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In college, a friend of mine said tripping on acid was the ultimate inside joke: if you’d done it you got it; if you hadn’t you wondered what the big deal was.
You could say the same for modern art, religious enthusiasm, and fashion week. From an outsider’s perspective the shiny, happy faces and breathless testimonials are either delusional or cynically fake. But LSD is more than a social convention or manifestation of groupthink; it affects the body and the mind – the bodymind – simultaneously, fusing the two in the most unexpected and necessary ways. In religious terms, it’s the equivalent of Eve eating the apple. Before you taste it you are an extra in the movie of your own life, observing your emotional pain with cool detachment through the lens of endlessly repeated, self-deluding narratives. From the secure perch of innocence nothing can really touch you. Afterwards you know the meaning of good and evil from the inside.
Martin Dockery’s new dramatic monologue The Bike Trip playing now at the Kraine Theater explores the awakening promised by LSD and its ramifications thoughtfully and with nuance. And he gives the audience a rather large dose of humor too.
IT OR HER, a new play by Alena Smith being performed now at the FRIGID festival is a cross between Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” and Baron-Cohen’s “Brüno”. When that pitch line occurred to me in the darkened theater, I thought I was being pretty clever (if catty), but when I read the official blurb in the press packet I saw that the allusion was intentional. The playwright intentionally copped Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”, albeit in a cute, neo-absurdist way.
Parlor Jazz in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Saturday night I experienced a Valentines day treat like you can only get in Brooklyn. This is the kind of True New York Experience you won’t find in Time Out.
I knew we were headed to a show , but as I walked down Vanderbilt between Myrtle and Park, I thought to myself, where is the venue? It’s a very residential block. Outside 119 Vanderbilt I saw a laminated card advertising “Parlor Jazz” featuring The Ed Stout Quintet. We entered at the garden floor door and were greeted by Jim Morehand and Dave Polazzo who have been hosting Parlor Jazz monthly for eight years. Up the stairs and into the parlor, and there they were — the Ed Stoute Quintet: Ed Stoute on piano, Keith Loftis on tenor sax, Julian Pressley on alto sax, Dave Jackson on bass and Butch Bateman on drums.
The quintet was incandescent on this cold, dark February night. Mr Stoute is a native of Brooklyn and a veteran of the New York Jazz scene, having formed his first trio in 1960 and performed all over the city and all over the world. His rhythms, provided by Mr. Jackson and Mr. Bateman are elegant and sly, like the wink of a sweet, young thing. The tenor and alto pass melodies and harmonies back and forth like an urbane, inside story. And the piano just sings.
The experience is what Small’s used to be and occasionally still is, but this is Brooklyn baby! And you won’t find jazz nearer to its beating heart and soul anywhere else in New York — or the world.
Jim and Dave provide delicious snacks and all the wine you can drink with the price of admission. My favorite was the pineapple upside down cake. The doors open at 8:30, and the first set begins at 9. I suggest getting there on time, or else you might have to stand in the back next to the snacks with easy access to wine throughout the performance. Actually, that’s not so bad. Next month, March 13th, check out Carrie Jackson and her Jazzin’ All Stars!
Parlor Jazz
ft. Carrie Jackson & Her Jazzin’ All Stars
Saturday, March 13th. Doors at 8:30. First set at 9, second at 10:30
$30
Last Tuesday at the Knitting Factory in Williamsburg was the 4th annual Rock ‘n’ Roll auction to benefit the Willie Mae Rock Camp For Girls, hosted by our CC fave Mr Murray Hill.
The Awkward Turtles
Sapphire
The auction was also a showcase for a couple of rock camp bands, The Awkward Turtles and Sapphire. (Did I mention Kaki King performed too?) Keep your eyes out for the young graduates of the Willie Mae Rock Camp For Girls. The Awkward Turtles played with a lot of heart and a lot of charm, and Sapphire — whoa boy! — these young ladies (their lead singer is in seventh grade) are ready for the big time now. Check out their website here. If there is any justice in the world they’ll be the next Jonas Brothers, cuz they are CUUUUTEE!!! omg. It’s like The Indigo Girls meet The Jackson 5.
Murray rocked the auction, which was supposed to be silent, but ended up being out loud. As Murray said, “What’s the big deal? I’ve got the biggest mouth in the room!” But like all good causes they could probably use an extra dollar or two. If you want to contribute, do so through the Willie Mae Rock Camp For Girls website.
The best case for giving was given by Sapphire in their song “More Who Have Less”. It was written just this month, a couple of days before the earthquake in Haiti, and the girls sang it for them. Check it out…
Kelley Girod
The question posed by the artists collected in the series of short plays entitled “The Fire This Time” currently playing at the Red Room asks “is there post-black black theater? If so, what are the stories?” The answer is a diverse collection of seven short pieces that cover race, nationality, gender, and fantasy.
