Poetry! You either like it, or you don’t. Some are put off by its air of intellectual achievement, some by its allusiveness and obscurity. Some people just think its total crap, and don’t want an argument thank you very much. Don Paterson is one of Scotland’s most acclaimed and rewarding poets, and returns home to Dundee for a very special reading. Time to put this poetry malarkey to the test…
Opened by Mondo Mimo, the secret pseudonym of the event’s promoter, his acoustic lullabies were the perfect opener, a varied mix of pop and folk, blues and roots with lyrics that span the whole of Scotland. A wonderfully enthusiastic promoter, Mondo Mimo has done more than anyone else in the area to ensure that left field and acoustic talent gets heard alongside the inexorable tidal wave of wasted little View wannabes. Gold medal, that man.
Mr Gavin McGinty is one of Dundee’s true lost talents. Having helmed the wonderful rock-roots combo Magdalen Green, McGinty proved that music that cuts against the grain can still be popular. Now solo, the singer seems content to relax with his Dylan LPs and harmonica, fostering a lazy summer feel. Drawing on a seemingly endless supply of singalong anthems, McGinty is the Paulo Nutini that got away, a man with the talent (and cheekbones) to go so much further. With a new EP in the pipeline, perhaps he’s beginning to earn the ‘mister’ moniker.
Don Paterson began life as a sixteen year old writer with DC Thomson, before jacking it all in for free form jazz and poetry awards. What a waste, the Women’s Weekly is just crying out for someone like that. Including new works alongside classics, Paterson also spins a few yarns about his days playing guitar on the Dundee pub scene – sedate it wasn’t. Don Paterson is a warm and earthy reader, whose salty Tayside brogue brings the words to life. A quick solo guitar performance (which could well have been longer, the man is a virtuoso), and he was away into the night. The debate over poetry still unsettled, all I can recommend is a trip to one of his readings – you’ll laugh, you’ll cry and realise that maybe, just maybe, you don’t dislike it as much as you think……