All the Pieces Matter

John Waters at the Howard Theatre

John Lewis — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:11:41 +0000

John Waters’s comic genius lit up D.C.’s Howard Theatre last night. Appearing a half hour ahead of the scheduled 8:00 start—in the Q&A afterward, Waters said he was surprised to hear himself introduced at 7:30 and had to hustle onstage—he immediately paid tribute to the venue’s storied past and cited the many iconic African-American musicians/bandleaders that played the Howard back in the day. He noted the restored theater’s upscale look, comparing it to the dining room in The Poseidon Adventure, and mentioned attending shows at the Royal in Baltimore. Looking around the Howard, in its present state, makes it even more baffling that our city tore down the Royal, but that’s a rant for another day.

Over the next 90 minutes, Waters delighted the crowd—a great mix of young/old, black/white, gay/straight—with a deft mix of bawdy humor, sharp observations, and intellectual bravado. I can’t think of any performer who gives his audience more credit for being smart and open-minded. It's a winning combination that allows him to riff about sexual fetishes, race relations, Justin Bieber—who once told Waters, “Your ‘stache is the jam”—and Susan Sontag. Waters gets extra credit for working Cy Twombly and obscure D.C. hip-hop artist Michael Ivey into his routine.

When he talked about hitchhiking across the country last year, the person seated next to me—a grandmotherly, African-American woman—leaned over and said, “Everyone should do that at least once in their lives.” She howled with laughter throughout the show, just like the tattooed hipsters on the other side of me, and the gay couple across the table. The entire experience made me proud to be an American. No kidding.

And after the show, I met Gore Vidal’s sister, and we talked for 20 minutes about Baltimore’s dirt bike culture—a fitting end to a perfect evening

Amazing show at historic D.C. theater last night.

Life-Changing Art: Toshi Reagon

John Lewis — Sat, 11 May 2013 14:51:54 +0000

What piece of art changed your life? How did it affect you?

In 1976, the American Folk Life Festival lasted all summer on the mall. My mother (Bernice Johnson Reagon) produced a section called the African Diaspora. There was a church building with open sides; a front porch—Florida Ave Grill prepared the food; a winding lane, like a train of booths; and the booths had chefs cooking food, people doing hair, basket weavers, sculptors, and Flora Molton, the most amazing street singer, had a booth. I saw Black Music from all over the world: blues, jazz, folk, fife and drum, musicians and dancers from Ghana, Senegal, and Nigeria, and pop-and-lock contemporary dancers. Sweet Honey In The Rock sang on the front porch. You could see this every day. It was incredible.

It let me know I was incredible. The sky was the limit. I learned the amazing ways people figured out how to live and how to craft a necessary thing—a basket, a stew, a hairstyle, a song, a dance, poetry, clothing—the things we need in our lives. My people created, in a beautiful format, the landscape of life, which made it possible for me to grow up and live. I will always be grateful to my mom and all the people who worked at the American Folk Life Festival that summer. It is a powerful thing for a kid to learn, in such a beautiful way, that the world is more than what you know. And it is a powerful thing to understand that you are a part of that world.

This is one of the most incredible responses I've ever gotten to the "life-changing art" query, and it makes me wish we invested more, as a nation, in arts and culture. Toshi's response illustrates that it would be money well spent. Tonight, she performs at the Creative Alliance with her mother, Bernice Johnson Reagon, a national treasure and founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock. I can't think of a better way to celebrate Mother's Day weekend.

Toshi and her mother, the legendary Bernice Johnson Reagon, perform at the Creative Alliance tonight.

The Genius of American Idiot

John Lewis — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:17:36 +0000

My 13-year-old son, Levi, walked into the Hippodrome a bit warily for Green Day’s American Idiot musical. He expected watered-down versions of favorite songs servicing a Broadway-friendly narrative that stripped away the original album’s power. It didn’t help matters that he’d seen Green Day at the Patriot Center last month and was blown away by Billie Joe and crew. Well, guess what? Levi approves of the play, and I wholeheartedly agree.

At the outset, it takes a few minutes getting acclimated to the musical’s punk-ish intensity—did I just write that?—which comes from all directions: the cast’s all-out energy, the physicality of the choreography, the onstage band’s amped-up playing, the f-bomb dropping, and sensory overload generated by the set design (I counted 33 TV screens). But director Michael Mayer, who co-wrote the book with Billie Joe Armstrong, deftly handles three story lines that play out gracefully and concisely without jettisoning the swaggering attitude and social criticism of the original material. Although Levi and I initially questioned the St. Jimmy character’s glam-ish sheen, we came to appreciate Trent Saunders’s take on the role.

In fact, the entire cast impressed us. And they’re all newbies. Reading their Playbill bios, I was stunned to learn that none of them had previous Broadway experience. None at all. How punk rock is that?

You can catch American Idiot at the Hippodrome through the weekend.

The punk rock musical continues its run at the Hippodrome.

?uestlove Gushes for Globe Poster

John Lewis — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:41:08 +0000

Okayplayer recently posted this video of Nardwuar presenting ?uestlove with a Motortown Revue poster by Globe, the legendary show poster firm that operated in Baltimore for 80+ years. As you can see, it's a direct hit. I'm not surprised, because a) ?uestlove is such a music geek and b) I pretty much did the same thing in 2006. At the outset of an interview prior to a Roots show at Ramshead, I gave ?uestlove an Otis Redding Globe poster, and he was truly awed by it—as in jaw dropping, "where did you get this?" awe. And like in this video, he immediately began riffing about one of the obscure opening acts.

If you'd like to check out more of these amazing and awesome posters, head over to the Creative Alliance and see their current Globe exhibition—it includes the Motortown poster!—curated by MICA grad student Chloe Helton-Gallagher.

And here's that Nardwuar vid...

Roots drummer freaks for made-in-Baltimore Motortown Revue poster.

Neutral Milk Hotel Coming to Baltimore

John Lewis — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:52:55 +0000

You might recall that Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum played two nights at St. John's 2640 Space in 2011. Well, he must have liked the venue a bunch, because it appears NMH will be kicking off its North American tour at 2640 on October 11th. All of Pitchfork nation will be turning out for this one, and tickets go on sale this Friday at noon (at Red Emma's, Charmington's Cafe, and through missiontix.com). Elf Power opens. I see local legends Half Japanese will be opening a handful of other dates, including an October 25 show in Asheville with Daniel Johnston. Wow.

Beloved indie band playing St. John's Church in October.

Kix at Merriweather Tonight

John Lewis — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:24:55 +0000

Kix, Baltimore's best-known "hair metal" band, kicks off the M3 Fest at Merriweather Post Pavilion this evening. WASP co-headlines tonight's show, while Bret Michaels, Twisted Sister, Great White, and many others are on tomorrow's bill. Although Kix got lumped with all the hair metal groups in the 1980s, that wasn't entirely fair, because Kix had enough punk intensity, Stones swagger, and good humor to transcend that limited genre. The band's new Live in Baltimore CD/DVD convincingly drives home that point, and you can check out my review in our May issue. The M3 Fest also promises two days of amazing people watching!

Local metal gods kick off M3 Fest.

Beach House Adds Area Show

John Lewis — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:02:35 +0000

Fresh off last week's rapturous homecoming gig at the Lyric, Beach House has confirmed a June 6th show at D.C.'s 9:30 Club. The Lyric concert was perfect in every way, from Lower Dens' and Yo La Tengo's lively opening sets to Beach House's sublime show and pitch-perfect song selection. They get extra points for the artful lighting, designed by guitarist Alex Scally.

Local heroes coming to D.C. next month.

CenterStage in NYTimes, on PBS

John Lewis — Thu, 02 May 2013 19:01:46 +0000

CenterStage’s The Raisin Cycle is already getting national media attention, in today’s New York Times and on PBS. An ambitious undertaking by the theater’s artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah, it nods to Lorraine Hansberry’s classic A Raisin in the Sun with rotating repertory productions of the Tony-winning Clybourne Park, written by Bruce Norris as a response to Hansberry’s play, and Beneatha’s Place, which Kwei-Armah wrote in response to Clybourne Park.

“I find Clybourne Park to be a brilliant play, all that we want a modern play to be—a magnificent catalyst for a debate,” Kwei-Armah told The Times. “However—and I don’t think Bruce set out to do this— but connotationally, the play says that whites build and blacks destroy.”

The piece praises Kwei-Armah for taking such a bold artistic gamble, noting that it’s possible because his predecessor, Irene Lewis, left the theater on solid financial footing.

As these two productions—which share the same cast and director—have come together, a PBS film crew has been documenting their progress for a documentary that will air in the fall. “A Raisin in the Sun is a powerful story of perseverance that arts followers have come to know and love, and we think our viewers will be just as interested in learning more about the Clybourne Park and Beneatha’s Place storylines,” PBS Vice President of Programming Donald Thoms said in a press release. “PBS is committed to giving millions of viewers a front-row seat and a backstage pass to the best music, theater, dance, art, and cultural history programs on-air and online, and we’re excited that CenterStage will provide us with great content to feature this fall.”

Attracting this sort of media attention is one reason why CenterStage hired Kwei-Armah, who came to town with a national and international rep.

Beneatha's Place opens next Wednesday, and both plays run through June 16th.

Kwei-Armah's Raisin Cycle Draws National Attention

Lazarus Announces Retirement

John Lewis — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:17:53 +0000

MICA President Fred Lazarus has announced that he’ll be retiring next year after 35 years on the job. During that time, Lazarus has utterly transformed the school, upping its national stature and developing strong community ties at home. Under Lazarus, the school expanded significantly and turned the Station North area into a hub of artistic activity with great commercial potential.

In a memo to colleagues, Lazarus said that when he became president in 1978, he promised to stay for three to five years, a stint he exceeded by three decades. He also thanked the college for “taking a risk” on someone who wasn’t an artist and had no previous experience in higher education. “I am even color blind,” he noted.

Longtime MICA Trustee George Bunting, Jr. praised Lazarus’s visionary leadership. "My association with Fred goes back to 1978 when I chaired the search committee that selected him as MICA's president, and it was one of the best decisions in which I ever have participated," Bunting said in a press release. "Since then, Fred's vision, energy, and talents have transformed MICA into a national leader in arts education, a world-class institution, and one of Baltimore's true jewels. His leadership has inspired me, and countless others, to see MICA’s great potential, and to work closely with him in achieving it."

"Fred Lazarus has long been a tireless advocate to advance art and design education, revitalize our communities and raise awareness about the importance of culture in the lives of every Marylander," said Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. "His leadership has not only helped empower countless cultural organizations, but also strengthened the state’s colleges, arts education in K–12 schools, and even the economy through the thousands of visitors who attend the annual Artscape festival. Because of Fred's legacy, I know that MICA will continue to attract the most creative students to Maryland to learn and eventually become key members of the innovative workforce that makes Maryland unique."

A MICA search committee comprised of faculty, students, and trustees will, over the next few months, recommend candidates to succeed Lazarus, who was also featured in Baltimore's 2011 "Power" issue.

MICA President stepping down after 2013-2014 academic year.

Life-Changing Art: Fred Hersch

John Lewis — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:43:17 +0000

What piece of art changed your life? How did it affect you?

Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. I was blown away by his breath of humanity, American/Buddhist philosophy, and ecumenical outlook. Also, his love of nature and of fellow man and his startling use of language and his tenderness. It inspired me to write a full-evening setting of excerpts from Leaves of Grass for Kurt Elling, Kate McGarry, and an octet. I received a Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in Composition for the piece and had the opportunity to perform it [at, among other spots, South Carolina’s Spoleto Festival and New York’s Zankel Hall.]

Pianist Fred Hersch returns to An die Musik on May 2nd for shows at 8 pm and 9:30 pm. Nominated for two Grammies last year, he's an amazing solo performer. I'd recommend picking up a copy of 2011's Alone at the Vanguard, or maybe even the Leaves of Grass recording, at the show.

Grammy-nominated, poetry-loving pianist in town next Thursday.