Host Patrick Neate was getting a round of applause before he said anything.
The Tabernacle was rammed and the crowd was so boisterous that Pat asked, “Who’s been to Book Slam before?”
Only about half the hands went up.
Doc Brown topped the bill and stormed it. He’s the kid brother of novelist Zadie Smith, who went on before him and read from a couple of her Occasional Essays.
I’d seen Doc compere Book Slam but never seen him do a comedy set.
Zadie and Ben Smith (his real name) are local and went to Hampstead school in Cricklewood, as our kids did later. Their Mum was at the gig.
Singer-songwriter Obenawa has an engaging personality and a good voice. Rapper Akala and his pianist mate did three pieces. The one that suited him best was the one that was like Gil Scott-Heron.
But the night belonged to Doc.
Pat thanked everyone for coming, thanked everyone for performing, and even thanked the club’s Serbian DJ : “Thanks to Ilya, without whom you’d never hear crap Nineties R&B that you thought you’d forgotten about.”
He said the next Book Slam is on July 29 and it will be “Special”.
But he can’t say who it will be because it might fall through.