I stop to lean against a wall on west 39th on my way to pickup my laundry.
I just left a fantastic dual bill show of music/performance art organized by my friend Elaine at the EFA Gallery.
First up was Brian Dewan with an evening of words, music and pictures. He projected his filmstrips timed to music, with a booming announcer voice and the comical "beep" to queue the projectionist (also played by Brian).
The illustrations were a mixture of surrealism, cubism and Dewanism. His music compositions and words perfectly suiting the images and themes of each frame of the strip.
Not only did he rock out the A/V, he jammed out some amazing and moving melodies on keys, harpischord (I think) and accordian. He even had a little smidgen of mouth harp at the end of his set, pulling it out of his pocket as he was playing the accordian. It was if he was breathing the chords deeply as he held it between his pursed lips, with no harmonica holder. I found myself inhaling and exhaling in time.
Brian's show was great. Just great. Period.
I don't pretend to be an art critic, but am an art appreciator and enthusiast, if that makes sense. Flowing paragraphs of words to describe all that Brian put forth would only do injustice. Just go see him perform or check out his myspace page.
After a short break we were treated to the delightful, mesmerising and beautifully voiced Natalie performing as Unicornicopia.
It felt deeply personal at times. Like we got a glimpse into a private playland of music, mischief and marvelous mayhem.
The set decore was pink, silver and strewn with mirrors. Natalie's
smile was radiant and her eyes shining light to each of us as she danced and played for an enthusiastic audience. Looping samples, playing keys, and booming out sweet song, Unicornicopia soared my spirit.
There were moments that were magical, such as the opening of the window at a dramatic change in a song. The wind whipped the silver streamers off the wall as they danced around Natalie's long hair, adding their own pulses to the creative energy flowing through he room. She gazed out the window as if in awe of the moment we were sharing.
Simply endearing and a wonderful performance to send me out into the city for the night. It was sampletastic and quite a tasty treat for the ears, sight and soul.
Great job to Brian, Unicornicopia and Elaine for the evening of entertainment.
So, back to laundry....
The guy who runs the shop didn't recognize me at first with the longer hair and beard. He asked regarding the documentary project I am solo shooting about Bill Inman and his Uncovering America by Horseback adventure. We got to chatting so much I didn't remember if he handed me back the change from my $20.
We both laughed about it as he gave me what may have been another $10.25. He said even if it was extra change, that he likes documentaries and hopes I can make something from all my work, so I should keep it, just to be sure.
I told him that when I screen it in New York, that I'll buy his ticket. No ticket, no movie! [couldn't resist, sorry]. He deemed it a fair trade.
So, after sitting on my bag of laundry on the curb of 9th avenue, I will gleefully skip back to the truck with my cleaned and folded laundry. Now I actually have to skip just because I said so. If I had my camera I would film it for you to prove it.
Oh, and my laundry only set me back $9.75. Or maybe I made .50 cents on the transaction. Who knows?
Either way, no more stinky clothes.
P.S. I did just skip down 39th street singing aloud:
"I skip, I skip, I gleefully skip. I skip right down the street tonight.
I skip, I skip, I gleefully skip and now the skipping's done."
The End
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