The generally mellow and relaxing environment at Café Nostalgica reached its maximum capacity as students, friends and supporters gathered for blUe mOndays’ last Spoken Word Edition event of the year Dec. 2.
The poetry slam featured the performances of two young, local artists, Carleton student Emily Barrie and Warren Bain. Both are typically more recognizable by their stage names, Eminemily and Ras Tabula.
Both artists took rationalistic approaches to their pieces and received excellent feedback from the enthusiastic audience via snapping.
This gesture of appreciation is more commonly used over clapping in this setting as a way to maintain and preserve the intimacy of the event.
Barrie’s poems focused primarily on her personal perceptions of love, lust, and the harsh inequalities women continue to face.
“I started writing slam poetry when I was about 15, before I knew it was actually slam poetry,” Barrie said. “It was just a style that came organically to me, and I’ve been writing that way since.”
Audience members were visibly awestruck.
“There were times when I had shivers, literally, because I could connect with what she was saying on a personal level,” said Layne Davis, a first-year journalism student and a friend of Barrie.
Barrie also described her life-altering experiences in Africa working with those who suffer from HIV/AIDS and through her participation in the Occupy Ottawa movement. She slept in a tent at Confederation Park for eight days.
Bain’s pieces focused more so on Earth’s physics and quantum mechanics and how everything within it is intertwined.
“I try to view the planet as a single unit entity,” said Bain, who has also competed through spoken word for various other not-for-profit organizations in Ottawa.
Bain said most of his poetic inspiration comes from scientific documentaries.
The audience’s response to the two performers was incredibly positive. Audience member Kyle Macrae said Barrie’s performance was “mind-blowingly amazing and full on insightful wit.”
Following the poetry slam, blUe mOndays threw in a 30-minute open mic session to the self-proclaimed poets in the audience to either free style or perform a piece they had prepared.
The turnout provided a full house, while the audience responded with enthusiasm towards the newcomer talent.
To conclude the night, local alternative-folk band, Sons of Pluto, performed an acoustic set of song covers by various artists ranging from Death Cab For Cutie to Mumford and Sons.
The crowd remained energetic throughout the duration of the night’s performances, but seemed mildly disappointed when each set came to a close.
Although blUe mOndays’ 2011 edition has come to a close, they have promised to continue with open mic, slam poetry sessions and hosting aspiring bands in the new year.