Ari at the Spitz

Ari phoned yesterday to say that she was on at the Spitz, which was great cos I missed Thursday's show and I like the Spitz too. When I got there, first person I saw was Nadya, who I haven't seen for a long time; Tessa was there as well, and one of Ari's twin sons, Tessa's daughter, and Holly who sings with the Slits. I liked the support band (I'm gonna have to alter this posting later to talk about them because I can't remember their name and I thought they were good)
I wasn't sure what I'd think of Ari on her own- the Slits are so good. Her band was a bunch of big New-York-bear types with a titchy little ginger-bearded drummer who I was watching a lot- he was very good in that percussive way.
As always, Ari was fab- she has got such a good on-stage personality and led the audience in a lot of singalong stuff- merry word like 'Herpes", she's like a perverse pantomime personality, a real good wicked witch with a strong singing voice instead of a cackle, and a heart of gold under all that warrior garb. It must have been weird for the Slits who were there to hear their lovingly-crafted songs played so carefully by session musicians- all those spontaneous time-changes rehearsed to a tee- but it did show what bloody good songs they are and Tessa seemed magnanimous about it, dancing along to someone else playing her basslines.
It was a good night, just because you can trust Ari to be a great entertainer at all times; she is a combination of a great entertainer and a person with a strong passion to oppose violence, which comes across in a lot of the newer songs she's written. She's just moved her younger son out of Jamaica, away from a lot of their relatives, 'cos her brother in law got shot a few weeks ago. That's how she lost the father of her twins. Her life has not been a joke.
I came away inspired, realising what a lot I still have to learn about life and being a performer.