There are usually a number of good performances on the Open Mic nights at the Student Union, and often by the local Commercial Music students. So we went to have a peak to find something to write about.
Kim can sing!
There weren’t many acts on this midweek night, however there were a couple of interesting ones.
One of them was by Kim Wheeler, a recent C.M. graduate, accompanied by (also a graduate) Ewan McCreath on the electric guitar. Everyone knows the great singer Kim is, and he manages to impress his audience again and again with his wonderfully performed acoustic pop and rock covers, and that night was no exception.
Acoustic System of a Down
Also a rather unique performance was a quite different version of the known Chop Suey by System of a Down, performed by Iida Viljanen and me, Herborg Hansen. The original song is considered to be a Heavy Metal song, so an acoustic cover is almost unheard of. But despite this challenge it turned out to be a great duet and an enjoyable and beautiful performance (based on others’ opinions).
Gameboy as an instrument?
The most unique performance of the night however, was by King Keytan. His real name is Craig Wilson (from Ayr) and he went on stage with nothing but an old classic Gameboy Console. Not knowing what to expect he took everyone by surprise with his, in fact, brilliant tunes! Some sort of electro music (called chiptune music) sounded while what it looked like was Craig playing gameboy in front of the audience.
Despite him studying Broadcast Production he’s always had passion for music, and when he discovered this genre he knew it was something for him. King Keytan has done a couple of shows before, his most notable one being supporting world famous chiptune atist cTrix on his European Tour at his Glasgow stop back in August. However it seems to be hard for King Keytan to find his spot in the market. He says because this music is so unique nobody is quite sure whether to consider him as a DJ or a Live Performer.
He is currently working on his first CD which will be out in February 2013.
Visit Craig’s band camp site here.
Organised jam
When there weren’t many people left it seemed like the stage had turned into a small organised jam-session, and the music was great. Beautiful pop music with harmonies made by the audience and impressive rock and soul tunes made a wonderful conclusion for the night.
All in all, a great Open Mic night.
Cheers, Herbie
(Thanks to Daniel Hughes and Elsi Vehkaniemi for the photos!)
UWS MUSIC 