music seemed like a novelty, to play the Beat Poet so the music is neither Hot (or Cool), it's just there. I think in listening to John Coltrane in recent years, I can hear the rhythm of On The Road or The Dharma Bums, the go, go, go. I didn't hear that here, though she does fold the poetry into the music. (And how is poetry recited to music different from singing along? Well, with poetry, it really is just spoken word, you are pacing the poetry to match the music, but you aren't changing the tone of the voice.)
I thought I was the only one going in, and I offered her the chance to cancel the show if I was the only one. She said, "wait a few minutes, in case some more people come in" and there were six of us in the audience.
She did get her obligatory Westmount Examiner plug this week, I knew there was another act hailing from Westmount.
One reviewer wondered what the New Beat Generation was. About 20 years ago, there was a pseudo-beat revival, "The Washington Squares" being a visible component. They were neo-folk, but they dressed like the stereotypical beatniks, and they had the right sound. I have the fist album, I actually like it. Jake brought one of the members to one of the Yawps! in the mid-nineties.
