Profile

Alien experience upsets traditional blues lovers
Entering O’D’s on a cold Friday night, it was not the sound of Sweet Home Alabama (again) I heard but a new sound quite alien to this blues-soaked establishment.
On stage was a man from Beeston in a red, green and gold jacket, with a shaved head piercing eyes staring out anyone who dared look for too long.
Behind him, a bass player and a guitarist sitting so far back that another three inches would have seen them on the pavement outside.
I had walked into the strange, surreal world of 'Mik Artistik’s Ego Trip'.
The words of his songs quickly invaded my mind, the staring eyes pulling me in. Tunes like Two Chickens, 44 Years to Live, Crook Lock and Vac Attack first had me smiling, chuckling, and then laughing out loud: I was hooked.
Mik Artistik – part comedian, singer, painter and performance artist – is unpredictable, unnerving and, with his tendency to incorporate his audience in the act, impossible to ignore.
You either love his act or you leave – as did some of the traditional music stalwarts, with much shaking of heads!
I am sure Mik will be making a return visit to O’D’s, but get there early as, judging by Friday’s reaction, it will be a packed house.

Derek Lines review of Mik in the Wakefield Express in October 2006 after a gig at O’Donoghue’s.

Meet the Band