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Open Mike Eagle (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, December 11, 2023)

December 12, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: December 11, 2023] Open Mike Eagle

Open Mike Eagle is probably my favorite rapper.  His wordplay is great.  His topics are great and he seems like a really good guy.

He came out to the little stage, gave a brief introduction and started right in with “Very Much Money.”

My friends are superherosNone of us have very much money thoughThey can fly, run fast, read PortugueseNone of us have very much money thoughThey know judo and yoga, photography, politicsSome of them leap over buildingsWriters, magicians, comedians, astronautsNone of it mattered when niggas was hungry

He told us we could help by buying merch.

Open Mike has a new album out and he played a song from it right away, the excellent “BET’s rap city.”  Mike has his gear–a laptop and some kind of triggering sample device on the table.  Mike’s device was also on a milk crate so he didn’t have to bend over–cheap and effective.

He didn’t do as much live music manipulation as Pink Navel did, although he did do some.  But he did leave his work area and come around front a few times.

Like during “Relatable” one of my favorite songs of his.  I love his delivery on this song and it was cool having him come right to the edge of the stage–I wonder if he had thoughts of coming down into the crowd.

I found Open Mike through his album Brick Body Kids Still Dream, so I was psyched that he played three songs from it.  I absolutely love “(How Could Anybody) Feel at Home” with it’s super catchy chorus.  He delivered the chorus in a really different way, which was fun.  And the gentle refrain of the following song “Legendary Iron Hood'”s “Ain’t nothing gonna stop me now” was great to hear.

Turns out that I now his What Happens When I Try to Relax EP better than just about anything else.  So it was great to hear Relatable and the follow up “Microfiche.”  I absolutely love his vocal style and his delivery–and the rhymes of this song are excellent.

For “79th and Stony Island” he did a fun freestyle.

Then it was time for a few more new songs. “WFLD 32” has a slow cadence and drunken horns over more if his clever lyrics

I started rockin’ simply then expandеd
This execution’s iffy but I planned it
I protect it if it gives me an advantage
Still want to be the greatest MC on the planet
Yeah, ’cause I’m immature
If I can name my own sicknesses then it’s cured
I’m finished at high ninety-percentage pure
COVID makin’ it impossible to finish tour

Then the new titles “a new rap festival called falling loud” and “we should have made otherground a thing” which features the lyric “Bonded over MF DOOM.”

This led to him playing the song “For DOOM” saying that a dream came true when he was able to rap with DOOM.  He followed that up with a song just for him, by playing (and silently rapping along with) the Madvillain song “Raid.”

There were two songs from his darker EP Anime, Trauma and Divorce, like “Death Parade” with the chorus that discusses the cycle of trauma

Should’ve been cool, but dude got screwed up
‘Cause shit got burned up, so he fucked her up
Then she turned big, I got chewed up
That shit fucked me up, so I’ma fuck you up
A kid caught hell, that kid grew up
And messed his kid up, he fucked her shit up
Then she fucked dude up, it all got screwed up
And that fucked me up, so I’ma fuck you up

And “Bucciarati” has a video with the awesome Paul F Tompkins (see below).

He ended the set with another song from Brick, 95 Radios, which features a chorus everyone can easily get into.

He said that normally he would take a little encore break and pretend to leave the stage.  But in Milkboy there’s nowhere to go. So fuck that.  He would stay and do more rap on purpose!

This was my first rap show and I realized it’s kind of weird to watch a guy rap when there’s nothing else to look at.  No band, no one else on stage.  But Mike was captivating.  And when he told us that the next song was a gang initiation, I think we were all ready to join up.  “Maybe Gang (an initiation)” is another great song from the Relax EP.

It has my favorite line

Confident, I keep my password on my license plate

And with the chorus, he rapped it heavier and heavier

We is not a gang, we all look the same as you
But don’t be ashamed, we all make the same snafu
We got different names, we might get the same tattoo
Maybe it’s a gang, maybe it became that too

It turned out that one of the guys near me went to high school with Mike.  Mike knew it and they were nudging each other on all night. It was really fun.

Mike ended the night with one more song, a track from an early EP.  “Ziggy Starfish (anti-anxiety raps)” is one of his faster songs and his flow was outstanding.

The show was short–about an hour. But it was great.   I was delighted to finally have seen him and I’ll certainly see him again if he comes back next year.

SETLIST

  1. Very Much Money (Ice King Dream) ©
  2. BET’s rap city ♥
  3. I’ll Fight You ∞
  4. (How Could Anybody) Feel at Home ∏
  5. Legendary Iron Hood ∏
  6. Relatable (peak OME) ≅
  7. Microfiche ≅
  8. 79th and Stony Island ∞
  9. WFLD 32 ♥
  10. a new rap festival called falling loud ♥
  11. we should have made otherground a thing ♥
  12. For DOOM ∞
  13. Raid (Madvillain cover)
  14. Death Parade ψ
  15. Bucciarati ψ
  16. 95 Radios ∏
    encore
  17. Maybe Gang (an initiation) ≅
  18. Ziggy Starfish (anti-anxiety raps) ¥
© Dark Comedy (2014)
¥ A Special Epsiode Of (2015)
∏ Brick Body Kids Still Daydream (2017)
≅ What Happens When I Try to Relax EP (2018)
ψ Anime, Trauma and Divorce (2020)
∞ A Tape Called Component System With the Auto Reverse (2022)
♥ another triumph of ghetto engineering (2023)

Posted in Milkboy, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, Pink Navel | Leave a Comment »

Hilma Wolitzer–“Overtime” [The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar #12] (1974)

December 12, 2023 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 12, 2023] “Overtime”

This year my wife ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my sixth time reading the Calendar–it’s a holiday tradition!  Here’s what H&O says about the calendar this year.

The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individual short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.  Now in its ninth year, the SSAC is back to once again bring readers a deluxe, peppermint-fresh collection of 25 short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.

The author of this story was Hilma Wolitzer.  Each day has an online component with the author with a brief interview.

It’s December 12. Hilma Wolitzer, author of Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket, suffers neither fool nor broken hanger.

Here’s a fun bit from the Q&A

When did you write it, and how did the writing process compare to your other work?

HW: I wrote it 50 years ago! My only other work way back then was housework, and as with writing I was always trying to make order out of chaos. Revising a story is something like cleaning out a closet: excessive words and broken hangers all have to go.

This was one of those delightfully weird stories that has a weird premise and follows it through to a very satisfying ending.

It opens

Howard’s first wife wouldn’t let him go….  I wondered why he was attracted to her in the first place.  It could only have been her pathos.  Reenie is little and thin.

Howard and Reenie had only been married for seven months, and yet Reenie constantly called them for help and advice.  And financial support.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Canadian Content, Christmas, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Hilma Wolitzer, Hingston & Olsen, Marriage Trouble, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Pink Navel (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, December 11, 2023) [OPEN MIKE EAGLE]

December 11, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: December 11, 2023] Pink Navel

I had been to Milkboy once before.  But for some reason I thought I was at a different Milkboy location.  However, this location is the one I was at last time.  It’s a weird space.  The music is upstairs from a bar.  It’s long and narrow, holding about 200 people.

For this show I arrived just on time, driving along a narrow side street assuming there would be no main street parking (I may have been wrong there).

I walked up the stairs and the guys in front of me were taking a long time to get in for some reason, and as I stood there, Pink Navel started.  The crowd was spaced out so it was pretty easy to sneak up to the front and get close enough to watch Pink Navel do his thing.

I hadn’t heard of Pink Navel, but the short version (from Pitchfork) is

Devin Bailey, the rapper, producer, and singer who records as Pink Navel, has an effervescent and nasal voice, an extensive knowledge of animated television, and an immense, somewhat intimidating pool of references and SAT words.

Pink Navel was a funny and engaging: “Anyone fucking with this say oh yeah!” Continue Reading »

Posted in Milkboy, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, Pink Navel | Leave a Comment »

Alexander Weinstein–“Understanding Great Art and the People Who Make It” [The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar #11] (2020)

December 11, 2023 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 11, 2023] “Understanding Great Art and the People Who Make It”

This year my wife ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my sixth time reading the Calendar–it’s a holiday tradition!  Here’s what H&O says about the calendar this year.

The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individual short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.  Now in its ninth year, the SSAC is back to once again bring readers a deluxe, peppermint-fresh collection of 25 short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.

The author of this story was Alexander Weinstein.  Each day has an online component with the author with a brief interview.

It’s December 11. Alexander Weinstein, author of Universal Love, respects the velvet rope.

This is one of those short stories that’s not exactly a short story.  It’s a series of vignettes.  Each of these is a biographical sketch of a fictitious artist and the movement that they were were involved in.

This seems like it’s making fun of art, but I’m not entirely sure.  I’ve always been puzzled by this type of story–making up a person and inventing a history about them to be told in documentary form.  Typically I like tis kind of weird thing, I think I can’t imagine ever writing something like this so it’s mostly just a little weird to me.

This story looks at four artists

Josef Kouyes, a central figure of the Living Arts Movement.  Kouyes bristled at the art world and felt that art should document the humdrum world.  From 1956-1970 he made pieces like Frying an Egg and Grinding Coffee.  He had other pieces like Shopping, Sleeping/Dreaming, Dinner with Friends.  Then in 1970 he announced that he was leaving the art world entirely.  The art world took this to mean that he was working on his crowning masterpiece.  Untitled, was not a repudiation of art, but total submersion in it.  His house was soon surrounded by videographers recording every moment of his life.  It is his masterpiece.

Alaine Tozambique was a leader of the Unfinished Arts Movement.  He challenged the :realist nightmare of closure” by leaving bits of canvas “unfinished.”  In Blank Stare, a woman stares at the unfinished three-quarters of the canvas.  And Spring at Toluze Gardens is a single yellow dot in the middle of an unpainted canvas.  But his masterpiece is clearly Half Empty/Half Full–the glass of water left at his bedside at the time of his death.

Antonia Fillizzi mae pyramids.  At the age of sixty-nine, after he death of her husband, she began tearing paper into pieces and making pyramids out of them.  Then she began cutting them out using scissors.  They became smaller and smaller.  Pyramids (Installation #11487) features 258,000 pyramids in an area 18′ x 26.  She had been committed to an institution soon after making it.

The Maunick School (various artists) used paints by Maunick the Magician who (it was later discovered) used cadaver skin in his paint.  Painters flocked to this enchanted paint which actually moved on the canvas–characters getting ready for bed, husbands getting slapped, babies being born, you name it.  But in some of the canvases, things went wrong and couples began fighting.  But when the artist destroyed her canvas, she heard the screams and felt that she killed so many people.  Indeed, most of the painters who used this paint abandoned art for good.  And then soon enough, the figures in the paintings began painting the canvas black–leaving nothing but a black square where art formerly was.

Interestingly, Weinstein does explain what he was up to and why he made this work, and I love his answer and heartily approve

AW: The first piece came to me while visiting the Tate Modern in London. I really love the museum and have a great admiration for performance art, experimental and modern art, and installation work.  At the same time, reading artist statements and descriptions of work can sometimes be near comical given one is looking at a large green dot or an upside-down urinal. I’d been reading a lot of Borges and Martone at the time and was very interested in playing with stories that pirated existing literary forms as well as creating triptychs/quartets/etc. I began writing at the museum and then worked on the subsequent pieces over the next months. The work was in tandem with a fictional tourguide I was writing (to a recently discovered eighth continent), full of museums that ate people and hotels of loneliness. In both of the projects I was exploring how to tell stories that exist outside of the “traditional” short story form. In general, I tend to be more classical (albeit speculative) in my writing, with stories solidly based in elements of fiction, such as character, conflict, and narrative arc. It was incredibly freeing to be playing with this new form while exploring humor, absurdity, and magical realism.

 

Posted in Alexander Weinstein, Artists, Canadian Content, Christmas, Hingston & Olsen, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Kate Folk–“Pups” [The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar #10] (2020)

December 10, 2023 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 10, 2023] “Pups”

This year my wife ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my sixth time reading the Calendar–it’s a holiday tradition!  Here’s what H&O says about the calendar this year.

The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individual short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.  Now in its ninth year, the SSAC is back to once again bring readers a deluxe, peppermint-fresh collection of 25 short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.

The author of this story was Kate Folk.  Each day has an online component with the author with a brief interview.

It’s December 1. To officially kick off the 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar, here are some iron-clad rules for writing your own short story by the author of Cop House.

This story was a mini rollercoaster for me.  I enjoyed the tone and the location (an aquarium), but it was  rather heartbreaking on many levels too.

Roe cares for the otter pups.  Pups who have been rescued have to go back into the wild eventually, so they cannot bond with humans.  The humans are also not supposed to bond with the pups, so no names–although Roe does name some of her favorites. Continue Reading »

Posted in Aquarium, Canadian Content, Christmas, Hingston & Olsen, Kate Folk, Otters, Pregnancy, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Jade Song–“Cosmic Cul de Sac” [The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar #9] (2020)

December 9, 2023 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 9, 2023] “Cosmic Cul de Sac”

This year my wife ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my sixth time reading the Calendar–it’s a holiday tradition!  Here’s what H&O says about the calendar this year.

The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individual short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.  Now in its ninth year, the SSAC is back to once again bring readers a deluxe, peppermint-fresh collection of 25 short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.

The author of this story was Jade Song.  Each day has an online component with the author with a brief interview.

It’s December 9. Jade Song, author of Chlorine, is more into natural front yards anyway.

I loved this story.

A Chinese woman has moved to American with her new husband. But he is an astronaut and spends most of his time in space.

She is alone in this weird cul de sac with Bob-on the left and his self-propelled gas-powered Honda HRX217HZA while Bob-on-the-right mows with a Toro 20333 with an extra wide blade.  They cut the front lawn to a very specific height. Continue Reading »

Posted in Astronauts, Canadian Content, Christmas, Hingston & Olsen, Jade Song, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Lydia Conklin–“Friendly Crossroads” [The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar #8] (2020)

December 8, 2023 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 8, 2023] “Friendly Crossroads”

This year my wife ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my sixth time reading the Calendar–it’s a holiday tradition!  Here’s what H&O says about the calendar this year.

The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individual short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.  Now in its ninth year, the SSAC is back to once again bring readers a deluxe, peppermint-fresh collection of 25 short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.

The author of this story was Lydia Conklin.  Each day has an online component with the author with a brief interview.

It’s December 8. Lydia Conklin, author of Rainbow Rainbow, focuses on the horizon to avoid carsickness.

This story struck a nerve with me because it reminded me of a youth retreat that I went on–although it was very different to this one. Continue Reading »

Posted in Canadian Content, Christmas, Hingston & Olsen, LGBTQ, Lydia Conklin, Religion, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Hello Mary / Bruiser and Bicycle (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, December 7, 2023) [CANCELLED]

December 7, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[CANCELLED: December 7, 2023] Hello Mary / Bruiser and Bicycle

I could have seen Hello Mary back in the spring when they opened for Blondshell.  I didn’t go to that show because I had other plans, although I did see Blondshell at the Free at Noon earlier in the day

Hello Mary opened for Blondshell and I wrote

I have since listened to the album and I love it.  I sure hope they tour soon, maybe as a headliner.

And then they announced the (admittedly short) headline tour.

But on November 29, they posted on Instagram

We are sad to announce we are postponing our east coast shows in early December 😦 refunds are available wherever you purchased your tix. Buuut we are excited to be hitting Albany and DC in March instead with @sspu see you there 🐶

Bummer.  I like the album even more now.

Bruiser and Bicycle (which I thought was two different bands) are a weirdo band who draw comparisons to Animal Collective.   As Picthfork wrote:

With their debut, Woods Come Find Me, the Animal Collective comparisons were inevitable. Though unsuspecting and humble in nature, their lo-fi sound tapped into similar vocal hijinks and manic acoustic arrangements as Sung Tongs, prompting a pavlovian response for anyone who ever bookmarked Said the Gramophone on Internet Explorer. Founded by multi-instrumentalists Nick Whittemore and Keegan Graziane, Bruiser and Bicycle spent four years perfecting their follow-up, Holy Red Wagon, and honing their identity away from their freak-folk touchstones. While the comparisons are still easy to draw, the band embarks on its own winding adventures with the help of drummer Joe Taurone. What sounds at first like free-spirited chaos settles into a strange rhythm, like three different heartbeats that just happen to intertwine snugly.

I feel like seeing them live would be the best first way to experience them.  Maybe someday.

Posted in Bruiser and Bicycle, Cancelled, Hello Mary, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA | Leave a Comment »

Thomas King–“Stigmata” [The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar #7] (2020)

December 7, 2023 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 7, 2023] “Stigmata”

This year my wife ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my sixth time reading the Calendar–it’s a holiday tradition!  Here’s what H&O says about the calendar this year.

The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individual short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.  Now in its ninth year, the SSAC is back to once again bring readers a deluxe, peppermint-fresh collection of 25 short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.

The author of this story was Thomas King.  Each day has an online component with the author with a brief interview.

It’s December 7. Thomas King, author of Indians on Vacation, opts for the mini-donuts.

I enjoyed this story so very much.  It’s a shame that the interview above is so lame.  King doesn’t want to say anything.  But I won’t hold  that against him for my enjoyment of this story. Continue Reading »

Posted in Canadian Content, Christmas, First Nations, Hingston & Olsen, Religion, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Pussy Riot (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, December 3, 2023)

December 6, 2023 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: December 3, 2023] Pussy Riot

I have known about Pussy Riot since the days that they were arrested by Vladimir Putin back in

The Wikipedia page sums them up like this

Founded in the fall of 2011 by 22 year old Nadya Tolokonnikova, it has had a membership of approximately 11 women. The group staged unauthorized, provocative guerrilla gigs in public places. These performances were filmed as music videos and posted on the internet.  The group’s lyrical themes included feminism, LGBT rights, opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his policies, and Putin’s links to the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.

But before the show, the tour’s producer came out on stage and told us that Pussy Riot was never a band and certainly not a punk band.  They were an art collective.  Yes, some were musicians but most were not.

This performance is a kind of live retelling of what happened to specifically one of the women who was arrested by Putin.

Five members of the group staged a performance inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on February 21, 2012.  The protest was directed at the Orthodox Church leaders’ support for Putin during his election campaign. The group’s actions were condemned as sacrilegious by the Orthodox clergy and eventually stopped by church security officials. On March 3, 2012, two of the group’s members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, were arrested and charged with hooliganism.

The producer told us that prior to this event, artists were largely protected in Russia.  There was a political protest by the group Voina who painted a giant penis on a drawbridge to protest the economic forum.   (Read about it here).  Nadya Tolokonnikova and her husband, Pyotr Verzilov, were members of the anarchist art collective “Voina.”

This prank actually earned the collective a prize for best political statement.  From the New York Times:

The radical art collective Voina has won a contemporary art award sponsored by Russia’s Ministry of Culture and the National Center for Contemporary Art for a project that consisted of a 210-foot penis painted on a drawbridge in St. Petersburg, said Andrei V. Yerofeyev, a member of the jury that awarded the prize.

And yet, the Pussy Riot demonstration in the church was branded hooliganism.  The producer told us that normally the punishment would be to clean up the church and make general amends.  Instead, through Putin’s pressure, they were jailed for two years.

Tolokonnikova was not at our show, she is doing something else.

Riot Days was written by Maria Alyokhina and tells her story from starting the church protest through her arrest and imprisonment.

Alyokhina played an active role in the Pussy Riot trial, cross-examining witnesses, and aggressively questioning the charges and proceedings. She said in her closing statement:

For me, this trial only has the status of a “so-called” trial. And I am not afraid of you. I am not afraid of lies and fiction, of the thinly disguised fraud in the sentence of this so-called court. Because you can only take away my so-called freedom. And that is the exact kind that exists now in Russia. But nobody can take away my inner freedom.

In April 2022, Alyokhina fled Russia in the back of a series of cars after officials announced she would be sentenced to time in a penal colony instead of remaining on house arrest.

She has been granted citizenship in Iceland.

And she led the performance.  Her physical presence and defiance were palpable.

Next to her on stage was Olga Borisova, editor of the Riot Days book, performer, singer. Political activist, ex-policewoman in Russia, quit her job to protest against the regime.

Borisova was a co-lead singer and antagonist–getting in Masha’s and at one point throwing water onto the audience.

Shown behind the band was a series of film clips that documented events that happened as well as news stories about the events.  Masha and Olga chanted and sang over the images and someone was presenting English language translations at the bottom of the screen.

On either side of the two women were Diana Burkot, on synths [Performer, composer, singer, musician: drums, keyboards. Political activist, participated in “punk prayer” action. Performs solo project called Rosemary Loves A Blackberry] and Alina Petrova on violin [Performer, composer, multi-instrumentalist. The co-founder of the Kymatic ensemble, an outstanding group of young musicians dedicated to developing performance practices in the post-modern academic music field].

When the show started, Alina came out and looped her violin in a dramatic way.  Then Diana came out and added synths to really flesh out the music.  Soon after, Masha and Olga came out in balaklavas, the videos started scrolling and the women began chanting/reciting/singing.

All four women sang at times and at other times, one or two of them did a particular action, whether it was stomping the front of the stage, doing exercise in prison or, as I said, throwing water on us.

It was all very powerful and effective.  I felt uncomfortable at times–Masha’s stare was really intense and it was odd to think that she had been through all of this and was here “performing” for us.  But the performance was telling her story, and getting all of us inspired and horrified by what happened and determined not to let freedom be sucked away for us either.

This is an amazing show and I’d love if more people saw it.

I know I’ll be reading the book on which it is based.  I’m only a little sad that they didn’t have any copies of the book (they were delayed in customs), so I had to buy a used copy.

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Prison, Protests, Pussy Riot, Rosemary Loves a Blackberry, Russia, Thick, Vladimir Putin | Leave a Comment »

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