Amazing show tonight at Bordello on 1st Street. First, the amazingly funky Casxio - beautiful songs, beautiful band, superb riffs and deep, deep bass. David Byrne meets Daft Punk. And then, the incredibly charismatic Sam Sparro - the reincarnation of Iggy Pop as a funky beast. More later.
Last night I went to the grand unveiling of the Velaslavasay Panorama. The invitation came to me by way of the Museum of Jurassic Technology, which is the inspiration behind Sara Velas' wonderful project.
Subject: THE EFFULGENCE OF THE NORTH
Grand Unveiling & Alpine Spectacular
July 21st, 2007, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
An Evening of Alpine Spectacle and a 360-degrees Arctic Panorama.
At The Velaslavasay Panorama
1122 West 24th Street
Los Angeles, California 90007
At Hoover & 24th Streets, Three Blocks North of Adams Boulevard.
Tickets: $12 general admission
$10 Panorama members and students
Available at the door or online .
It is with great excitement and only a little trepidation that the Velaslavasay Panorama announces the Grand Unveiling of The Effulgence of the North, an Arctic panorama taking the visitor to frozen heights to bear witness to the mysterious phenomena of the Aurora Borealis.
This evening of Alpine Spectacle will feature the yodeling talents of Tony Hartenstein and the melodic alpenhorn tones of Loren Marsteller. Professor Erkki Huhtamo will present an illustrated lecture on the most successful moving panorama of all time -- Albert Smith's Ascent of Mont Blanc, which was performed at London's Egyptian Hall no less than two thousand times throughout the 1850s. Outside in the Gardens will be an Alpine Photo Studio, Bavarian refreshments, and Janie Geiser's work of live projections entitled Stolen Archives of the Vanished Ice-World.
From July 27th and thereafter, Effulgence of the North will be on view weekly -- Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon until 6pm at The Velaslavasay Panorama.
Besides the Panorama itself, the event was absolutely spectacular! There was some serious yodeling going on, and a few wonderful performances in the gigantic garden behind the theater. An acquaintance of painter and lady of the house Sara Velas, explained to us that she had indeed built the gazebo from scratch. You can see her gazebo, and other wonders here. The Union Theater, where Sara Velas relocated the Panorama, served as headquarters for the Tile Workers Union back in the 60s (hence the name). As a result, wonderful abstract mosaic decorates the exterior of the building.
We had a group picture taken at the Alpine Photo Studio, shared a pretzel and a boiled München weisswürst dipped in Heinz grain mustard (straight from Costco, as the people behind the makeshift bar assured us), admired Janie Geiser's silent movie stylings artfully projected on a suspended white sheet besides a luscious banana tree.
If you grew up in France, you probably know Gilberto's music without knowing that you know it. Back in the 80s, the most popular DJ on NRJ radio used to play the first few bars of 'Palco' as his show's main jingle. Everyday after school one could hear Gilberto's joyful, syncopated intro scat at time index 00:43-01:00. You know, pa pa pa pa-paya pa pa pa pa paya... The song is Palco, on Luar. It is an infectious song about freedom, about Luanda and Bahia, about performing music, about eternal fire, about catharsis.
A few years ago I had the chance to see Gilberto's alter ego, Caetano Veloso, perform in San Francisco. Caetano charms and seduces the audience with his suave moves, his sense of drama, his clear and pure voice. Gilberto on the other hand is all raw charisma. His sheer power of conviction is even more perceptible when he plays solo. He catches the audience by the throat and does not let go, increasing the pressure with every song. When the show finally ends, everyone is left breathless, exhausted, in shock.
That was pretty much the feeling last saturday. We looked at each other in disbelief, wondering about what had just happened to us, what did he just do... It was not some kind of sneaky magic trick. It was neither fleeting nor atmospheric, as some concerts can sometimes be. No. It was powerful. It was wild. It was magnetic. It was freakish. Especially when Gilberto began to channel Bob Marley at the end of the set, singing No Woman No Cry.
It was a poetic tour de force of the first order. He started lightly. After a couple of tunes, he did a mischievous cover of When I'm 64. He was daring and fearless in the way he reinterpreted some of his most beloved songs - Drao, Metafora, Aquele Abraco, Marina, Pela Internet... People often joined and sang along. At times it was very intense.
And then, Gilberto summoned the spirit of Bob Marley and unleashed it on the unsuspecting audience. This is an incredible power to wield. Only the most accomplished performers can actually raise the dead like that, and let themselves be inhabited for the duration of a song. I can only think of one or two artists alive today who can do it - Iggy Pop, Bob Dylan (on a good day). Miles Davis could do it and tease it out of his band, day in and day out (just listen to Zimbabwe, on Pangaea - now that's a truly demented piece).
We got out of it completely spellbound. We made our way through the dark and deserted alleys of the campus (it's Spring break right now). Smells of flowers hung in the cool air. It was very silent. I felt awake, strangely awake, like I had not felt in a long time. It was like falling in love. I felt compelled to do something to keep that feeling from fading away, to carry it forward. So here it is, to my blog, with a renewed sense of purpose and commitment.
Now, for the brainier side of it all. Gilberto Gil is not just a poet and a performer, he is also a musical innovator, an internet pioneer, a prophet of the digital age (as well as Brazil's current Minister of Culture). [more to come]
File under the "Only in LA" rubric : early in the performance Gilberto dedicated Metafora to two of his very dear friends in the audience, Quincy Jones and John Perry Barlow... He also gave a shoutout to Sergio Mendes, who was sitting somewhere in the front. Indeed I saw people rushing Quincy Jones on his way out. I thought I spotted Leon Ware, too.
A funky anecdote : on the frontispice above the stage in Royce auditorium, one can read a very odd (and quite pompous) pronouncement etched in the stone:
"Education is learning to use the tools which the race has found indispensable"Reminded me of who built UCLA. Well-meaning, early 20th Century liberal eugenists. Ugh. America is a harsh place.
This is my personal blog. I use it as a notepad.
