For the record, the balcony at BAM is way up high and very steep. Going up the stairs will make you out of breath and looking down from the cheap seats will make you hold your breath. I was afraid to lean forward for fear of falling onto the stage. We saw The Suit, a short play about infidelity, and it had this really fantastic version of "Strange Fruit" that I wish I could have the recording to.
I don't know what it is about plays, but invariably I get tired about two-thirds of the way through. Like can't stop yawning tired. Even if they are really good and I'm enjoying them, something about not being able to move or fidget for a few hours is just draining. This was the case with both The Suit and The Future Is Not What It Was, an off off Broadway play put on by the Kindling Theater Company, whose mission is to provide resources for artists at the beginning of their careers.
TFINWIW featured some hilarious lines, even if it was a bit long. There was this one scene that will be forever burned into Amit and I's memory. It involved masturbating along to Janet's "What Have You Done For Me Lately." (The video features Paula Abdul as the friend, and she did the choreography!) Like wow. For that alone the play deserves high marks. Random references to Janet is always appreciated, especially in "is this really happening" situations.
The play also featured Maya Kazan, who is the younger sister of Zoe Kazan, writer and star of Ruby Sparks, a movie I was lightweight obsessed with last year. I was wondering if Zoe would be at the show, but as it turned out, she was not. However, her Ruby Sparks co-star and real life boyfriend, Paul Dano, was there and he sat a mere two seats to the right of us. I wondered what he thought of the cast and the play, the majority of whom were making their theater debuts. Did he feel like an NBA player watching a high school game?
The other events I braved the cold for was a Dwele / Anthony David concert and a Jose James concert. I'm not overly familiar with two of those three, but when in New York right? We saw Dwele over ten years ago, when he opened for Slum Village in San Diego. It was one of our first outings with Lilly and it marked the start of San Diego's heyday, when Sushi Deli Wednesdays were the thing. In the intervening time, Dwele has released five albums, garnered Grammy nominations and a win, and somehow acquired enough presence to appear on stage in a white jacket, bow tie, and purple shirt. You should have seen/heard the ladies screaming at him -- especially over his track "Obey," which he said was the audio equivalent of 50 Shades of Grey. You can listen and decide for yourself. Of the two, Anthony David was better live. David's one of those artists who sounds much better out of the studio. I quite like his track, "Can't Look Down."
Jose James' concert was packed wall to wall, he does a soul, jazz, and hip hop combo. It's a hard mix to pull off, but James gets it almost perfect, even if I found some of his vocal stuff one note. His voice is smooth as hell though, even if he's not quite as compelling as Maxwell or D'Angelo. And for my hip hop plus jazz money, I still prefer the Jazzmatazz series. But that's probably because I'm biased toward Guru.
During the encore, James brought out Taylor McFerrin, who, to no surprise, is an excellent beatboxer. When your dad is Bobby McFerrin, I guess that is your doom/destiny. Remember when Rahzel was like the hottest shit? Now a whole album featuring beatboxing just seems ridiculous. Taylor's debut album releases soon...
Sunday is a Madonna dance party, Monday is Tegan & Sara, Tuesday is Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, and then I'm back to hibernation.
- Photos from Dwele / Anthony David at B.B. King
- Anthony David, "Can't Look Down"
- Dwele, "Obey"
- Slum Village featuring Dwele, "Tainted" (2002)
- Jose James performing "Trouble" on Conan (2012)
- No Beginning, No End album review
- Jose James covering "Ain't No Sunshine" (2012)
- NY Times The Suit review
- "Strange Fruit": The Story of a Song (2002)
- Billie Holiday, "Strange Fruit"
- The Future is Not What it Was review 1 | 2
- Janet Jackson, "What Have You Done For Me Lately" (1986)
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