CRUMB #35

JUNE 2025

THE WORD

A SOUND OF JOY

We strike the match, we light the fire and pull up the chair to make the most of these cosy winter evenings.

We open the curtains though, let the moon glisten on the cold metal of the microphone. Then we hear it speak and sing. And the winter blues succumb to the sound of joy, to the warm heart dancing in the sweet embrace of this community thing that we have got going.

Let not this winter lock you away behind your front door. We have a few good things happening in the month of June. And our venues are always warm and always welcoming. So wrap up, step out and let the light of the moon lead you to an evening of song and poem at The Dangerous Kitchen, The Mussel Inn and NgAng’s Gallery.

All the details on the following pages.

Peace
Mark Raffills
Golden Bay Live Poets Society

 

 

 

 

 

 

standing by winter

…light the fire in winter’s hearth
watch the spark leap and laugh
close the door, open the curtain
the moon outside is looking in
a cold tear slides down its face
a sad river, a heavy burden
won’t you button me in your coat
won’t you stand by me in the swirling rain
won’t you delight in my poem and song
tie me to the pounding of your heart
shun the misery of the broken stone
standing on bleaker street alone
shovel the snow from off the path
strike the match among the stars
and pull the dark, night sky down
within the reach of the dancing flame
eating wood with a crackling sound
rest easy in the old easy chair
hold the cracked cup of cocoa
in your shivering, shaking hand
and hope like crazy in the morning
that winter is just a red glow,
a spark still breathing in an old ash can
like how you once held my hand…

Mark Raffills

LIVE MIC ACTION

10th September THE DANGEROUS MICROPHONE is on!

And just like that, winter walks slowly into the arms of spring and The Dangerous Kitchen stands the microphone, stage centre!

Yes, come next Wednesday 10 September, the Kitchen opens its doors and The Dangerous Microphone crackles and hums and bursts back into life.
This begins year number four where, on Wednesdays, prepare to be entertained, challenged and informed by courageous performances and strong community connections.
For this month the Open Mic Sessions will run all night on 17th  September. 30 Minutes of Glory spots will be on 10 September – The Grey Stripes and 24 September – Neal Bonner.
Looking forward to Wednesdays at the Dangerous Kitchen. where the food and beverage service is fantastic and the hostesses and hosts make you feel right at home. We pass the koha bowl to support our performers on the 30 Minutes of Glory evenings.  Here’s the programme – this page and next…

Wednesday 17 September

DANGEROUS MICROPHONE 
Open Mic all night: 6.00pm – 9.00pm.

 

 

 

10th September THE DANGEROUS MICROPHONE is on!

LIVE MIC ACTION

30 Minutes of Glory @ the Dangerous Microphone

Wednesday 10 September THE GREY STRIPES

DANGEROUS MICROPHONE

Open Mic: 6.00pm – 7.30pm. 30 Minutes of Glory featuring The Grey Stripes,  7.30pm – 8.00pm. Open Mic 8.00pm – 9.00pm.

The Grey Stripes are Jeannette and Paul Marlow. They are recent settlers to Collingwood having moved from Nelson in Feb 2025. After playing music separately for years, lockdown, together with Jeannette’s desire to play bass guitar, brought them together musically. Open mike nights and busking in Nelson were starting points for honing their skills as a duo. Busking has also taken them to the towns of Mullumbimby and Nimbin in northern New South Wales. Their musical roots are mainly in JJ Cale, Neil Young, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd.

 

 

 

30 Minutes of Glory @ the Dangerous Microphone

Wednesday 24 September NEAL BONNER

DANGEROUS MICROPHONE
Open Mic: 6.00pm – 7.30pm. 30 Minutes of Glory featuring Neal Bonner  7.30pm – 8.00pm. Open Mic 8.00pm – 9.00pm.

Neal Bonner is originally from the UK now resident of Golden Bay, Neal weaves his original guitar music through his poems of personal experience, the human condition, and his love of how this strange world might possibly really work.
“I love how poets can talk about things that are often overlooked, or awkward in everyday conversations. Sometimes we are here to offer a new thought provoking perspective”, he says.
Neal’s performances are as engaging as they are beautiful and impossible to ignore.

 

LIVE MIC ACTION

Moonshine and Feasting

Here we go with an explosive mix of pot luck feasting and moonshine on the microphone! It’s proved already that this is one kind of gathering we need! Come this Thursday, 4 September, we are dishing up a pot luck feast along with poems and songs, at NgAng’s Gallery. 

The POT LUCK FEAST will start at  6.00pm. Bring some food and drink and hang out together and remind ourselves just how lucky we are to be in such a gem of a community.

And then, starting around 7.30pm, there will be the very fabulous and very intimate Moonshine on the Microphone open mic session hosted by Mr  Mark Raffills.

Moonshine on the Microphone
Thursday 4 September 2025
NgAng’s Gallery
POT LUCK FEAST – 6.00pm
Open Mic – 7.30pm. Koha

Moonshine and Feasting

LIVE MIC ACTION

ACID in September

Singer, songwriter, poet Neal Bonner is our guest at September’s edition of ACID ON THE MICROPHONE presented by Golden Bay Live Poets Society.

Our regular open microphone session for poets and musicians will run from 7.30 to 8.30 pm.  The open mic always throws up some unexpected treats as new and established performers present their work.  Participants can put their names on the performance list on the night. Musician alanjahjah will kick the evening off from around 7.15pm with dinner music to dine to.

ACID ON THE MICROPHONE presents
Singer, songwriter, poet
Neal Bonner
Thursday 18 September
Open Mic from 7.30 pm.
Neal from 8.30 pm.
 $5 on the door.  Mussel Inn

ACID in September

STORY TELLING MAGIC

IAN BROWN – unhinged improbability

Ian is a storyteller. He tells stories and he will be telling a few when he takes the guest spot at Golden Bay Live Poets Society’s June gathering.

Ian tells all sorts of stories –  myths, fables, fairytales, legends, yarns, parables, true story’s and of course fisherman’s tales .
Brought up in a working class town in Wales ( Cymraeg ) , Ian learned pretty quick the importance of being able to story your way out of or into a situation .
A lot of water under the bridge since then, a professional clown, a trained drama teacher and a busy Daddy. Ian tries, using often slightly irreverent mischief, to stretch the boundary’s of your inner world. He does this to highlight the archetypal magnificence of you in a world that is quite literally completely made of story’s and also as it happens (possibly not coincidentally) is completely made up.
Come and share an evening of unhinged improbability.

Note: This bio was NOT written using Artificial Intelligence

poet & story teller
IAN BROWN
Thursday 26 June
Mussel Inn
$5 on the door

IAN BROWN – unhinged improbability

COMMUNITY STRENGTH ON SHOW

July @ Aroha Ahora

July @ Aroha Ahora

LIVE AT THE MUSSEL INN

SEPT AT THE MUSSEL INN

Thurs 11th
QUIZ NIGHT – All welcome

Sat 13th
SHAUN KIRK
(pictured left)
supported by NICK HERBISON
8pm  tickets $25   door $30

Thurs 18th
ACID ON THE MICROPHONE
Open mic plus special guest singer, songwriter, poet
NEAL BONNER

Sat 20th
GENERAL KALA
8pm $20 door –

 Thurs 25th
QUIZ NIGHT – All welcome

Sat 27th
THE ORANGE BOX
Arts on Tour kids theatre show.
1pm. $10 tickets

SEPT AT THE MUSSEL INN

Make Use of CRUMB

subscribe to CRUMB

In CRUMB you will find all the events sponsored by Golden Bay Live Poets Society plus a few other gigs and community happenings.

If you would like to be kept up to date with open microphone events happening around the Bay, then subscribe to CRUMB here

And you can even submit a gig or event that you want us to know about.

 

 

 

 

 

GOT A GIG, EVENT, NEW BOOK or RECORDING COMING UP ??

Got events or gigs coming up that you’d like to let CRUMB readers know about, please email the details, jpeg pics and jpeg posters to: mark@drycrust.com  or use the link below:

submit a gig or event 

And if you have a new book of  poems, stories coming out, or a new recording of songs, let us know and we can let our small but dedicated readership in on the action.