Another fun Sunday slam, another buffet of passionate poetry. The slam gave us a nice variety of newbies and vets, with an emphasis of newcomers who wowed our brains.
Take Claudius, who made his TPS debut and took his poetry to the third round. He dropped some truly beautiful poems about love and his sis, and he got lots of love from the packed Drake crowd.
Then there was Desiree, returning to the slam for the third time in a row. She's got the slam bug, yo!
Some BAM! veterans came out to slam, such as Millado and Patrick De Belen, who rocked the mic with his cartoons piece and was storming hard into the 2nd round. Let's not forget another BAM regular, well, the founder - PAN aka Yehuda Fisher returned to the slam stage after a brief hiatus and also made the third round on the strength of his powerful Israel/Gaza classic.
Our oft-host Dave Silverberg took a stab at the slam but didn't make it past the first round with his PostSecret ode. Look for him to host the Aug. 25 slam.
Third round had Millado, Patrick and Claudius battling it out, with Patrick scoring a near-perfect 29.9 to take the win. Fun fact: his Up from the Roots Slam Team-mate Serafina won the last slam, so looks like UFTR is takin over and winnin slams!
Props to our guest host Lishai, she was fantastic and sexy and on point as always. And our feature Andrea Thompson was exquisite in every way, offering a nuanced set full of spiritual potency and lovesick blues. The whole audience was clapping for more after her final stanza.
Look out for our next slam at the Drake on Aug. 25, but remember the Love Sex & Heartbreak takes over the Supermarket on Aug. 21, featuring the Toronto Poetry Slam Team. See ya then!
