Beans On Toast - a tasty seaside treat!
Words: Helena Juric
Photos: Rhian Dixon
★★★★★
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Starting the evening off was poetry-infused, Bassie Gracie. Her words packed a punch with both serious and playful topics. At the merch stand, I flicked through her new book called ‘Soap On A Rope’, which I’m definitely going to check out in more detail sometime soon. Following Bassie Gracie was Ruth Lyon who reminded me a little bit of Florence And The Machine mixed with Lily Allen.
A song that stuck out to me was ‘Cover’ which was inspired by Ruth’s favourite tree (an ancient yew tree in Northumberland held together by chains). Ruth also did a powerful cover of 'Cold War Kids’ song ‘Hospital Bed’, which got her through a difficult time in her life as she shared with us she’s been disabled since age fifteen.
Photo: Rhian Dixon
Beans On Toast came onto the stage with a big burst of energy! I thoroughly enjoyed the emotive journey the entire set took me on. Jay (of Beans on Toast), is very forward-thinking and socially conscious; this shows through his music. He was performing with the whole band, which both Ruth Lyon (fiddle and clarinet) and Bassie Gracie (bass) were in too.
My favourite song was ‘Beautiful Place’ but ‘Pelican Crossing’ was a close second. They performed a couple of others from the new album, ‘Kill Them With Kindness’. When ‘Send Me A Bird’ was performed, the crowd was captivated and it was in memory of someone Jay had lost.
The stories in-between songs were funny and full of life, I especially enjoyed the story about Lorraine, whom Beans On Toast also dedicated a song to. It’s quite apparent that Jay is not only a poet but also a punk. He invited everyone from Concorde 2 to the beach for a fire afterwards, with some beers! The whole evening was magical and I even met Jamie from the Beans On Toast song, ‘Jamie And Lily.’
There aren’t enough words to express how strongly Beans On Toast created a good vibe and bought everyone together.