LIVE EVENTS, THEATER, , ETC THAT MOVED ME IN 2022 - part 1
A grab bag of art and entertainment memories
I gave up on the top ten list game a while ago. In fact I think the list mania that seems to define contemporary pop culture conversations is silly and tries to turn the pleasure of viewing into an athletic contest. Ranking artists against each other and one of their works against other of their works is a great way not engage with the nuances of an artist’s career. At least that’s my minority opinion. I’ll have a list of movies, series etc that haunted, entertained, instructed or otherwise stuck in my head, but no numerical grades and occasional comments. Let’s go!
LIVE EXPERIENCES
At the Wisdome in the Los Angeles arts district I witnessed two spirited triubte shows — re-creation of Miles Davis’ ‘Sketches of Spain’ and a walk through David Bowie’s catalog by African-American rockers. Both were extremely well curated. Keep your eye out for similar experiences at this domed venue if you’re in Cali.
Chris Rock and Dave Chapelle at London’s O2 Arena, a place where folks enjoy someone who “takes the piss,” was a high point of her born day week.
My friend Yahya Abdul-Mateen II made his Broadway debut along side Corey Hawkins’ in Suzan-Lori Parks’ exquisite play, ‘Top Dog/Underdog,’ which turns three card Monty into a metaphor for survival, brotherhood, and male ego.
Speaking of classic plays and performances I got to see Lawrence Fishburne and Sam Rockwell in David Mamet’s ‘American Buffalo’ twice over the summer, marveling at their stage craft and the notorious playwright’s sad insights into our greed driven national character.
Heard a wide range of contemporary black male vocal mastery at shows in Los Angeles (Maxwell and Anthony Hamilton), Las Vegas (Usher), and New Jersey (the Weeknd), backed by flashing lights, glittering costumes, dancers and the odd explosive fall ball (the Weeknd.)
At a show at the Hollywood Bowl organized by bassist/bandleader Christian McBride, the vocalist Bettye LaVette made a guest appearance singing the American Songbook classic “The Man I Love,” a performance that will linger with me for years. At seventy-six LaVette brought her smokey voice and decades of life to bare on that lyric and it touched my heart.
STREAMING
I don’t watch many series from start to stop. I find much of what’s on formulaic and bloated with too many episodes for too little story. Which is why Mike White’s ‘White Lotus’ series on HBO MAX is one of the few I’ve followed dilligently and not dropped off from. Over the series’ two seasons White’s ear for the self-absorbtion of the rich and the dreams of strivers, mixed with drugs and sex, is unerring.
I came in and out of the Peaky Blinders over its six seasons, captivated by its bloody mix of family drama, brutal violence and contemporary music cues. This last season was an exceptional as the first.
Sorry to see ‘Cowboy Bebop’ get the axe at Netflix. I never followed the anime series so I came to the live action version with fresh eyes. I’m a big fan of Mustafa Shakir, so it was great to see him with co-starring role.
I must admit the true crime series, The Tinder Swindler, hooked me. In fact all these shows where perfectly sane people fall victim to the devious folks interest me as windows into human desire and avarice, but this the stories of these very smart women financially abused hit me harder than most.
BOOKS
I read a lot this year, much of it research for various projects, but a couple cut through as pleasure as well.
Susan Rogers’ ‘This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You,’ which I wrote about in detail a few posts ago, will likely be my go to Christmas present for my many music loving pals. I highly recommend it to anyone of my readers looking for fresh insight, not into music, but the listening experience.
S.A. Cosby, a black crime writer from Virginia, has rightly been enjoying a lot of praise for his work and I am happy to join the chorus. First read ‘Blacktop Wasteland’ and then ‘Razorblade Tears,’ which were better crime dramas/action movies than anything on Netflix or HBO MAX. The man not only has a great ear for dialog, but a empathy for life in red state Americans, both white and black, that grounds his work in this country’s soil. And, obviously, dude is great at titles. His first crime novel, ‘My Darkest Prayer,’ is being re-issued in paperback and it will a present to myself.
I’ll post about movies and recordings later in the week.