Yellow Door Cafe – Jan-2010

Welcome to another Yellow Door Cafe.  Michael Cavanaugh & Tom Smarda lead off with Frankie & Johnnie, an upbeat country song, a tale of going away, something about a gun, you’re gonna miss me when I’m gone (ha).  Bonnie provides percussion.  They play Red Sails in the Sunset next, a slower pace, a peaceful ballad about lovers reuniting.  It’s Too Late to Get There Early, a moderate paced country tune wondering about the on again off again nature of love and relationships.

Ed sets up our superb food offerings and makes the place look so inviting

Ed's professional touch on the table set up

Heather is up next on piano. She talks about her Beyond Karaoke class, the beyond part she explains, is that her students are composing songs. She plays a song from one of her students. The students were too nervous to play the song themselves, so they left it for Heather to share with the group.  The first two songs were written by Don Racine. Two very lovely pieces, the second one sounding somewhat like a Victorian parlour song. Carmen (who performed last month) has written the 3rd number that Heather plays for the group.  It’s quite a pretty song that we hope will be performed by Carmen herself next month.

Heather, Beyond Karaoke facilitator

Paul Hall is up next. He plays guitar and sings, Like a Hurricane by Neil Young, Rebel Rebel by David Bowie (haven’t heard that one in a long time!) and Along Comes Mary.

Paul Hall sings Bowie

Tom Smardh takes the stage next, his guitar is plugged into the amp for his social activism songs. He sings about the high expenses farmers incur just to grow our food, about the high cost of food. “People get sick from eating low cost food with no nutritional value and it destroys the earth” he strums fervently and spits the words, his distaste for corporate farming quite passionate. The next song is called Let’s Dismantle Canada, a solid condemnation of policy and infrastructure initiatives. He goes on a bit of a rant, including his feelings about the recent attempt by our prime minister to prorogue parliament. His next song is about Canadians selling arms overseas.  His voice is impassioned, he holds nothing back.

Tom Smardh, a most empassioned environmentalist

Mike Tellstar is up next. He’s a mentalist. He performs several feats involving bending spoons, getting participants to use telepathy while drawing and somehow, they end up drawing the same image! … Linda and Goldie help him with a demonstration with a lock, a rope, twists, turns, voila, he’s free… an amazing ability to release himself while entertaining a very engaged crowd.

Mentalist / Magician Mike Tellstar

Wails of laughter as he sets up the next trick with a rope, tying it behind his back, two women holding the opposite end, him in the middle, then somehow, magically, Voila! the rope is pulled seemingly from inside his body. Bravo, bravo, bravo, the crowd is amazed.

Voila, there it is, gone!

David Walsh & Michael Cavanaugh completely confounded!

A slight of hand trick with a $5 bill and the bill is magically transformed into a US $1 bill. He gets David Walsh and Michael Cavanaugh up for a card trick. It works beautifully, at which point David asks if he’s able to do a trick to raise $10,000 for the house!

The Share the Wealth Draw is next. Some AGO passes and picture frames are up for grabs.

Linda is next with her first time singing EVER, she sings One Day Soon while Michael plays guitar along with her strong but tender voice as she rolls through the verses like an old pro. Well done, Linda. She gets 2 rounds of applause. Linda volunteers at 6 St. Joseph House, she leads the clay workshop.

Linda, 1st time performer, sings One Day Soon

Michael is up next. He plays the bongo drums, nice little high spirited piece that crescendos, softens, then crescendos again.

Michael, master of the bongos

Naomi is next. She reads from Monday Nights in the Butler’s Pantry, her new book  another poet have just had published. She reads several poems, very lovely, ethereal, short, nature theme is strong, flowers, fairies. Her books are available by contacting her.

Naomi, poet, newly published book

Bobby Jones is next, he sings a Bob Dylan tune called Queen Jane. His voice is powerful, deep, resonant and full of expression. Acoustic guitar playing is strong, strumming with full force of a seasoned musician. Something tells me he’s been doing this for a while. He says he’d like to perform a few poems here one day, but he’s got to write them first!  If his poems are like his singing and playing, I think he’s going to be quite successful! He leads into the next song by saying it’s a Dylan song that’s never been performed before, written when Dylan was 21 or so.  Give it to Me I’ll Keep it It’s Mine. A Subterranean request rips from the audience, he says it’s been a while, but I’ll give it a go!  He does a fabulous version, highly interpretive, quite remarkable.

Bobby Jones, such an incredible voice

Hartley Philips is next with a lovely poem, Watercolours…. if a lake were watercolours, what colour would it be?  The poem goes on exploring asking questions, suggesting colours, very nice. He recites 3 others, each as sensitive and introspective as the next.

Hartley, powerful reading

Denny is next with Planning a Murder on the piano, an upbeat perky little tune, tongue in cheek, of course! A Spy Named Inga, another tongue in cheek number, very funny, the antics of a spy as he goes about the business of spying. It has the feel of a number from a musical theatre production. Very animated, great intonation and expression in the voice. Very amusing indeed. Very talented man!  His 3rd song is You Warmed Me, a tender song of friendship, separation and reunions.

Denny plays his own composition, Planning a Murder

Bonnie takes the mike to read, Paul Revere’s Ride by Longfellow.  The New Year, her newest poem, she leads into talking about the resolutions we make and how strong our intentions are at the beginning and how perseverance is what it takes to see things through.

Bonnie reads Paul Revere's Ride by Longfellow

Ernest is next with an Eric Clapton song, Wonderful Tonight. He’s actually quite good, loves playing through the bridges. Heart of Gold by Neil Young is next.

Energy is high, creative spirit flows