What's Up This Weekend?

The rumors are flying about Comfest. I would love to tell you all about it because, as you might guess, I have very strong feelings about what is going on and I've put a lot of thought into it. I will some day, but as long as I am still an organizer, I'm going to go along with the "No comment" party-line as far as the details go. I will say that there will very probably be a festival in June, 2010, in idyllic Goodale Park that will be known as Comfest. Comfest has gone through many changes in the past and it will probably be different this year also. It will still have the same purpose as outlined in the Statement of Principles. http://comfest.com/ . It will still support community organizations and will attempt to educate festival-goers about important issues. There will still be music, food, alcoholic refreshments, an eclectic street fair and admission will still be...FREE! Walking through Comfest on a sunny summer day or seeing the twinkling lights of the Village of Joy that we create at night are the most beautiful experiences I've ever had. I've said many times that "Comfest is my religion." The 3 days of the festival have been a spiritual experience for me because it brings my people together to celebrate our humanity. I consider Goodale Park to be hallowed ground. My share of my son's ashes were buried beneath a pecan tree that we planted beside the shelterhouse in his memory. When my time came, I wanted my ashes spread in front of the Main Stage for dancers to pound into the grass with their bare feet. I always imagined that Comfest would outlive me. On the other hand, another one of my favorite sayings is "All good things must come to an end." Comfest may go through changes this year that will cause me to lose my religion. Over the past 20 years, I've allowed Comfest to define me, right down to my license plate. Leaving all that behind will be difficult but it might be liberating.

Happy Birthday, AnnMarie.

Thursday, tonight, Dan Dougan's Listening Hour begins 7 PM at the Campus Gateway Theater Black Box featuring Mark Sims, Miss Molly, Claire Pollard and Erika Carey, Dottie & Clyde and Time & Temperature are at Bernie's. Saintseneca is at Bourbon Street, The Floorwalkers do the happy hour at Rumba, Andrew Graham is at Treehouse, and Matt Monta & the Hot Coal Band are at Circus.

Friday....uh...Hoodoo Soul does the happy hour at Rumba.

Saturday, the locally-made film, "Taco Odyssey", featuring well-loved bartender and musician, Donovan Roth and music by local bands, screens at The Summit at 9:00, 10:30 and midnight. Wonder Twin Powers accompanied by the Superfriends Hip-hop Orchestra are at Skully's and Bush League All-Stars are at Treehouse.

Sunday, Couch Forts is at the Shrunken Head.

Oh no, I've said too much/ I haven't said enough. mark

What's Up This Weekend?

My journalistic duties took a back seat today to my filial responsibilities. My 88 year old dad got his leaky aorta coated with foam yesterday at OSU and he was still recovering from the procedure this afternoon. Mom had spent the night but she'd gone home and it seemed like a good idea to spend my unscheduled afternoon with him. He wasn't very happy. They had given him pain medication that made him nauseous and brought up anything that went down. His biggest complaint was feeling so weak and helpless. He didn't have much fight in him and said he didn't think he would ever leave the hospital. We watched some basketball while he dozed in and out. I knew he didn't even want to talk so, like his publicist, I answered all the questions he was asked from the constant stream of hospital personnel. I got him to take the pills they kept bringing in and tried unsuccessfully to make him laugh. He's going to be okay I think in the short term but we all know his race is almost run. Dad's lucky. He has a devoted wife, five kids who all live in town, a great daughter-in-law who is a nurse and many other family and friends. There have always been and there will always be someone with him. No matter what brings you to the end, that's all you need.

I know it's late but...

Thursday, tonight, soon, Moon High and Vug & the Stallions are at Circus and Jim Maneri is at Dick's.

Friday, Death by Banjo at Byrne's, The Muzzleloaders re-emerge at Ravari, Old Hundred is at Rumba and This Is My Suitcase and Super Desserts are at The Summit.

Saturday, I must see the Peloton showcase with Andrew Graham & the Swarming Branch and Lydia Loveless at Rumba.

Sunday, Paul Brown is at Dick's and Bush League All-Stars are at Rumba early. A Sunday happy hour, eh?

This is the end, my only friend, the end. mark

What's Up This Weekend?

Sunday I attended a little bi-monthly get-together called The Family Jam out on the Near Eastside that brings together mostly jazz musicians and friends for a little soul food and music. It was a nice mixture of African-Americans and Caucasians, a social mix I don't get to experience enough. I enjoyed the company and ate some perch that had been marinated in lemon juice and yellow mustard and fried into a crispy Cajun shell. The host, a well-known veteran on the Columbus music scene, began the show by singing a bluesy number and playing acoustic guitar. Then the mic was handed to to a guy who might have just walked out of the neighborhood church that was next door. He launched into a friendly sermon built around the theme of of Black History Month of which we were in the last day. There was a lovely rhythm to the call and response punctuated by the occasional affirmation from the audience. He intoned the memories of many with whom I wasn't familiar and a few that I recognized like Martin Luther King, Jr., Eunice Johnson and Malcolm X. Then he moved into the subject of economic injustice suffered inside his community and the tone took what seemed to me to be a jarring radical turn when he repeated a number of times the thought that we may need to exchange "bullets for the ballot". I went back and read the 1964 speech by Malcolm X that coined the phrase "The ballot or the bullet." http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/speeches/malcolm_x_ballot.html. It was a fascinating and powerful speech given at a time when blacks couldn't vote in the South and when Democrats, the "friends" of blacks, were filibustering the Civil Rights Act. He definitely walked a fine line in his explanation of what he meant but I think it is fair to say that he wanted African-Americans to use the ballot and he only advocated violence when met by violence. With that said, Malcolm used the repetition of the phrase, I think, as angry code for "Be proud of who you are and stand up for your rights." The Civil Rights Act passed 90 days after he gave that speech and Americans of all colors elected an African-American president 44 years later. At the time. when he said blacks shouldn't be afraid to use an expression like "The ballot or the bullet", Malcolm couldn't conceive of either of those events happening. I have to wonder if he would still feel that a person shouldn't be afraid to use that phrase in 2010. Do we still need to say "The ballot or the bullet" to assert pride and bravery or is it just a relic from another age that gets waived like a ceremonial talisman to relieve the stress felt by those who continue to face social and economic discrimination?

I opened the sun roof on the car today.

Thursday, tonight, The Main Street Gospel is having a SXSW fundraiser with Vug & the Stallions and Trains Across the Sea at Hal & Al's. Wish I was heading for Austin. Rumba has Dane Terry, Jonathan Hape and Dottie & Clyde. The Sundresses, The Jellyhearts and Chris Burney are at Treehouse.

Friday, Carabar has Couch Forts and The Town Monster. Gerald A. & the Humans, Southwest Engine and Black Swans are at Treehouse. Woody Pines is at Thirsty Ear. I always say this when he comes to town, but if you haven't seen Hamel on Trial, it will be the best $10 you've spent in long time. He does the happy hour at Rumba and he's followed by The Spikedrivers.

Saturday, its Evil Queens and Pretty Mighty Mighty at Ravari, Two Cow Garage at Rumba, Hell's Fire Sinners at The Shrunken Head (fka Victorian's) and The Wet Darlings are at Thirsty Ear. Ruby's has The Racecar Reunion with the Ooh La Las and others.

Sunday Dick's Den hosts the annual Townes Van Zandt Tribute benefiting WCBE featuring Miss Molly, Andrew Graham, Jesse Henry, Eric Nassau, Casey Velker, Erika Carey and many more. Ghost Shirt is at Rumba.

Gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiny day. mark

What's Up This Weekend?

Security
_________

Midnight
Watched your favorite comedy shows
Tired
Ready to run up to bed

But instead
The involuntary
Nervous system
Directs feet
Across
Cold ceramic
Kitchen floor
To activate
Security alarm
Even though
Unmonitored
Since disconnecting
The phone

If the little habits
Used to gain control
Of the chaos
Are breached
The screech
Will only be shared
By you and your intruder

Thursday, tonight, Daycreeper and The Lindsay are at Bourbon St., The Spikedrivers do the happy hour at Rumba, Adult Fiction is at Treehouse and Victorian's has national act Larry Keel and the Natural Bridge, accompanied by locals such as One Under, Cowboy Hillbilly Hippie Folk and others. By the way, Vic's made the unfortunate decision to change its name to Shrunken Heads.

Friday, Derek DiCenzo returns from the road to do his thing at Dick's. Six Gallery is at Ravari and Treehouse has Terribly Empty Pockets, Bookmobile and Kyle Sowash. Jesse Henry & the Royal Tycoons do the happy hour at Thirsty Ear. I will be begin the evening with The Randys at Rumba's happy hour and then later I am MCing the SoHud Music Collective show at Skully's with The Floorwalkers, Joey Hebdo and The Max Power Trio. They all get together at the end for some Led Zeppelin numbers.

Saturday, I will be out scouting bands for Comfest and it doesn't look like I'll be missing much.

Each night before you go to bed my baby
Whisper a little prayer for me my baby

mark

What's Up This Weekend?

It is a cruel irony that the only obvious indication observable by everybody, other than polar bears, that global warming is real is the fact that it creates huge storms that dump tons of snow on us. Unfortunately, that irony is lost on most tea baggers, Republicans and the rest of the intellectually challenged in our country who, inexplicably, don't also believe the sun circles the Earth. The sad thing is that this lack of public enlightenment will probably actually hinder the effort to pass effective energy legislation that will just result in even more snow! My driveway is 120 feet long up a hill and don't even think about parking on the unplowed wasteland that is my street. Snow shoveling is a bit of Zen experience but enough with the fro-Zen already! My BMW refuses to navigate through the stuff so I've been using the front-wheel drive Saab even though it acted like it was choking on any amount of moisture and died on me in the middle of the freeway and downtown traffic a couple times before I was able to clear its throat. Driving it on all these snow days has been quite the stressful adventure. I can't tell you how relaxing it is to drive that car after my brother finally figured out what the problem was and got it fixed. Positively endorphin-producing. The only fun I've had with this "global storming" is knocking down the icy stalactites off my gutters. One was at least 7 feet long and when I hit it, the shovel clanged like it had hit an iron pole. Most of them came down like a tinkling glissando across a xylophone. It's fun being a bull in an icy china shop.

Thursday, tonight, Wet Darlings at Circus and Daycreeper and Washington Beach Bums are at Oldfileld's on High.

Friday, The Kyle Sowashes and Ghost Shirt are at Carabar, Oldfield's on High has The Resisters and the Maryannes, Rumba has The Floorwalkers, Thirsty Ear has a Beatles tribute with Miss Molly and the first evening of the Lost Weekend Record Store's 7th anniversary show at Ruby's includes Fort Shame, Mors Ontologica, Main Street Gospel, Bush League All-Stars and finishes with New World Vultures.

Saturday. Lost Weekend continues with Mt. Carmel, Nick Tolford and Deadsea among others. Jesse Henry & the Royal Tycoons are at Rumba, The Loyal Divide and Town Monster are at Skully's, the happy hour at Thirsty Ear has Heidi Howes followed by the Josh Krajcik Band and Dr. Kenny Delicious. Eric Nassau, the Tin Hearts and the John Turk Trio are at Vic's.

Tuesday, quite the line-up for the Alana Howard benefit at Rumba including the Spikedrivers, The Floorwalkers, the Andy Shaw Band, Matt Monta and the Hot Coal Band, Joey Hebdo, Wet Darlings and others.

Walkin' in a winter wonderland. mark

What's Up This Weekend? Special Valentines Day and 4th Anniversary Edition

I was listening to Garrison Keillor's "Writer's Almanac" on CBE as I parked in front of the dry cleaners. He was telling the story of Irish poet and playwright, Oscar Wilde, who had gotten himself incarcerated for two years at hard labor on the charge of "gross indecency". Keillor read Wilde's flamboyantly rapturous and beautifully poetic love letter written from prison to his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. In the cold isolation of the "deepest abysses", his passion seemed to burn like a pure white hot flame. "Pleasure hides love from us but pain reveals it in its essence." Listening to the reading of this letter was one of those moments when you just sit in your parked car until its over. I remember the nagging feeling that I was missing some connection to me in the reading of that letter. It wasn't until I laid my head on my pillow that night and descended into the mental twilight where my mind blissfully wanders so freely, that it came to me. The theme of the triumph of love over pain and separation in Oscar's letter was the same theme of my most recent Valentine poem, the synchronicity of which compels me to share it with you at the bottom of my musical almanac along with a copy of Wilde's entire letter for your Valentines Day reading enjoyment. I would attach a scan of the pencil and watercolor painting that illustrates the poem on each of the Valentine cards but one of the many traditions associated with the annual production and dissemination of my little art project includes a prohibition on sending them to men. Oscar would not have approved.

It is also the 4th anniversary of "What's Up This Weekend?" and another of my traditions is to ask my readers to let me know who is actually reading this self-indulgent crap by simply hitting the reply button and adding a message if they are so inclined. Thank you for reading and, for those who have been so inclined, your support is what keeps me embarrassing myself each week.

Thursday, tonight, Dick's has The Boki Quartet hopefully including the lovely Betsy Pandora who I have yet to actually hear sing.

Friday, Moon High, The Songbirds and The Alwood Sisters are at Rumba.

Saturday will be a Valentines Day Eve with lots of choices. The Broken Hearts and Broken Strings showcase at the Basement features Lydia Loveless and her great new band, Two Cow Garage and many others. Matt Monta & the Hot Coal Band and Bombing Mansfield are at Bernie's. Carabar has two of the best rock bands in Columbus, The Lindsay and Bookmobile. Wet Darlings is at Ruby's, Mary Adam 12 and One Under are at Rumba and The Spikedrivers are doing a CD recording show at Skully's. Treehouse has Ghost Shirt, SPD GVNR and Mt. Carmel.

Sunday, you can spend Valentines Day with Girls, Girls, Girls, a collection of our most talented local female musical artists including Linda Dachtyl on drums, Elisa Nicolas on Bass, Nicole Rachelle on Sax/Flute, Lindsay Ciulla on Mellophone, Bree Frick on Cello, Molly Winters on guitar, and the sweet vocals of Za Unitt. Beautiful!

In the space between our stars
I see the lines of a constellation
I may not feel the warmth of your skin
But my passion is a fiery sensation

I wish the taste of your sweet lips
Could replace the flavor of a tear
There may be only silence between us now
But love is all I hear

mark


"My sweet rose, my delicate flower, my lily of lilies, it is perhaps in prison that I am going to test the power of love. I am going to see if I cannot make the bitter warders sweet by the intensity of the love I bear you. I have had moments when I thought it would be wise to separate. Ah! Moments of weakness and madness! Now I see that would have mutilated my life, ruined my art, broken the musical chords which make a perfect soul. Even covered with mud I shall praise you, from the deepest abysses I shall cry to you. In my solitude you will be with me. I am determined not to revolt but to accept every outrage through devotion to love, to let my body be dishonored so long as my soul may always keep the image of you. From your silken hair to your delicate feet you are perfection to me. Pleasure hides love from us, but pain reveals it in its essence. O dearest of created things, if someone wounded by silence and solitude comes to you, dishonored, a laughing-stock, Oh! You can close his wounds by touching them and restore his soul which unhappiness had for a moment smothered. Nothing will be difficult for you then, and remember, it is that hope which makes me live, and that hope alone. What wisdom is to the philosopher, what God is to his saint, you are to me. To keep you in my soul, such is the goal of this pain which men call life. O my love, you whom I cherish above all things, white narcissus in an unmown field, think of the burden which falls to you, a burden which love alone can make light. ... I love you, I love you, my heart is a rose which your love has brought to bloom, my life is a desert fanned by the delicious breeze of your breath, and whose cool spring are your eyes; the imprint of your little feet makes valleys of shade for me, the odour of your hair is like myrrh, and wherever you go you exhale the perfumes of the cassia tree.



"Love me always, love me always. You have been the supreme, the perfect love of my life; there can be no other..." Oscar Wilde

What's Up This Weekend?

An interesting day of work, yesterday. Started out in the morning with the suit and tie, gliding up and down the hallways of Justice, engaging in light conversations, laughing and smiling and doing what I seem to do more often than anything there; continuing cases and delaying hard decisions and painful trials for another day. Went home and had lunch with the cats as I normally do but instead of returning to my lovely office to sit at my desk, surf the Buckeyes and the Huffington Post, tap away at emails and maybe a document or two, I changed into my old jeans, hiking boots and the most durable jacket I had and drove out to my friend's farm to help him drag severed trees, butchered into 5 foot long, six inch thick segments down a slippery hillside overgrown with thorny weeds and tangled vines and then fling the logs, like a Scottish caber tosser, into a raging bonfire. He had already done most of the cutting and while he attended to other projects, I was left alone to stoke the inferno with the corpses of recently harvested plant-beings whose incredibly dense layers of cellulose represented decades of growth and serene life in this classic example of Ohio woodland countryside. As I stood watching the flames release the enormous energy contained in those wooden time-capsules, so hot that I could feel the skin of my face cooking red, it occurred to me that I've spent years dragging peoples marriages, densely packed with years of shared experiences, love and life, down slippery and thorny paths of paper and palaver and tossed those relationships into the fire on the alter of the Law. All in a day's work, I guess.

Thursday, tonight. Woody Pines is at Dick's. The Floorwalkers and Dr. Kenny Delicious are at Oldfields either tonight or tomorrow depending on which paper you believe. I tried to find out and couldn't.

Friday is a big night. I really want to see my friends Dave Baer, Joey Hebdo, Catfish and June Bug as The Lennon Orchestra bringing their dance-all-night Beatles thing up from Athens to the Thirsty Ear but I've also got to see RJD2 with Happy Chichester, Derek DiCenzo and Sam Brown at Skully's. In addition, Carabar has Flu Faker, Daycreeper and/or New World Vultures and there is a Tom Waits-a-thon benefiting Haiti at Circus.

Saturday, Wonder Twin Powers is at Ravari and Lydia Loveless does a CD release at Rumba with Micah Schnabel and Todd May.

I should be sleepin' like a log. mark