I've been twice now and on both occasions I've been really
impressed by the quality, and the variety, of the performers.
Last night's line-up showed similar promise. Rosie kicked things
off with a bit of stand-up and was very amusing, telling us how she
met her girlfriend, who was working on the door and taking photos
during the evening, and making some very accurate observations
about cat owners before treating us to a song. She's a great
compere, very good at improvising, and she was in really good form,
I thought.
Next up were two members of a band called Madam, who played
double bass and guitar and sounded very much like Kathryn Williams.
Check them out on Facebook: MADAM. (Why not check out Kathryn
Williams too, if you haven't before?) Straight comic and musician
Ria Lina, who had dressed in 'lesbian uniform' (black vest and
combat-style trousers) for the occasion, did some relatively edgy
material: jokes about being mixed race and feeling alienated from
her eldest, Aryan-looking child.
But the highlight for me was when Pippa Evans (pictured) came on
stage. She's an if.comedy award nominee who has featured on BBC2
Fast And Loose, Channel 4's The Morgana show, and Radio 4's Arthur
Smith's Balham Bash, and she was seriously amazing. She performs in
character, as Loretta Maine (who has her own website), a sort of
deadpan psycho with smudged mascara and a tendency to pick a man in
the audience and compose a frightening valentine song just for him.
She's brilliant, and well worth seeing. www.pippaevans.com is her
website.
So: Femmes by the Thames. A great night out - and with six
performers in all for £6, nothing less than a bargain. Jot down the
date below in your diary and hopefully we'll see you at the next
one.
VENUE:
Royal Vauxhall Tavern
372 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5HY
020 7820 1222
www.rvt.org.uk
A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY:
Wed 7th Sept at RVT, 8.30pm, doors 7pm, £6 (£5 if you
are a Virgo and can prove it)
Femmes by the Thames - Virgo night
'One of the key aspects often used to describe Virgo
characteristics is independence'
A very special Femmes by the Thames featuring a 50 minute music
set from Rosie Wilby with a full live band for the first time in
over a decade. Performing on her birthday, she will be joined on
the bill by special guest fellow Virgo performers.
Although now best known as a comedian, Rosie started out as a
singer songwriter fronting her own band, performing at Glastonbury
Festival and Ronnie Scott's, supporting Bob Geldof and Jamie Cullum
and releasing an album 'Precious Hours'.
She recently dusted off her guitar and started practising up the
old songs for inclusion in a new Edinburgh show Rosie's Pop Diary.
Then a chance encounter with former drummer Lisa Gordon who she had
not seen for 13 years, coupled with a message from former bass
player Dave Weightman to say that he was back from several years
living and performing in Japan, seemed to suggest a band reunion
was on the cards - with the line up completed by fellow South
Londoner Paul Eldridge on keyboards.
PHOTOS Wendy Baverstock
