Shows at The Sad Cafe

There are some pretty great shows coming up at The Sad Cafe in Plaistow, including an all-ska show on Friday, February 15 from 7-11:00 p.m. The show will featured Lowell, MA natives In the Face and Rhode Island's Saturday at Nine. On Saturday, February 16, there will be a triple bill of Permanent Holiday, Cherry St, and Skylight Escape, also from 7-11:00 p.m. Don't miss them! You can check out The Sad Cafe at www.thesadcafe.com or on MySpace.

If you are looking for something a little closer on the calender, on Friday, February 1, Philadelphia-based band Among Criminals will perform at Sad Cafe at 7:00 p.m. Below is a clip from a show they did in D.C. just last fall (little blurry, but enjoy anyway!):

My night with the circus folk...

The Simon Center Great Room on the New England College campus was packed to capacity (with some spillover into the hallway) on Tuesday night in Henniker. Baseball-capped, slightly scruffy boys and hoodie-clad girls filled the seats of The Adult Circus, starring performers Chris Chelko and Michael DuBois.

The young duo's high-energy, audience participation-heavy performance kicked off with DuBois taking the stage for some displays of juggling, one where he went from juggling 3 balls to juggling an impressive seven, and a balancing act, where, in the process, he somehow took his shirt off (much to the delight of the females in the audience). Chelko displayed some quick-hand card tricks with members of the audience, as well as a pretty knarly sideshow-esque trick that involved a putting a balloon up his nose and bringing it out of his mouth, inspiring ecstatic groans of disgust from the audience.

The high comedic moments were the mind-reading tricks, where they had kids pick a random word out of a book for DuBois to guess, concentrating on two-digit numbers for him to call out, and, at one point, he even had his head wrapped in alumninum foil, so he couldn't get any visual cues. After that was done, his partner went into the audience with a small whiteboard and had kids write down their birthday for DuBois to guess - he got each and every one, even when the kids themselves weren't sure about the date! Every time he nailed the answer, this rather excited male audience member would exclaim, "Holy mother of God!!!"

The end of the show had DuBois executing a jaw-dropping unicycle trick where he rode around the stage trying to escape from a straightjacket (he succeeded). Chelko then took the stage to walk on broken glass, and the finale had Chelko standing on the glass with DuBois standing on his shoulders (totaled they almost reached the ceiling!) and juggling some rather large knives - that got huge applause.

The kids in the audience were great sports and made the show even better. It seemed as though the audience was largely female, or maybe it was just because they were the most vocal. These guys knew how to play to them though - whether it was peforming mind-reading feats where they guessed their underwear colors, or having them reach into their pants pockets to reveal card tricks. The ladies loved it and afterwards, these guys had a long line of them waiting to get their autographs.

These guys are a perfect fit for the college circuit - they're cool enough for the guys and hunky enough for the girls. Their infectious energy and showmanship belies the fact that they are a two-man act. The act is quick-paced, fun, and has a Vegas-feel with lots of dance/pop/ rock music to keep the momentum going. The duo met in college, where Chris Chelko had been studying journalism of all things. "I got a job at a newspaper, but it was just cutting and pasting ads all day," says Chelko. "I figured I'd be better off doing something I really love." Their act, honed over the past few years, is an entertaining and eclectic combination of feats of the mind and body that add up to a show that, despite your best efforts, will illicit gasps of amazement.












And while this trick wasn't performed last night, it's a pretty good example of some of the feats these guys perform in their act (that's real glass, guys):

My circus round-up, Tigerlily, and poetry from Blood on The Floor

It's a balmy 40 degrees on this lovely rainy Wednesday in Hillsboro, New Hampshire (hey, anything's better than snow!) As I work my way through my second cup of coffee and upheave my apartment for the missing earbuds to my iPod, here are some morning news and updates for you all:

• I'll have my wrap-up and plenty of photos from The Adult Circus in Henniker last night (glass-walking, straightjackets, and screaming college kids: it doesn't get much better!)
  


• If you're looking for some serious rock for your Hump-Day woes, head over the the Black Brimmer in Manchester tonight at 9:30 p.m. for a performance by the band Tigerlily.
  


• Poetry group, Blood on the Floor, will lead a performance poetry workshop from 1-3:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 16 on the UNH campus in Durham. Workshop will be held in Room 537 in the Dimond Library. For more information, call 887-0151 or visit http://www.jazzmouth.org/.

Review: "Teaching Metaphors" by Nathan Graziano

This latest collection of poetry by Manchester teacher Nathan Graziano, captures the two sides of the desk in high school: the student life and the faculty life. Graziano sees his students wading through endless days of monotony, low self-esteem, and churning hormones. The classes are dull and uninteresting to them and the students are spectacularly cruel to one another. But, though there is exclusion and leering, there are also unexpected acts of tenderness and vulnerablility that they reveal to him. But its not only the student body that deserves deeper reflection - the faculty get equal examination through his poetic eye: the old alcoholic, the overstressed teacher at the copy machine, and the sad and angry woman, whom he simply calls "Head Case."

The poems all have a thin current of humor, even the darker ones, and though there is stereotyping, it is done only out of celebration of our human differences, never out of judgement or ridicule. Graziano writes with great affection toward his students and fellow faculty members. His prose style closely mirrors poets like Louise Gluck or Mark Strand, and pins little Post-Its of everyday high school life to our eyes, so much so, that we again can see our own high school days reflected through his sharp observations. The homecoming queen, the stoner, the jock, the goth kid - they're all here.

This material, in another writers' hands, would come off as cliche and unoriginal, and maybe a little mean, but Graziano deftly weaves wit and genuine heart into each poem, though there are a few weak moments ("Finally Polonius" never really lands where it should).

Graziano wrote this collection while in his 10th year as a high school English teacher at Pembroke Academy and says, "When I entered this profession in 1997, I told myself I'd teach for five years, and five years at the most. I had big plans for my life. Enormous plans." That, ultimately, is the story that Teaching Metaphors tells: the dreams of students, the dreams of their parents, the dreams of the faculty for themselves and also for their students. Reading this collection, also allows us as the audience to resurrect those memories, whether painful or joyful, of our own high school experience. Whether the dreams we had back then have yet to be fulfilled, we can at least walk the halls with his students and gratefully mutter, "I survived."

TEACHING METAPHORS
Nathan Graziano

I stood, a concrete form,

in front of twenty-five adolescents.

They were stunned by boredom,

watching the second hand

on the wall clock

and drawing caricatures
of me in their notebooks.

I forged on and explained
that metaphors

are the beautiful women

in the Language Lounge,

their long legs
crossed at the ankles.

Implied metaphors

blow kisses and flirt

with their eyes.

Extended metaphors

sweat in the sheets,

payment for sticking around

for the entire poem.

And sexual metaphors

need to be avoided at all costs.

A boy in the back began to snore.

A week later, when I asked

for an example of a metaphor,

the same boy said,

"Fuck you. I hate this class."

Abstractions aren't for everyone.

An AFI Update & a Big-Top Reminder...

Merry Tuesday, all! Think I had a weird dream that I was a school bus driver last night, but instead of taking the kids to school, I took them all to see a Motley Crue cover band. Hmmm...think all of these shows are starting to seep into my unconscious!

Anyway, just a few updates and reminders this morning:

• Don't forget that tonight at 8:00 p.m., The Adult Circus will perform at New England College in Henniker. This event is free to all and will be held in the Simon Center Great Room. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Don't miss it!
  
• I'll have a review of Manchester poet and teacher, Nathan Graziano's newest book, Teaching Metaphors coming up a little later today.
  
• I'm continuing with my AFI Project and watched Sophie's Choice the other night, and was pleasantly surprised. I think this movie tends to get labeled as a "chick flick" but its not at all. The entire cast (Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, & Peter McNichol - you may know him as the Viggo-worshipping Janosz from Ghostbusters II) is really superb. The scene this film is best known for (when Sophie is going to the concentration camp and must decide which of her children will stay with her) is surprisingly short, but gut-wrenching to watch nonetheless. Next in my film queue: Platoon, 12 Angry Men, & Easy Rider.

Death to Tyrants & Ruckus Cup Emcee Battle

After a weekend of listening to bad, sensitive-male folk music, I'm ready for something a little different. That's why, on Saturday, February 9, I'll be at the Toadstool Bookshop in Peterborough to listen to the experimential indie sounds of Death to Tyrants at 6:00 p.m.

Even though I wish I could cover this next one (maybe next time!) if you are going to be in the area, the 1st Annual Ruckus Cup Classic Emcee Battle will be held at The Big Easy on 55 Market Street in Portland, Maine on Feburary 1st. It starts at 8:00 p.m., and while there is no entrance fee to participate, there is an $8 charge to watch the battle. This is a 21+ show. The battle will be hosted by Ill by Instinct with DJ Shade.

Live Music From Jatoba and Jen Murdza

Just when I thought January was my craziest month covering 18 Miles, February seems to be shaping up to be even more hectic. But, I'm happy to do it for you Granite Staters who love live music (and even some of you out-of-staters who can't be here ;) Just a few updates on where I'll be at the first of the month:

On February 1 at 7:00 p.m., I'll be at Borders in Concord listening to singer/songwriter Jen Murdza, who's latest cd is called Reboundin' and is available on iTunes. On February 2, I'll be at Harlow's in Peterborough taking in the progressive/electroacoustic rock of Jatoba at 9:30 p.m.

Dana's Going To The Circus!

Usually, I make it a point to avoid the circus. It's not that I have any deep abiding hatred for it, it's just not my cup of tea: an auditorium packed with kids screaming for more sugar-packed treats from their exhausted parents, the unnatural and many times inhumane treatment of the animals, and, well...the clowns. Those who have ever seen Pennywise in the film version of It, know from whence my clown uneasiness comes.

But, I'm putting aside my big-top bias since The Adult Circus is coming to Henniker, New Hampshire on Tuesday, January 29th. Don't let the name fool you - there are no X-rated antics involved (though I know there are a few of you out there that are disappointed). This fast paced, audience-interactive variety show features a combination of Magic, Juggling, Telepathic Demonstrations, and the bizzare dangers of the "Sideshow" all in a comedic package. Performers Chris Chelko & Michael DuBois credits include NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The peformance will be held in the New England College Simon Center Great Room and doors open at 7:30 p.m.

Your Weekend Music...

Happy Thursday, 18 Mile readers! I say enough of this cold, windy weather - lets all get inside someplace warm and curl up with some good music. You with me? I'll be at Idlewild North in Henniker on Saturday night for the acoustic sounds of Beechwood, but if you can't make that, here's your roundup of live music happening this weekend:


SATURDAY, JAN. 26

Concord
Barley House: Amorphous Band
Concord Grille: Good Times DJ
Green Martini: Mark Brodur
Hermanos: Glenn Paladino

Manchester
Black Brimmer: Tigerlily
Breezeway: DJ McKay
Club 313: When Divas Collide
Derryfield: Chad LaMarsh
Fratello’s: Charlie Christos
Jillian’s: More Cowbell
Hilton Garden: Sharon Jones Duo
Penuche’s Grill: Ron Noye
Rocko’s: Life in Your Way, Once Nothing, Astronomer, The Drowning City and Oh, Sleeper
Shaskeen: Josh Logan
Strange Brew Tavern: Toni-Lynn Washington
WB’s: DJ Bobby G and Joe Jazz
The Yard: The Voice

Nashua
Del Vaudo’s: Blue Train
Fody’s: Velvet Morning
Killarney’s: Rich Fautteus
Michael Timothy’s: Bob McHenry and Friends
Peddler’s Daughter: Lucy Vincent
Sky Lounge: Mama Kicks

Plaistow
Sad Café: The Candlelight Design, Tonight We Are, Wild Stone and Tim Howd and Friends

Portsmouth
Blue Mermaid: Dan Blakeslee
Brewery Lane: DJ Biggie
Boubon’s: Lone Wolf James
Dolphin Striker: Now is Now
Press Room: King Memphis
Red Door: Tym Ryan


SUNDAY, JAN. 27

Concord
Hermanos: Glenn Paladino
Penuche’s: open mike

Manchester
Rocko’s: Here I Come Falling, Oceana, Shot Heard Round the World, Shanobi, Auburn, Astrada, and Always and Forever
Shaskeen: The Spain Brothers
Strange Brew Tavern: Howard

Nashua
Michael Timothy’s: Chris McDermott
Slade: DJ Chris Lovett

Portsmouth
Dolphin Striker: Peter Black
Red Door: The Pharohs

Review: Best of North Shore Comedy II

On Saturday night, a friend and I decided to check out the Capitol Center for the Arts Best of North Shore Comedy II performance. The first time they did this event, it was apparently a big success, so we were optimistic and figured we could both use a good chuckle. The line-up featured Robbie Printz, Kelly MacFarland, Shane Kinney and Rob Steen (who was also the host). In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that the event was sponsored by North Shore Comedy, a New England comedy club franchise, which also happens to be owned by Rob Steen. Incidentally, all the comics on the bill that night are repped by North Shore Comedy.

(my ticket!)

Believe it or not, this was my first time at the Capitol Center, so I was pretty excited to see the building, which has a long history (it first opened in 1927). As I waited in the lobby for my friend to show up (she had the tickets), I checked out the box office, which was something straight out of The Flintstones, or that shady gift shop in Capulin, New Mexico I stopped at on a road trip years ago.

(The yabba, yabba-do-tastic box office...)

We had pretty awesome seats and as we settled in, we gave each other a quizzical look as we took in the design theme of the theater - Egyptian. It was bizarre - coral, blue, and yellow scarabs lined the archway of the stage along with golden-winged mythical creatures. I half expected to see Liz Taylor in full Cleopatra glory walk out on the stage. Instead, we were "treated" to a performance from the band The Grinning Lizzards who warmed up the audience. You gotta wonder how long it took them to come up with that name. Perhaps between hits of a Miller Lite can converted to a bong. These guys were strictly New England dive bar band: Johnny Cash, Wilson Pickett, and Joe Cocker, with too-long extended guitar solos and the volume about three clicks too loud. Kind of like dining at Planet Hollywood.

The dress code for the evening was as follows: for the ladies - big hair or fake hair, jeans at least three sizes too small, fake synthetic furs, shiny, cheap-looking handbags, and a bath in Shania Twain perfume. For the guys - some kind of gray fleece, jeans, and about four beers. I was through the looking-glass here, people...

First up on stage was Shane Kinney - affable, bald, and looked like he had spent a few days in jail at some point in his life. He was all about local humor - getting pulled over by Concord PD while coked out of his mind (crowd laughed roarously - especially a group of women behind us who were smashed) and jokes that would have been releveant in 1997: Michael Jackson molester puns and O.J. Simspons quips. Where the eff was I? Did I step into a time warp that catapulted me to a 1980's comedy club where people still laughed at cokehead jokes and those fresh observations that men just want to get laid? Now I was getting nervous at the prospect of the other comics, but still, I tried to remain positive.

Next up was our host and comedian Rob Steen. For a minute, I thought HE was the one on coke, because he talked so fast, I really had to concentrate on his act - and I really wished I hadn't. I'm not going to delve too much into it, because, well, it really doesn't merit the effort, but suffice it to say it consisted mainly of hick jokes about people who live in Caribou, urinary jokes, observations about dogs licking balls, and an unfortunate child molester joke that finally restored my faith in the audience when it inspired only loud groans.

By now, I was getting ready to give up, but thankfully, Kelly MacFarland came up. The info on Kelly told me that I might remember her as a contestant on NBC's The Biggest Loser, but having never seen the show, I decided to just take their word for it. Kelly came out as a little ball of bubbly energy and did a pretty decent set that was geared mostly towards the ladies (body image, exercise, kids jokes) but the guys around me were laughing pretty hard as well and when she finished, I heard one guy remark - "she's really good."

Last, but thankfully, not least, was young comedian Robbie Printz, who, out of all them, was probably the most polished and the least polarizing, keeping his comedic observations to the weather, Patriots fans, relationships, and family - with a couple of pretty good Jedi jokes in there as well (always like a good Jedi joke). He's got his timing down and really knew how to play the audience with a blue collar style that closely resembles comedian Kevin James.

At the end of the evening, as my friend and I followed the New Hampshire versions of Carmela and Tony Soprano out of the theater, our heads feeling slightly pickled after spending two hours enclosed with the fermented scent of bad perfume and alcohol, I couldn't help but think about the other comedy performance by Stranger Than Fiction I saw earlier that week in the basement of The Barley House, just a few blocks away from the Capitol Center. At that performance, there were probably only about fifteen of us, each of us having paid a measly $5 to see the show, and yet we all laughed until our sides hurt and felt like we had seen comics who really worked hard to entertain us. At this performance, every seat was packed with people who shelled out $20 and $40 to listen to corny, dated, and some outright unfunny jokes - though, who am I to completely deem the performance a dud? Most of the audience laughed throughout all of the horrible puns, and hey, if they enjoyed themselves, that's all that matters to them. But, since it is my blog, I'll just give this advice: next time there is a Best of North Shore Comedy performance (and there will be, trust me), take five of those twenty bucks you would have spent and go see Stranger Than Fiction. And use other fifteen to buy the rest of us in their audience a round.

My Musical Movements

Okay, I swore to myself that I was going to take a bit of a breather this week from going to shows. I had a few local authors I wanted to read, since their books have been on my kitchen table for two weeks, along with a stack of bills that I just keep ignoring every time I walk into my apartment, but I just can't resist a live local show!

That being said, I'll be at the Idlewild North Steakhouse in Henniker on Saturday, January 26 to listen to the acoustic folk sounds of Beechwood at 9:00 p.m. And in case you are interested, here are some more musical performances I'll be checking out in the not-so-distant future:

• Feb. 1st - Jen Murdza (7:00 p.m., Borders - Concord)
• Feb. 2nd - Jatoba (Time TBA, Harlow's Pub - Peterborough)

By the way, I'm kicking myself for missing Peterborough's Adeem (pictured above) spinning his fat beats at Harlows on the 10th, so I'm keeping my eyes peeled for his next NH show, because I will be there. A Scribble Jam winner, Adeem has recorded with some of the best hip-hop artists around, including Sole and Alias of Anticon and Buck 65, Sixtoo and Sage Francis. He's released solo work and is currently 1/3 of the group Glue. If you haven't done so already, check out his album, Sweet Talking Your Brain and Glue's Catch as Catch Can.

Review: STF Tickles Humor Bone & Other Appendages...

For those uninitiated who have never seen a Stranger Than Fiction performance, be forewarned: you will be asked to participate, even before the show starts. Upon entering the downstairs lair of Concord's The Barley House Saturday night, which looks like my 8th grade friend Meg's rec room (except for the stocked bar - she just had grape Shasta), I was asked to write down a sentence/phrase on a slip of paper for the group to use at some point during the show.

I'll confess right now, nothing inspired came to mind. Maybe it was because of the Campaign Trail ale in my hand, but the first thing that came to mind was that Seinfeld line, "these pretzels are making me thirsty." So I scribbled it down and went to take my seat on one of the Miami Vice-esque black leather sofas. In addition to me, there were two other girls in the audience, but one of the troupe members assured us that more would be coming from a dinner party upstairs and would we mind waiting a few minutes more. I always brake for comedy, so we said no.

With that, the group proceeded to warm themselves up with some sort of bizarre vocal exercise that was like walking through a UNH frat house on an average Tuesday night: meowing, horse whinnies, moaning, a medley from Willy Wonka, and snippets of that Moody Blues Song, Nights in White Satin. Man, that was enough entertainment for me - I could have gone home satisfied after that. But, I stuck around and as the basement filled in, they were ready to begin.

I won't try to describe it all, because as with most good improv, Stranger Than Fiction defies explanation. There were Jedi octopus's, angry beach-goers, British teddy bear experts, and gratuitous use of the phrase "tuna boat," along with some really good sports in the audience. All in all, a pretty great show. One of the tests of a solid improv team, is not so much how often they make the audience laugh, but how much they make each other laugh. And when I wasn't watching the performers on stage, I was watching their fellow troupe members roar with laughter and what they were doing. These guys have tremendous respect for each other's talents and it shows.

In a March 2007 interview with The Portsmouth Herald, troupe member Noah Sheola stated, “What we’re doing is really shooting to be the premier group in New Hampshire.” I'm just going to go ahead and put this to rest - Stranger Than Fiction is the premier improv group in the state. Not only are they workhorses in this industry, but their shows become anticipated events that people make an effort to see and that's not nothing in this state. Though the faces have changed through the years and their show style has been adjusted and reshaped as a result, they remain a tight unit with the mad comic skills to back it up.

With their first live online improv show behind them and a huge success, STF will again do a web-only show Tuesday, February 5. Once again, the audience can participate online during the show, and - bonus - there's no charge or 2-crappy drink minimum required (though it is encouraged). Login to www.mogulus.com/improvcomedy beginning at 7:30 p.m. EST to watch the show!

Coming Attractions

Happy Friday! It's another beautiful morning in the "Live Free or Die" state, where those words became more than mere motto for my early commute into Henniker, as I simultaneously tried to de-ice my windowshield and not slam into the Irving Oil gas truck that was sluggishly chugging ahead of me.

I got the chance to check out Stranger Than Fiction's performance last night in Concord and I'll have more details on it soon. I'll also have a review of Manchester poet Nathan Graziano's latest collection, Teaching Metaphors, as well as my wrap-up from the Best of North Shore Comedy II performance at the Capitol Center. And somewhere in there, I have to get new tires for my car...

Still, I have been diligently knocking down the movies from my AFI Top 100 List in my spare time. Watched The French Connection (pretty awesome) and Do The Right Thing, which, sadly for Spike Lee was really his peak. I've seen a lot of his other films, and this was by far the best one - I had the insane urge afterwards to go out and buy every Public Enemy record ever made (Chuck D's voice is so bad-ass!). I can just see it now: a young white New Hamsphire girl with "Fight the Power" pouring out of the windows of her 1999 Ford Taurus with 90,000 miles on it.

Next in my film queue: Sophie's Choice, Bringing Up Baby, 12 Angry Men

Best of North Shore Comedy II

It's only Wednesday, but my week already has a theme to it - see if you can be the one to spot it! On Thursday evening, I'll be checking out Stranger Than Fiction's comedy stylings at The Barley House and on Saturday, January 19, I'll be in the audience at the Capitol Center for the Arts for the Best of North Shore Comedy II at 8:00 p.m. This night of standup features comics Robbie Printz, Kelly MacFarland, Shane Kinney and host Rob Steen. Guessed it yet? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

The event is presented by North Shore Comedy. Little ones, you have been warned - these Trix are not for kids. Seats are still available, so get yours today!

"Poets Three" at Concord City Auditorium

This is your rare opportunity to see three U.S. Poet Laureates together for an evening of poetry, as The Concord Monitor presents Poets Three, featuring current U.S. Poet Laureate Charles Simic and two previous Laureates, Maxine Kumin and Donald Hall. They will read their works on Tuesday, January 22 at 7:00 p.m. at the Concord City Auditorium in Concord.

Tickets are just $10, and proceeds will benefit the New Hampshire Writers' Project. After the reading, Gibson's Bookstore will sell the poets' books in the auditorium reception area, and Simic, Kumin, and Hall will be on hand for a signing. Tickets are available at the Concord Monitor building or at Gibson’s Bookstore on Main Street in Concord. You can also order your tickets online - but hurry, these are going to go fast!

The Lost Weekend...

Sometimes you go into things with nothing but the best intentions and then suddenly, fate intervenes and you find yourself a little more off course than you had wanted. Saturday evening I set out to cover The Brew at The Shaskeen and the battle of the bands at Milly's Tavern, when fate interceeded (fate turned out to be that it was my birthday and I was in bars all night with friends who bought drinks). Fear not though, even though I missed Milly's Tavern, I was able to get to The Shaskeen to listen to The Brew.

Funny thing was that it seemed that everywhere we went that night, people were glued to televisions watching the Pats take the Jaguars to school (Final: 31-20). So, I wasn't exactly surprised that when the band came in, they headed straight for the nearest television, and when they did play, it was start and stop inbetween commercials. This is what I get for living in New England. However, the crowd was definitely into them and there were plenty of merry granola girls dancing in front of the stage as they covered Tom Jones's "You Sexy Thing."

Though I feel I've let down my beloved 18 Mile readers on this endeavor, fear not. On Thursday, January 17 I will be at Concord's The Barley House to watch comedy troupe Stranger Than Fiction perform at 8:00 p.m. I hope I'll see some of you there!

(Paige - getaway driver, subversive prank texter, and all-knowing oracle for the evening)

(In my defense, only a few of these were mine - after all, it takes a village...)

(Rob, who in addition to this little trick, has perfected the art of picking up simultaneous waitresses)

(Me with some much needed java the morning after - I fell asleep in those glasses. Sheesh.)

Stranger Than Fiction - Upcoming Performances

New Hampshire improv comedy troupe, Stranger Than Fiction, will be performing at The Barley House in Concord on Thursday, January 18 at 8:00 p.m. Only $5 to watch!

STF will also perform an online show on Tuesday, January 15 at 7:30 p.m. at http://www.mogulus.com/improvcomedy. This web-only, FREE show allows you to watch the zany majesty that is Stranger Than Fiction from the comfort of your home, office, or Armageddon bunker deep in the Mojave Desert and provide suggestions in a chat room. For more information, contact info@strangerthanfiction.us.

New Digital Filmmaking Workshops in Manchester

All you local Kubritz's, Bergman's, Lynch's and Von Trier's get ready to salivate, because Digital Filmmaking Workshops has just announced new workshops for 2008 that will be held at Back Lot Films in Manchester, NH. Make sure to register early to get your spot!

• APRIL 5&6 - "Producing, Marketing, and Screening Your Independent Film" (10 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. both days)
• APRIL 12 - "Advanced Field Production: Creating a Great Scene"
• APRIL 13 - "Advanced Post Production: Editing & DVD Authoring"

Upcoming Film Events in Concord & Pembroke

On January 12 & 19, 2008, Great Northern Video in Pembroke will present an independent filmmaker workshop starting at 9:00 a.m., designed to introduce aspiring filmmakers to the essentials of filmmaking, from preproduction to post delivery. The workshop covers fundamentals in:

• Lighting theory, audio, filtering, storyboarding, directing, camera movement, depth of field, color grading, editing and posting.
  
• Technical discussion of formats, codecs, current and future equipment.
  
• Budgeting, developing, publicizing and pitching.
  

To register for the workshops, or to find out more about them, contact Great Northern Video at (603) 228-0412.

Then on January 20-21, 2008, Red River Theatres in Concord will host a special screening of the film At The River I Stand and a discussion after as part of their Community Conversations series. The 1993 film, directed by David Appleby, Steven Ross, and Allison Graham reconstructs the two eventful months in Memphis in 1968 leading to the tragic assasination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the climax of the Civil Rights Movement. This event is sponsored by the Greater Concord Interfaith Council and the NHTI Film Society.

Showtimes are Sunday, January 20 (3:00 & 6:00 p.m.) and Monday, January 21 (7:00 p.m.).

Live Music Saturday in Manchester!

With an official January thaw busted out and in full effect, I hope all you 18 Mile readers will finally set down those heavy burdens of ice scrapers and bags of salt and come on over to Manchester to hear some great live music on Saturday, January 12th. I'll be down there checking out the action at The Shaskeen and Milly's Tavern, as well as celebrating my birthday with friends, so if you bump into me, say hi and if you buy me an Ipswitch Pale Ale, well hell, I won't say no.

First, check out Milly's Tavern for the Big Time Entertainment's Battle of the Bands featuring the diverse Granite State musical bill of Mary Bliven, Skamasutra, Absently Minded, and more. Show starts at 6:30 p.m. and advance tixs are $8, $10 at the door. This is an All-Ages show (Bar w/ID). There is an underage charge of $3 and, kids - if you are under 18, you have to have an adult with you - if all else fails, bring that creepy uncle of yours who desperately thinks he's still "with it." If that doesn't whet your local music appetite, head over to The Shaskeen's back room to hear music from Amesbury, Mass. band The Brew at 8:00 p.m. Hope to see you there, and as always, stay safe!

Jan. 8th MFA Readings

It was a bizarrely balmy night in Henniker, New Hampshire, where puddles had replaced parking lot ice slabs and you didn't need to run out and to start your car 10 minutes before you actually had to leave. I think everyone in the MFA audience was convinced it was spring as their energy seemed to palpably bounce up and down to the reggae tunes that were playing over the speakers before the readings began.

First to read was Peter Campion, who has a new book coming out in 2008 called The Lions. Before he read, Campion joked, "the two most dreaded words at an arts event - aside from the words 'drum solo' - are the words 'long poem.'" With that, he launched into The Lions, which none of my words could do any justice to. It's epic and microscopic, raw, restrained, lovely and lurid, a slow-building fire. When Campion reads, his voice almost quavers, like he wants to spit something out, like something is building inside of him too, threatening to explode, but if that's true, he never lets it out. He restrains, and because he does, it gives his poems even more of an unnerving tension, a tersness you can't shake, not even me - it stayed with me as I was driving home into that strange, warm night.

Poem to Fire
Peter Campion

Fast transparency that explodes the fuel and air

in the cylinder and shuts the intake valves and thrusts

down on the piston so the crankshaft spins and spins

you cut through all material that blocks your way

so fast that driving now past rushes and billboards

this pull to her could be your own impersonal presence

cloaked in the day to day of the malls and condos

all those wired sensors keeping on guard for you

except you flicker even inside the wet wall

where papillary muscle makes that sweet pulsation

in whatever room she's moving through this moment

under the cotton and the cool smoothness tinted blue

Anne Marie Macari has a new book coming out in November 2008 called She Heads into the Wilderness, which is appropriate, as her poems are firmly rooted in nature, creation, and in death. They are so tactile you could run your fingers through them like mulch. She read to us from a series of 36 sonnets called "Their Eyes Were Open" and explained a little how she arrived at the sonnet form: "I was writing all of this material, just tons and tons that I didn't know what do with, so I'd throw it out and then come back to it. I just couldn't figure out how to organize all of this," she said. "Then I started putting them into sonnets and that helped me to shape them into a cohesive series."

Closing the evening, Alicia Ostriker told the audience that she was amazed that even at 7:00 a.m. that morning, she saw huge lines of people lining up for the primary voting: "And I thought, yay New Hampshire!" she smiled, as someone from the audience shouted back "thank you!" A professor at Rutgers University for several years, she read a few poems about teaching creative writing there that illicited out-loud laughs from the audience, particularly in one where she talked about the fact that it was no surprise to anyone that her 19-21 year old students poems were all about sex. But it was the poems that dealt with our country's history and its politics that got whoops from the audience:

the window, at the moment of flame

Alicia Ostriker

and all this while I have been playing with toys

a toy superhighway a toy automobile a house of blocks

and all this while far off in other lands

thousands and thousands, millions and millions

you know — you see the pictures

women carrying bony infants

men sobbing over graves

buildings sculpted by explosion — earth wasted bare and rotten

and all this while I have been shopping, I have

been let us say free

and do they hate me for it

do they hate me

Next Reading: January 10th (James Harms, Ruth Ellen Kocher & Jeff Friedman)

Make Your Vote Count!

No this is not a post about the primary hoopla happening in the state today. Instead, you have a chance to really make your opinion count by voting for former New Londoner, Matt Valerio (Bomarr) in the first annual "Cratedigger Deathmatch", a music-making competition where producers are required to create a minimum of six 2-minute songs using ONLY $12 of thrift store purchases from that day in 12 hours! No other sound sources could be used.

According to Bomarr, participating in the competition was "pretty challenging, inspiring, exhausting, and fun."

One song from each of the contestants has been posted on Drown Radio for you to vote on, and, according to Bomarr, the results should be posted by the end of the week. Also, the full collection of songs that he created that day will be posted online at the Circle Into Square website. Vote for who you like, but if you have even an ounce of granite in your New Hampshire blood, you'll vote for Bomarr (plus, his is just the best one).

MFA Reading: Joan Larkin & Maxine Kumin

Well, I made it to the January 5th reading early this time and got a good seat. This reading in particular was special for me since my last semester I studied with Joan Larkin and I just respect her so much as a poet and a person. It's always fun to hear the current students of this program talk with each other before the readings begin. The complaints as well as the praise stay the same year after year, and somehow there continues to be a buzzing electricity about this program, which is really a credit to Administrative Director Jacqueline Gens and Program Director Anne Marie Macari.

Joan Larkin was first and read a few poems from her latest book, called My Body. These are poems of place, of remembrance, of the deepest parts that make us human. Joan really READS each word, creating sound and feeling that is at once round, open, clipped, broken and expansive. She read us some of her new short poems as well as excerpts from a current work called Wandering Jane: A Novel that she calls a collection of "rough sonnets." These sonnets that read as a story are at once lovely, difficult, moving, but with Joan's razor-sharp wit. When she finished, I found myself wanting more.

Maxine Kumin is the only poet I know who can read a poem about pig slaughter with words like "screaming", "shit", and "sow's vagina" and it's not gimmicky or said just for shock value. It's simply the truth at its most unflinching.

One poem she read was "Waterboarding," which, she explained before reading, her editor wanted to take out because she thought "in two years, no one will know what this word means." One Bush administration later and Maxine wryly smirked to us, "how wrong she was..." She also treated us to a recitation of one of her older poems from memory (this woman is the poetic equivalent of an Olympic athlete - it's amazing to witness her skill).

She also let us know that Garrison Keillor will be reading her poem "Which One" on NPR's A Prairie Home Companion. Said Maxine: "He finally learned to say my name right. I just told them - say it like it's 'human' - he can understand that."

Tonight: Peter Campion, Alicia Ostriker & Anne Marie Macari

Poetry Readings UPDATE

Due to a few lines of communication not crossing, I found out that the New England College MFA Poetry series will be held at 7:00 p.m. on each of the dates, not 7:30. Imagine my chagrin when I showed up in the middle of it. No worries, though, as I was just in time to see Ross Gay read. When Ross reads - and its not just enough to read his poems, you want him to actually BE THERE with you to read them for you - it's a physical experience. Each word hums and thrums in the center of your throat and you are rocked and you rock to them like you are hearing one of the world's best MC's. And you'd be right.

After Ross was Paula McLain (if you haven't read her book Less of Her, please pick it up!). I've been fortunate to see Paula read several times before, but this time was different. Her whole aura was different. She seemed calm, airy, and light and it gave her poems a different resonance. They were, as they always are, long licks of dark magic that get fractured in places, but now, they sounded like Chopin - bouncing off the air, off of our laps and out into the hallways of the Simon Center. Paula has a brand new book that is coming out on January 8th called A Ticket to Ride, and we in the audience were incredibly lucky to hear her read the prologue to it. Make sure to get a copy of this novel.

A cool sidenote: poet Sharon Olds was in attendance in the audience. My jaw just about hit the floor because she is one of my personal favorites. I think I must of read The Dead and the Living and Gold Cell about thirty times each.

Tonight: Maxine Kumin and Joan Larkin!

The AFI Project Continues...

Alright, so I'm two movies into my AFI Top 100 Films project, and so far, so good. I watched "Blade Runner" and "Ben-Hur" over the holidays. I had seen "Blade Runner" a few years ago in college and always liked it, but it was interesting to watch the director's cut of it, which omits the narration of Harrison Ford's character. It ends up giving the film a totally different feel, and I actually liked it better for it. Though the film is set in 2019 in Los Angeles, it's pure film noir, in the vein of a classic Bogey & Bacall picture, but drenched in smog, steam, rain, grime, neon, and fire. Near the end of the film, there's a fantastic close-up shot of rivlets of water running down a wall that look like snakes forming and then splitting, and then going back into each other again. Just amazing.

Best lines: "Accelerated decrepitude" & "It's too bad she won't live. But then again, who does?"

"Ben-Hur" was actually a cool movie and I was surprised that I really enjoyed it. For its time, it must have just been jaw-dropping for theater-goers: the locations, the scenery, the costumes, and the action. And, even now in 2008, it still is. I must admit, my jaw dropped a few times and I gasped outloud at some of the scenes during the chariot race (it really is phenomenal).

There's this powerful moment after Judah Ben-Hur (played by Charleton Heston) has saved the Roman political big-wig Quintas Arrias from drowning after a huge sea battle. They are rescued by a Roman ship and there is a pause as Ben-Hur is standing on its deck, looking down below at the slaves rowing the ship. There's this pregnant realization that he is only above deck because he saved an important Roman, and that, only hours ago, he was one of those slaves.

Another one of the great scenes is when Quintas Arrias comes aboard the ship Ben-Hur is on. He goes below deck where the slaves are rowing and decides to play with them. A drummer is keeping the beat for the slaves to row and Quintas barks, "battle speed!" The drummer speeds up, and so do the slaves have to. Quintas keeps escalating: "attack speed!", "ramming speed!" - all the while, the drumbeat keeps going faster and the poor slaves have to speed up. The scene becomes a sinister dance number, Quintas surveying who will drop first, as the drums pound and the slaves move in rhythmic synchronicity back and forth. It's just chilling. BTW, make sure to watch the special edition version of this film. It's about 4 hours long, but worth the time.

Once again, if you have any comments on any of these films or others I'll be watching, please share them. Did you think they merited their rank on the list? If not, what films do? More movies to come!

Next in my queue: Yankee Doodle Dandy, The French Connection, & Do The Right Thing

Poets at Large!

It's winter again, and you know it's January in Henniker, NH when the great poet migration begins - yay! The poets are here! This is just a reminder to everyone that the New England College MFA Winter Poetry Readings begin this Friday, January 4 starting at 7:30 p.m. in the Simon Center Great Room. I'm hoping to get to most of these, as I hope some of you will as well (it's a great opportunity to hear readings from some of the best poets in the country, and it's free to boot!)

Friday, January 4

Paula McLain, Gerald Stern, Ross Gay