The Antidote

Now that the bruising, 24-hour-a-day election madness of the last several months which has wreaked havoc on my sleep and ruined relationships from coast to coast is nearly finished, I’ve got good news -- a three part antidote is available immediately courtesy of our friends at the Arsht. Where I hail from, the drumline was an every Saturday event. Before my local Cougars would play football, the band would take the field and that was that. The high steppers, drum majors, flag twirlers, majorettes, baton twirlers, and horns would get down on it while the drummers -- bass, snare, tenor, and cymbol -- ruled the roost. All over the country, high school bands would take to the field and perform their version of the hits of the day. I remember hearing Kool and the Gang, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Earth Wind and Fire’s Celebrate. 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities have been at the forefront of this movement. Earlier this year in St. Louis, Show-Me Sound held its 3rd annual Drumline competition. Participating drum ensembles included Central State University’s “Invincible Marching Marauders,” Harris Stowe State University’s “Phunk,” Howard University’s “Thunder Machine,” Kentucky State University’s “Soul Section #1,” Langston University’s “DEN,” Lincoln University’s “Groove Dynasty” and North Carolina A&T University’s “Cold Steel.” I heard Cold Steel in Berlin playing with German rapper Peter Fox a few summers ago. This is big business with a long history, as evidenced by Honda’s sponsorship of the Battle of the Bands.On November 11 at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m, The Arsht Center will present Drumline Live at the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall. Half of the cast contains local talent with roots related to Florida A & M’s famous (then infamous) Marching 100. Get ready to get down if you go. Tickets are $25 and $55 and may be purchased through the Arsht Center box office by calling 305 949-6722, or online at arshtcenter.org

Google Lagrimas Negras and Diego El Cigala and you will get treated to an assortment of fine, YouTube versions of the Spanish flamenco-gypsy singer doing it along with extraordinary Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés. Take 30 minutes then come back and read the rest of this.

El Cigala will visit us at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday November 10th at 8:30. Tickets start at $40. Like athletes and mobsters, flamenco singers have nicknames. El Cigala means Norway lobster; Diego -- well -- kinda looks like one. Spanish Romani people are known as Gitanos. The names Gypsy, Roma, Romani, Gitano all mean the same things and are used interchangably, dissatisfying those who frown on all the historical baggage attached to the names.

Finally, the Live at Knight Series at Miami’s Arsht Center will bring us Macy Gray’s soulful singing on November 8th at 8:30. Maybe you remember Ms. Gray, she of the smoky, scratchy voice and 2001 Grammy Award for “I Try.” After having made it, she went to work with a global coterie of stars -- Italian pop-star Zucchero, DJ/Producer Fatboy Slim, classic guitar idol Jeff Beck, and eccentric/cerebral Erykah Badu among others -- before toying with covers of Prince, Rod Stewart, and Radiohead. This led to her latest venture, Covered, where Ms. Gray has gone all in on the concept, reimagining Sublime, Mettalica, Eurythmics, and Arcade Fire. Just the material alone should be tempting.

The election is over. Turn off the TV. Calm down. Go out!

Talib Kweli: Idle Warship with RES at the Adrienne Arsht Center

There aren’t that many opportunities to use future perfect tense any more, but by the time you read this column, I will have seen Friday, October 19th’s Talib Kweli concert Live at the Knight at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. 

 

I had hoped that I might have the chance to interview Kweli and RES, but his people and my people -- well you know how it goes. Gino Campodonico from the Arsht Center went out of his way -- deeply out of his way -- to arrange an interview with Kweli and collaborator RES from their new duo Idle Warship. Now I owe everyone an apology because my work and home life got in the way -- I missed the email AND the phone call.

“In Moment of Clarity “ from Jay-Z’s splendid Black Album, J-Hova says, "If skills sold, truth be told/I'd probably be, lyrically, Talib Kweli.” In Kweli’s track "Ghetto Show" from the Beautiful Struggle, Kweli responds by stating "If lyrics sold then truth be told/I'd probably be just as rich and famous as Jay Z." 

So I’m left to describe what I would have asked had I had the esteemed young brother on the line.

Me: Sorry I missed the call.

Kweli: I should hang up now.

Me: Sorry, sorry, sorry. You have been doing your thing for a while now? Is this what you expected? What is happening with lyrics these days? 

Kweli: Well, kids change. They love poems, Sesame Street, Big Bird, and get into poetry slams. On the other hand, texting, Twitter, and Facebook are not the most grammatically accurate platforms. 

Me: How much credit does your mother get for you being a good lyricist? She’s an English professor right? Your father also has the academic/university background right?

Kweli: Are you talking about my momma? Truthfully, I was raised properly. 

Me: You’ve worked with everyone and they with you. Jay Z, Nas, Mos Def, Common, KRS, the Roots, Kanye, Mary J. Blige, the Neptunes. What’s the vibe like with so many successful people? Who is the boss when the talented get together?

Kweli: Bruce Springsteen is the Boss. 

  

Me: In 2004, you recorded The Beautiful Struggle:  Does the struggle remain beautiful? Do the inspirations remain?

Kweli: The struggle remains a struggle for millions. It was beautiful for me so I want to remain optimistic.

  

Me: How does the Yankee hat go over in LA? Have you been converted? Does your family prefer California? 

Kweli: In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do. But look at that mountain. Look at that tree. I love LA. 

Me: Talk to me about the MIA. Isn’t the Knight a gorgeous facility?

Kweli: Lebron, Crockett, Tubbs, Anna Kournikova, Dwyane Wade, Gloria Estefan, Pitbull, Ricky Martin, sun, sand, graffiti -- hundred thousand dollar cars, e’rybody got ‘em. The Knight is a blessing. I know we don’t nee another hero, but Adrienne Arsht is a hero.

That’s what I would have asked Talib Kweli had I not been a working man with responsibilities. So by the time you read this, hopefully, I will have enjoyed last Friday’s concert immensely. Future perfect tense lives!

Hopefully, there’s always next time for an interview. Given the Arsht’s fine upcoming schedule, I am going to beg Gino to schedule a moment way in advance with bassist Esperanza Spalding, scheduled to play on April 19, 2013. Then, I will be able to write in present tense.

Critical Mass Miami

The intersection of many of my favorite things occurs during the last Friday of the month’s Critical Mass. There may be no raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but there are a few thousand people, a couple of hours of exercise, fleeting neighborhood visitations, and a number of baddass bikes to accompany the newly restored clunker some may have taken to Andres at the Miami Recycle Bicycle Shop or the good folks at the Magic City Bicycle Collective. 

photo from Jordan Melnick/beachedmiami.com

Every month. the word filters out to more folks looking to get in touch with their inner -- I don’t know -- hipster? The assembly begins shortly after 6:30 at the Metrorail’s Government Center. By the time the ride begins at 7:15, the entire block is festively thronged by colorful participants -- as Q-Tip might say, a vivrant thing. 

To channel another musical theme, in Miami, the Creator has a master plan and it includes bikes. While Miami isn’t Amsterdam, it’s safe to say that there are a fair number of aspiring originators, devisers, inventors, and masterminds adorning wheels with aplomb. Some of these skills extend to rolling sound systems; lots of people like to ride near one of the folks blasting reggae. Another rocks the 80’s. There is a Chinese Jamaican guy with his toddler on the bike seat pumping out straight, parental sticker hip-hop. As I said, it’s a colorful crowd.

The routes change monthly, but there are recurring motifs. From Government Center, everyone goes west, under 95, then over the Miami River. For those of you who like amusement parks and NASCAR crashes, this is the most thrilling part of the route. If you survive this, chances are, the only impending worry newcomers may have is some diaper rash. 

Then, one just pedals through the neighborhoods most have only encountered on the exploitative local newscasts at 11 -- East Little Havana, Overtown, Allapattah, Model City, Little Haiti, and Beverly Terrace. There, the masses outside the public housing, hair salons and fritangas come out to greet you. “Welcome to the hood,” one grandmother shouted last month. Of course, Calle Ocho, Miracle Mile, Brickell, and Biscayne also appear. Here, everyone in high heels seems to be using the iphone to record a video. Corkers politely block the intersections and make apologetic conversation. They are firm and respectful. Occasionally, a driver gets bold -- for a loud, angry moment at least. After a swarm of outraged bicyclists surround him, there is usually peace in numbers. 

From beginning to end, month after month, what one experiences on the ride is the art of the street. Critical Mass gauges the pulse of a city through a mass determined to enjoy the street, to share the street, to breathe the street, and to feel the neighborhoods that explain the streets. For thousands of people who dream of an urban-connected Miami, this is their favorite two hours of the month.

Bread Lines

photo by Matt Degreff

I owe a bunch of my friends an apology. They warn me that with the way that things are going, I shouldn't be surprised if people end up in bread lines again. I argue with them, hoping that things will not deteriorate so badly, but alas, they are right -- sort of.

Much to my surprise, I have seen this happen repeatedly at the Green Market in Pinecrest. For the last several months people have lined up patiently waiting for their bread. In a time where people fight desperately to claim and gain the status of victim, this is the ultimate irony: the bread is organic and the people lined up are from the -- forgive me -- upper crust. The cause of all this misery is a young fellow known as Zak the Baker.

There seem to be no breadlines for the privileged that I can recall, but Zak the Baker causes a ruckus among the gifted at this Farmer's Market. Every Sunday morning, a line begins forming before 9:30 near the caramel corn stand. One of Zak's apprentices cuts a loaf which, immediately after sampling, creates a sort of mysterious instant addiction, especially for those patrons who have ever visited Europe. Clearly, Zak is harming the community by offering addictive sourdough breads baked under the cover of darkness in a secret location somewhere west of US 1. He is an artisan, but witness the lines, and you make think he is a magician, shaman, or charlatan. 

Zak hypnotizes those who queue up by playing jazz on a little throwback phonograph. The daily offerings -- olive and za'ater, cranberry walnut, multigrain, and whole wheat -- are thoughfully carefully wrapped in plain brown paper. Returnees to the line looked hopelessly hooked and spaced out in the moist summer steam -- give us today our daily bread they seem to say.

Zak the Baker’s website (http://zakthebaker.com/) is a thing of beauty. Frankly, the video made by Matt Degreff is medal-worthy. With all the, forgive me, cheesy crap that passes us posing as art, these few minutes are aesthetic and inspiring. What you hear and see makes you feel, and what you feel makes you want to eat. It defines perfectly what Zak is doing, and it seems, what he is thinking. Please let me in on the longer length documentary, brothers! 

If you want go to the Green Market and avoid the bread lines because you somehow have come to feel guilty about the economics in America which now makes the wealthy have to stand in the sun just to get their favorite staple ingredient, the good news is that Zak is sold out, wrapped up, and on the road before your teenaged kids wake up. 

An Eye for Beauty Part 1

Miami has been endowed by its creator with some extraordinary beauty. The sky, the clouds, the sea -- as Wesley Snipes once said to Angela Bassett -- absolutely splendid. For me, there is nothing more lovely than a stand of oak trees. On the other hand ...

Miami's southern suburbs are a monument to bad taste. The monstrous mansions and spacious gardens are built and maintained by the very immigrants that the (Republican) voters who own the obscene spaces would like to evict from the country. I'm not sure how long one's string trimmer or hedge cutter has to be in order to reach Pinecrest from Mexico, but I suspect that local churches might want to avoid screening A Day Without a Mexican to avoid a widespread panic in the pews.

Coral Gables Art Cinema

When it's hot, the Arts take a back seat to things like those one can do inside a nice cozy air-conditioned space. With this in mind, I thought I'd skip the August art walks and in order to fill my need for something creative, gave a shout out to the Coral Gables Art Cinema where the good people there hooked me up with tickets to see Woody Allen's To Rome With Love. To make a long story short -- good move.

I love this theater from top to bottom; considering that it is connected to a several story high parking garage, it is big from top to bottom. Most of what they screen is profoundly well-received by its devotees; this Woody Allen film was on its 6th week. In the art house world, this is an eternity. Big respect to the theater for extending it and extending it, because it was hilarious. I don't think I'm exaggerating; the audience madly loved this film. Furthermore, I would love to write about Woody Allen's latest venture; however, this is about the Coral Gables Art Cinema.

About two years ago, this theater opened, screening year-round, daily films unlike those found at the mall. The website says programs will be "vibrant, diverse, multicultural and multilingual." So far, so good. I've seen a handful of films there; it's a great place. Moreover, there are events held often -- lectures, discussions, wine tastings, etc. The Cinema is a non-profit, so you can contribute and become a member, and I suppose help raise funds like for WDNA and WLRN. Film, Jazz, NPR -- all good things to me.

Cinema Director Robert Rosenberg has good taste, and though I realize that this is both debatable and pithy, there are such things as quality and expertise. Chefs know more than kids about food. Eric Spoelsta knows more about basketball than fans. Democrats know more about birth certificates than Donald Trump. Robert Rosenberg knows more about good film than my son. 

Summer in Miami can be unforgiving. We all know this. Shallow as it sounds, as one whose "favorite" all-time film is Cinema Paradiso, I have had a long long love affair with film, art house in particular. Going to the movies is particularly enjoyable here in the rainy season. When it's hot, the Coral Gables Art Cinema always has something cool to offer.

If you don't agree and you would like this column to be yours, try a hostile takeover. 

Pawns Happy About Crumbs

It’s tax free shopping time in Florida, and as always, the people who are saving pennies on the dollar are unable to see the picture before them. One young lady proffered her receipt happily showing how her $83 receipt saved her $113. The Channel 7 reporter on duty at the Dolphin Mall let it slip by.

If I have my information correct, public schools are being sliced up like tomatoes on cable at 3 o’clock in the morning. Teachers are being laid off, class sizes grow like wastelines, and arts and sports programs are deemed unnecessary.

Lots of people complain about their taxes being too high. One party wants to extend the tax breaks -- the Bush tax cuts -- to the richest members of American society. Theoretically, taxes provide services. Parks, roads, the green strips west of my curb, FIU, Miami Dade College, Florida Memorial, high schools, middle schools, elementary schools, police, firefighters, buses, Metrorail, the beach, garbage pickup, the US mail all depend upon tax revenues. So does my social security.

Ben Franklin talked about being penny wise and pound foolish. Being excited about saving $7 on the $100 may feel good for a spell as one gets to spend the spoils on Chick-fil-A or some other newsworthy place, but perhaps tax-free incentives like Florida’s are simply some sort of tricky gimmick aimed to deceive a foolish population.

In any case, what I think doesn't matter. All over the state, Florida citizens are ecstatic about the "savings" they have incurred this weekend.