UNFRAMED

Few thoughts can be more appealing than a pint or two down the pub of a summer’s Sunday afternoon. Even few thoughts can be more appealing when you throw some live music into the mix. Add to that a selection of pictures from some great photographers and your Sunday afternoon is pretty much perfect.

It’s a sunny afternoon at The Barge, Gillingham. Amazing considering the downpour Medway experienced in the morning. Today marks Medway Eyes’ annual “Unframed” event: a fusion of the celebration of photography and music.

Photographs are available in albums (you know: the sort of old fashioned book type things people had before someone invented Flickr and Facebook), while the music comes from a small but perfectly formed stage at the back of the pub.

The photographs feature everything from witty images of headphone sockets plugged into apples (geddit?) to reportage of weddings, rugby matches and family holidays. Meanwhile, the music is a selection of Medway’s finest: folkish acoustica simply perfect for an August day.

There are five acts on at today’s event arranged by Rew and Anna Oates: Odd Note, Crybaby Special, Didi Bergman, The Baron Von Marlon and Survivors of Suki. Oooh, and if that wasn’t enough to lure people in, there’s a barbecue too. Who could ask for anything more?

Stephen Cunningham Oddnote

Odd Note:

Odd Note (Stephen Cunningham) is a one man band. Today he’s interspersing his original songs with covers of other artists. But the covers are hardly the standard covers you’d expect to hear from any old bloke strumming a guitar in the corner of any old pub. They’ve been chosen with care. They are slightly off the wall; a rather leftfield selection.

And so we have Radiohead’s “House of Cards” and The Kings of Leon’s “Holy Roller Novocain”. As for the originals (some of which come without a name they are so new), these are eloquent pieces form the 21st century singer songwriter genre.

Odd Note’s voice is a little derivative and somewhat affected in places. It’s a kind of mix between Caleb Followill (the delivery of the Kings of Leon was a note perfect “Stars in their Eyes” rendition) and singer songwriter du jour Ed Sheeran: a kind of rough round the edges sound. But, for all this, it remains good. At times, very good.

And he saves the very best till last. The last (unnamed) song is an angry, pounding affair, betraying Odd Note’s confidence and profound skill as a guitarist. As a point of reference, it features a chorus of “No, I don’t need anything from you”.

Chords may never have been played so fast on an acoustic. In fact it’s rather remarkable. So remarkable, in fact, that I’ve just remarked up on it.

Jason Stafford Crybaby Special

Crybaby Special:

Next up comes Crybaby Special (Jason Stafford), another one man band. As Didi Bergman observes, he plays his guitar in a very odd pay. He spreads his fingers out wide and passes them over the strings. Somehow this makes a thick, pummelling sound – even though he seems to be miming more than playing. It’s rather impressive.

Clad in a stripey black and white vest, Crybaby Special has the sound of Brian Molko singing Bob Dylan songs – a comparison which becomes all the more pertinent when he offers his interpretation of “It Ain’t Me Babe”.

This is an intense, bruised and angry sound from the Lupen Crook school of jaded singers and songwriters. Original, impassioned and rather good.

Didi Bergman

Didi Bergman:

Didi Bergman’s performance is as poignant and delicate as ever. Her live classics, soon to appear on her album, all appear: “Dragonfly” and Dog Shit Street” being just two of them. The latter is, once again, re-branded to “Dog Poo Street” to protect the ears of younger listeners and/or their concerned parents.

But the final song, a kind of impromptu encore, takes a sudden detour to a different arrear of delicacy and poignancy. “Emily”, words by Andrew Day and music by Joe Cottiss who joins Didi on stage on guitar and vocals, is a rich Damian Rice track of a song. It’s filled with references to the loves of sensitive souls everywhere: Leonard Cohen and Sylvia Plath being just two of them.

It’s something of a stylistic departure for Didi Bergman, but is, nevertheless absolutely gorgeous, recalling something of the magic from when Thom Yorke joined Drugstore for “El President”. Wonderful stuff.

The Baron Von Marlon

The Baron Von Marlon:

There’s a slight delay before The Baron Von Marlon appears. He’s another singer songwriter who goes by an unusual nom de plume, but this time aided and abetted by an acoustic bass and violin. And a couple of people playing them too.

The Baron Von Marlon’s had to nip home to pick up some CDs to sell. Hence the delay. They’re £4 if you’re interested.

Upon his return, he and his band take to the stage with his brand of Pete Doherty-ish sea shanties. The songs are filled we an um-chah um-chah vibe so often found in acoustic songs at the moment. And this, along with his solo cover of Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right” seem to go down rather well.

Survivors of Suki

Survivors of Suki:

The final act on stage in this mini festival of sound and pictures is Survivors of Suki. The male lead singer, Joe Cottiss, has already appeared with Didi Bergman today. But now he’s with his new band, an ever expanding ensemble.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Survivors of Suki appeared on Fizzer Rippon’s Radio Sunlight show and there were just two of them. Now there are four.

Survivors of Suki feature slightly unusual instruments to compliment the usual acoustic guitar and bass. There’s a ukulele, glockenspiel and even kazoo. Few bands can boast a kazoo in their line up. This is a shame.

The songs are gentle, contemporary folk numbers; the soundtrack of a million mobile phone or dating website adverts. Survivors of Suki are sure to feature in the background of the next kooky rom-com featuring Zooey Deschanel and Michael Cera.

It’s a perfect, gentle summer sound where, strangely, each song recalls an element of the theme to “Banana Splits”. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Towards the end of the set, the band play a song “Making Tracks”. It has a lilting “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” feel to it. Clapping is encouraged during the song.

In fact, between them Survivors of Suki seem to have solved the age old dilemma of how to clap when you’ve got a pint in your hand: clap against your neighbour’s hand. Why has no one thought of this before?

It’s a rousing and happy song with which to approach the set’s end – especially with the chorus of ba da ba da-da – ba da ba da-da ba ba ba da-da. Come on. Join in. You know the words.

And with the encore of “I Wanna Be Like You” from the Jungle Book, Survivors of Suki’s set and the Unframed event itself is over. Which is a shame. I was just getting settled in.