While being assigned to see at least one concert a week is anything but a chore, there are nonetheless certain times when I yearn for something a bit different when I head out in search of musical entertainment. Fortunately, over the last few years I have found it relatively easy to find offbeat alternatives to the usual band offerings – not that there is anything wrong with simply seeing a regular old rock band perform. Examples of some of the more out of the ordinary acts I’ve managed to catch include everything from Blue Man Group at the North Charleston Coliseum, to the equally inventive Cabaret Kiki at Theatre 99.

This past Monday night I found another “off the beaten path” sort of performance downtown at the East Bay Coffee House on, as the establishment’s name would imply, East Bay St. downtown. For the last few years the unassuming watering hole has been hosting a weekly round of poetry readings, which feature a featured performer followed by an open mike session for anyone interested. Arriving for the show, I discovered that this weekly event is apparently pretty popular, as every seat in the place was occupied and late comers were taking up any available space on the floor. I took one of the few remaining standing spots along the wall and waited for the show to begin. First up was a woman named Cathy Corley, who played a short tune on her Native American flute. Immediately following the flute solo was Stephanie Mello, who apparently worked at the coffee house. Stephanie read some original poetry, which sounded pretty good to me. She was quite good at wordplay, and it was apparent that she coupled her love of words with a sharp sense of wit. I have always admired folks who can write inventive song lyrics, and to me poetry is even more impressive, because poets usually don’t have the luxury of music to accompany their words.

Next up was Marcus Amaker, the second featured performer for the evening. Amaker was celebrating the release of his new CD, “Escapism,” with a live performance of poetry, as well as a couple of interesting covers. Amaker began his performance by requesting that everyone shut their eyes as he recited a poem that advised the listener of certain things that would happen when he snapped his fingers. Upon completion of the poem, Amaker went to snap, and promptly discovered that, much to his amusement, he was unable to do so. Someone up front suggested that he should change the poem’s words to “when I clap my hands.”

Amaker was next joined by bassist William Moore and drummer Usman Salahuddin, who accompanied the poet through a couple of original compositions, including a great piece about New Orleans that used images of “dreaming in jazz rhythms” and imagery of water and floods to push his point across to the listener. Next Amaker asked the room if anyone was a fan of old-school hip hop music. After a smattering of applause he advised that he was going to perform a cover. He then declared A Tribe Called Quest’s classic album “The Low End Theory” as the best old-school rap album of all time, and dared anyone to deny that. I personally would have gone with De La Soul’s “3 Feet High and Rising,” but even I can’t deny the power behind “The Low End Theory.” As Salahuddin kept a steady beat and Moore plinked high notes on the lower ends of his bass strings while also providing the bass line for the song. Amaker did ATCQ member Q-Tip proud with his version of “Excursions,” right up until the point where he forgot the lyrics, and even that moment was salvaged thanks to some self-deprecating humor on Amaker’s part.

After the Moore and Salahuddin left the performance area, Amaker continued dispensing his original poems, the best of which included material about the passing of a dear friend after a battle with cancer (“Purple Heart”), Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll (“82 Days”), and a drunken reminiscence of an ex-lover (“I Wanted You to Fly”). Early in his set, Amaker remarked that poets usually don’t do covers the way bands do. He then advised that he was going to perform a cover, and proceeded to recite Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” in a manner that had to be heard to be believed. In an instant the seemingly simple pop song became an impressive bit of beat poetry. Okay, so the sustained “Oh, oh, oh’s” didn’t quite keep with the perceived seriousness of the performance, but it was an interesting experiment nonetheless. Following Amaker’s performance the East Bay Coffee House opened up the mike to anyone brave enough to perform. Several musicians and poets stepped up to the challenge. I will definitely return to this weekly event, although next time I’ll get there a bit earlier to snag a table up front.

Amaker had copies of his new CD on sale at the show for the very attractive price of $5, so I picked one up and listened to it on the way home. Comprised of spoken word poetry, looped samples and original electronic music, “Escapism” is about as original as local music comes these days. The CD’s liner notes advised that the album was best heard through headphones, and so when I arrived home I gave the CD another spin with headphones in place. It appears that Amaker had a lot pf fun putting this release together, and he is to be commended for trying to inject something a bit different into the Charleston music scene.

Devin Grant can be reached at chucktowncritic@yahoo.com