The Melting Pot 11th June 2009

On the 11th June The Melting Pot was launched to a sold out Menagerie in Belfast. Kicking things off were one of Belfast's hottest new bands Katie and The Carnival, featuring Katie Richardson, who back in March was invited to perform alongside Duke Special (who we might also add performed at a LMHR gig in the Limelight back in 2005) at this year’s Meteor Music Awards in Dublin. Have a look at her moment in the video below. Needless to say their blend of blues meets quirky soulful sounds, and brick a brack percussion went down a storm, and the venue was pretty much sold out by the time they went on stage.

Hot on their heels, followed a more seasoned group called The Sons of Robert Mitchum, a band from the dark side, flirting with the sounds of Tom Waits and Nick Cave, band members are made up of Belfast, Polish and South African musicians, and it was a indeed a melting pot of inspiration.

In the driving seat were Underscore Orkestra. This band were brought to our attention by our good friends at Balkan Alien Sound who know everything there is to know about bands with an Eastern, Gypsy punk , folk, spin and whirl. All the way from Portland Oregon in the US of A this band of vagabond musicians had the entire Menagerie on their feet and dancing.

The night ended with a bit of old school hip hop from Charlotte, and dubstep and reggae from Venus Rollergirl.

The party then continued on at an undisclosed location, until the very early hours of the morning. The last we heard Underscore Orkestra were on a ferry somewhere off the west coast of Ireland to meet up with Balkan Alien Sound for a stag weekend. If anyone has any information on their whereabouts please do contact us to put our minds at rest.

The night was a roaring success, and as we said on the night it's not just a gig, it's a movement of people standing up to the hatred and stupidity of racism. Way back in the day a group of DJs and bands including Soul II Soul decided that they would organise street parties and celebrations of music, fused or shared, or simply appreciated by all, and turn it on racism by simply getting people to hang out with each other, party, and learn from each other. We think that this along with the words and actions of Clash front man Joe Strummer, who once said "We're anti-fascist, we're anti-violence, we're anti-racist and we're pro-creative, we’re against ignorance” is probably two of the greatest examples music lovers can follow in combating racism and promoting multiculturalism.

If you were there, thanks for coming, if not, see you another time.