Dave? What are you doing, Dave?
Like HAL, I'm slowing down and my memory is going. But my bicycle built for town (a 1984 BMX Mongoose -- one of the first "mountain" bikes) is working wonders, getting me across town and back again. I've lived in St. Paul for 20 years, and have often ventured across the river. But I feel like I know Minneapolis far better now, having cruised it on my bike. Would you believe I found riding in Friday night downtown Minneapolis traffic to be exhilirating? I went from 25th and Nicollet to Bunkers at 7th and Washington, then back to Fringe Central. And parking was just a lamppost away, every time.
Saw the opening of The Angel and the Tower at the Ice House. Good show -- I think. The seating was folding chairs on a flat floor in a very tall room. I enjoyed the aerial work a lot, but the floor work was lost on everyone behind the third row -- you could only see arms (or feet) waving and the occasional burst of flame. The music was good -- I closed my eyes and listened to that. A surprisingly delightful bit of choreography came from the third row of the audience. A woman was craning her head left and right, watching the action on the floor. In perfect synchrony, the man next to her would lift his head to the left, then slowly, with several short, sharp nods, let it sink to his chest lower right. Again! 5,6,7,8... This venue needs bleachers!
Then I took a Fringe break to listen to and visit with my sax teacher Jeff King, wailin' at Bunkers. Heard a terrific rendition of Tied to the Whipping Post, with Jeff adding a marvelous dimension on tenor and baritone sax. We're going to start lessons up again in the fall!
Back to Fringe Central and a front row seat for 10 Foot 5 doing tap and percussion from their show Buckets and Tap Shoes. Front row, so I could marvel at their amazing footwork. This was followed by some jammin', accompanied by the multi-talented Allegra Lingo on saxes! Then the audience joined the fray and began dancing. I left after 12:30, and they were still going strong.
Twenty-five shows down, and, with luck, eleven to go! Some music I'm looking forward to: John and Jen,; Sonata Blue (with classical and blues harp -- read: harmonica!); Middle Age, the Musical; Knock!; Jaws: The Musical!; and Vision's Tale, with a hip-hop score!
Speaking of hip-hop, you should have been at Fringe Central Thursday, and heard Chicago's Malcolm Palmer, from Please Come Up, rail and wail with his home-brewed testifyin', which he framed, accompanied, and enhanced with sweet, spare guitar licks. Burn me a CD, man! Check out his buddy Narcisso Lobo (Please Don't Eat the Dogs, Please Come Up) at Fringe Central tonight, doing different but equally compelling emotional, autobiographical testifying.
Later, dudes!
No comments:
Post a Comment