52nd City: February 2007

No Sysco Kid

Interesting article by Ulrich Boser on Slate's website underscoring the fact that we are all starting to eat the same foods, regardless of where we live or where the food is grown. I particularly liked the story of a restaurant, which has won numerous awards of excellence from Wine Spectator magazine, marketing an $8.95 piece of chocolate cake decorated with fresh raspberries. The cake is actually a pre-made defrosted cake from Sysco. What a rip.

If you are rankled by this kind of thing, attending Convivial Pursuit, a benefit for Slow Food St. Louis, could be a step towards food awareness and fun. This trivia night is all about food and includes categories where players get to taste and smell things as clues. Ticket prices include Schlafly beer, wine, and soda. Tables of 8-10 players cost $250.

Convivial Pursuit: A friendly game of food trivia to benefit Slow Food St. Louis
When: Sunday, March 25th
Time: 4pm-8pm
More information on their website.

AMP Move: March

Popped into the Alternative Music Pub (AMP) last night and the owners were crowing about the progress on their new club - and the proprietors new digs - just across the street, at Manchester and Boyle. The new AMP is projected for completion in mid-March, with a soft opening expected during the third week of the month.

Though not tipping a hand as to what the concept(s) might be, co-owner Neil Harris did mention that there have been rumors about a new operator for the existing space, owned by Rothschild Realty.

That is all.

A Jesse Irwin Weekend

From America's favorite boy-next-door:

I wanted to let you know (in case I didn't already call you and tell you in an excited way) that I am playing my first ever show at The Pageant on the Delmar Loop this Saturday night. I'll be opening for four other bands - Discount Firearm, Nothing Still, The Daybreak Boys and Our First Summer. I will also be the MC for the night, running a raffle and playing in between sets. Tickets are $5 at the door and $7 for minors. Miners are also $7 because they are dirty and stain the upholstery. The doors are going to open around 8pm. If you're not busy, drop by and say hello or heckel me or whatever.

For a good cause:

This Sunday night my band (Dock Ellis) is playing a benefit show for Bob Reuter from Bob's Scratchy Records With The Left Arm, The Forbidden Fruit Snacks and Thee Dirty South. It's a $15 all-you-can-drink freakout to help bob get out of some legal trouble (he's being sued) and it's at, get this, THE BEVO MILL. That's the big windmill on Morganford and Gravois. My friend Rich talked them into letting us use it for a concert venue. The show starts at 6pm and goes until 10.

Bob has been playing music in St. Louis forever and has helped a lot of young musicians, including myself, get started. It would be a shame to see him go down the tubes. If you're in a drinkin' or music listenin' mood on Sunday, the Bevo is a good place to go.

Monday: Poetry @ Duff's

Since I know my colleague in this joint, Stefene Russell, is probably too humble to note her involvement in a Monday event, I'll go ahead and do so. Via Ann Haubrich, here're some thoughts on Monday's event at Duff's, compliments of Poetry Scroes, heretofore known as Hoobellatoo:

Wanted to let you know about a fine poetry reading this coming Monday evening, Feb. 26, 7:30 pm at Duff’s in the Central West End . The event is free and produced by a new group in town, Poetry Scores, which is dedicated to the translation of poetry into other media.

The evening will begin with a reading by poet Stefene Russell, who also helps Janie and me host Literature for the Halibut on KDHX. Stefene is a lovely and funny poet.

The featured poet of the evening is K. Curtis Lyle, who will read from his hot-off-the-press book The Epileptic Camel Driver Speaks to a Refugee Death: Elegy for Fakin’ Floyd Raintree. The book is just as nice to look at and hold as to read because it is the work of the esteemed Firecracker Press, right here in St. Louis .

Curtis Lyle is an amazing poet –and his poetry is best experienced from a live reading. The latest issue of the St. Louis American says that Curtis’ poetry “is full of signs, portents, omens…..though Curtis writes narrative poetry, with characters and storylines, a plot description of his poems does them no justice.” It’s really worth checkin’ out, ‘specially on a rainy Monday night. What else you got to do?

Magazine Props

A couple national mags of note weigh in on the locals:

1. Paste Magazine - a really nice music publication, if you're not familiar - gives a nod to the City Museum in the March issue's "The Paste 7" list, with a short blip and a photo of MonstroCity. Reads the text: "For an art museum that's anything but stuffy, plan a trip to City Museum in St. Louis. Housed in the former International Shoe Company, this 600,000-square-foot museum is a Discovery Zone for adults and children alike, artistically crafted from locally reclaimed materials. Marvel at the spectacularly sculpted Enchanted Caves, climb through four-foot-wide wrought-iron slinkies or attend a shark feeding." After reading that, I definitely want to check this place out.

2. Meanwhile, Magnet Magzine's Jan./Feb. edition has a single-page piece on Finn's Motel, with a nice write-up and gigantoid photo of Joe Thebeau. Read the piece, in part: "Though Escape Velocity's algebraic derivation may be a little murky, its universal theme of disillusionment and escape come through loud and clear thanks to Thebeau's evocative combination of literate wordplay and Cheap Trick/Guided by Voices-fueled rock." After reading this, I totally want to listen to this band.

Welcome: WebsterFilmSeries.com

After years of puzzling over the longish URL for the Webster University Film Series - so long that I've banished it from my memory forever - the almost-impossible has come true: www.websterfilmseries.com is live. Same site, newer (easier, much easier) way of getting to it.

Perhaps best of all is the fact that a fan of the Series bought the site name and linked to the Series homepage.

True story. Short story. As true as it is short.

Another STL Book: "St. Louis"

Simply titled, "St. Louis" jumped off of a bookshelf at Webster University's Emerson Library recently. Though I didn't pick it up at first, I rounded back, remembering my foolish notion of reading every title of local interest. (Well, almost every title.) This one, a 1977 product of the New Horizons imprint of the Franklin Watts press, was part of a series of urban selections, which included looks at historical Pittsburgh, Detroit and other cities.

Edited by Selwyn Troen and Glen Holt, the book's a compilation of readings from throughout St. Louis' history, including both original, source texts and selections from looks-back at local lore. Organized chronologically, the book begins in the late 1700s - with the expected blend of Spanish, French and Indian influences - and ends in the 1970s - highlighted by conversations about Pruitt-Igoe and the meaning of the Gateway Arch.

In a sense, then, the book's a precursor, of sorts, to the excellent, near-comprehensive "Seeking St. Louis" of a couple years back. In terms of heft, "St. Louis" is a mere fraction of that work and some of the pieces have essentially been repeated since, but this slim, 1977 piece isn't a bad primer, at all. I'll be keeping a look out for it at Dunaway Books in the future.

Hickenlooper @ Frontenac

After watching several documentaries of Andy Warhol via Netflix over the past few months, and having read the Edie Sedgwick bio/oral history of the same name, I've been looking forward to director (and St. Louis expat) George Hickenlooper's "Factory Girl." Cinema St. Louis sends along word that the filmmaker will be in town this weekend for a special showing. (And, if you want to read a rather tart, early review of the film, check out Slate.com's thorough demolition of the film. Yowza.)

Here's the info from Cinema STL/SLIFF, partially IN CAPS!:

SPECIAL SCREENING OF "FACTORY GIRL" WITH DIRECTOR AND ST. LOUIS NATIVE GEORGE HICKENLOOPER IN ATTENDANCE!

Join us for the St. Louis premiere screening of the new film "Factory Girl" on
Friday, February 16, at 7:15 pm at Landmark's Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

Director George Hickenlooper will be in attendance to introduce the film and for a Q&A afterwards.

Standard ticket prices apply and can be purchased at the Plaza Frontenac Cinema box office. You can also buy tickets by calling (314) 995-6285 or online at http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/St.Louis/St.Louis_Frameset.htm

Seating is limited, so please get your tickets early!

Snow & Chomsky

Brett Underwood notes that tonight's showing of a Noam Chomsky video lecture will be "on," despite the weather. Here're the details:

Kicking Away the Ladder: Corporate Economics Vs. Democracy. In this talk Chomsky focuses on the problems of democracy development. He discusses the so-called grand economy, as touted by Milton Friedman and others, which Chomsky describes as a great failure for the majority of the population.

Chomsky also details the history of the US trajectory, after WWII, towards becoming the most powerful state in history using military and economic policies that were anything but democratic. He looks in particular at the history of the US domination of Latin America, as well as at recent Latin American challenges to US neoliberal policies. He closes by encouraging solidarity work across the hemispheres to help build a global justice movement.

Talk 60 minutes; Q&A 25 minutes. Filmed December 1, 2006 at English High School in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

This film will be shown by the Veterans for Peace on Tuesday, February 13th at 8 p.m. in the Eliot Room at the Saint Louis Brewery and Tap Room. There will be no charge for admission. 314.241.BEER. The Schlafly Tap Room is at 21st and Locust in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

Soulard turns into... THAT Soulard

Earlier today, I made my weekly pilgrammage to the center of my food needs, Soulard Farmer's Market. But it was in the minutes before arriving at the chilly destination that I noticed Soulard slipping into that familiar, February look. Houses were festooned in purple, green and yellow bunting. Rows of trashcans and portable hygenic units lined certain, key intersections. Parking lots were sacrificed for already-constructed, eventually-heated tents.

And, everywhere, 45-year-olds in jester caps marched around, clutching their Taste of Soulard maps.

Whether you find this Mardi Gras season a time of wild celebration or a time of great lamentation, the boozin' spirit is already beginning to cloak the neighborhood. Those looking to catch a beer at one of their favorite spots should be warned that the tourists have already breached the walls. Little Soulard Market Park has been turned into a wiener-dog racecourse. And, one week from now, most of the Soulard vendors will be anywhere but the market.

See you at the stalls on Friday, instead. A man can't live on hurricanes alone.

"A. (anonymous)" Coming on DVD

The Dan Bowers-produced and directed flick, "A. (anonymous)" is being released on video, according to one of the film's stars, George... er, Gavin Tartowski.

A motivational speaker and former barrista, Tartowski says the DVD will arrive in the form of a three-band, one-showing party at Mad Art Gallery on Thursday, April 19. That evening, Walkie Talkie U.S.A., the maybe-they're-broken-up-maybe-they-aren't Red Eyed Driver and Tight Pants Syndrome will play, after a screening of the short, mockumentary feature.

Tickets will be $8 in advance, $10 the night of the show. Doors will open at 7 p.m., with the film screening at 7:30 p.m. The DVD itself will cost $20, with newly-minted t-shirts going for $12; all proceeds will be reinvested into promotion costs and festival fees for the film, which has played a variety of showcases and fests around the country.

For more information, Tartowski points the interested party towards his myspace page: www.myspace.com/gavin_tartowski.

DJ Alert: Marko Meltdown

Marko Meltdown, aka Mark Early, is one of my DJ heroes and fine fellow, to boot. When he sends along an inimitable press release, it has to be passed along. Notable, too, is the fact that there's an event in the Big Club Hall this weekend, one of the most beautiful rooms in St. Louis and probably one that's only open to the public a couple times a year. What a classic!

Here's the release, yes?:

Tonight at the Royale, Marko Meltdown will throw down against the almighty Barbara Cliffe for supremacy of the decks in an all terror twin threat of obscure Disco, No-Wave, Hip Hop, New Wave deep cuts. Some hits will be played, too. Get ready to push tables out of the way and dance your face off. Making out is encouraged!

Saturday night, Marko Meltdown joins the special Creme Brulee to put you in a special mood for l'amore. Come out to More L'amore at the Big Club Hall at 5200 Shaw Avenue from 7 until 10 pm and buy something special for the special someone in your life from some of St. Louis's most special designers. Pierre Pierre, Red Anvil, Pindy Lindy, Doki Doki, Katie Dillon, Madi-Made, Squasht by Les and many more will be on hand selling their special wares. Meltdown and Brulee will play the special jams that make your special places shudder and convulse. It will be special!

Watch for the New Friday is the New Tuesday is the New Weekend at the Royale next Friday, February 16th!

STL on CNN

Caught some lengthy conversation about this topic on the KFNS morning show "The Morning Grind" a bit ago, with hosts and callers weighing in on the future of Downtown. The discussion centered on a piece from CNN.com, "St. Louis poised for entertainment upswing," which was linked to STLtoday.com a few days back. If you've not seen, I'd love to link to it, but my new version of Explorer won't allow me to cut URLs.

So, go to: www.CNN.com. Scroll half-way down the page to the Travel sub-section. The first piece there today is the story in question.

And as it's always interesting to see who's quoted in such things, we have: Tom Bussmann, co-owner of Philip Slein Gallery; Patrick Welch, economics prof at SLU; Cardinals' owner Bill DeWitt; and local AIA prez John Berendzen. Jim Cloar of Downtown STL Partnership is indirectly quoted.

Bohemian Hill's Future TBD?

I often pass by the so-called "Bohemian Hill," that strange, little residential wedge of scattered properties, tucked between (roughly) Lafayette, Tucker and I-44. And when I pass by, I often think, "how long ago was it that Eddie Silva profiled Jo Noero for the Riverfront Times?" Turns out that the answer to that last musing is March 3, 1999.

In fact, during that calendar year, the RFT wrote about Bohemian Hill three times, pointing to collaborative efforts between Soulard Youth Build, the architect Noero and various City agencies, all of whom targeted that plot of land as a key linchpin of residences, which would help link the long and unnaturally disconnected Soulard and Lafayette Square. And, for City long-timers, you can definitely remember a burst of activity around that time, with several, new buildings erected, complementing the older structures, without aping them. Unfortunately, despite the varied plans, that area's long been a source of wonderment ("Where are the next new buildings?") rather than a source of realized inspiration.

Twice, recently, I've heard about an interesting twist to that story. Mind you: I am writing this CAVEAT in ALL CAPS, because I do not have any official, direct knowledge of this, but am culling info from some who do travel in the right circles. In this unofficial scenario, the Bohmian Hill residences - located across from the old City Hospital/new Georgian condos - would be levelled for a combination Walgreen's and/or mini-Schnucks, or "Schnucks-Express." Considering the proximity to the highways, the recent conversations of various grocers moving downtown and the lack of a full-service market nearby, this plan doesn't seem completely far-fetched.

Again, this is one of the pre-emptive, starting-to-hear-things-but-not-working-with-full-info types of posts. I'll leave it to the blogs that have more to say on such subjects to suss out the info.

Not sure what would be a worse outcome. Another decade of near-complete inaction on this remarkably central plot of land, surrounded, as it is, by continuing development? Or yet another homes-for-box trade-out, with no residential stimulus coming, at all?

"I Am Here Today Because Yesterday I Voted in St. Louis."

If you are near a television set at noon on February 18, turn on Channel 9. They're screening a documentary produced by Alabama Public Television, "Sisters of Selma: Witness for Change." The film follows the story of a group of St. Louis nuns, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet, who went to Selma, Alabama a few days after Bloody Sunday and marched in the streets in opposition to the racist voting laws there. They marched despite a ban on protests; just a few days before they arrived, a Unitarian Minister had been beaten by segregationists.

Last year I was lucky enough to talk to two of the sisters that had been in the march. One of the sisters told me that the nuns were in front and they marched along with people who still had bandaged heads and teeth missing, and that policemen on horseback rode right up to them with billy clubs at the ready, and that she didn't doubt they would have used them if they'd marched much further. She also mentioned that Sister Mary Antona Ebo, an African-American nun in the Sisters of St. Joseph order, was accused of being "dressed up" in clerical clothing as a stunt. When the nuns flew back home, they landed at the airport to find media from all over the world waiting for them; they appeared on KMOX for two hours, which was extended to 4 because the calls kept pouring in. With the exception of one or two calls, people said to them: "I wish I had done what you have just done." But still, as a precaution, when they took a break, they were taken home in a police car - with the sirens off - to avoid attracting attention.

What broke my heart (even though the way she phrased it cracked me up) was that one of the nuns added, "If someone had told me that 40 years later we would have made so little progress, I would have told you that you were smoking pot!"

Whether or not it inspires you to take up a cause (Sister Antona Ebo, who went on to found the National Black Sisters' Conference, is still an activist at the age of 80; she says she worries these days about "the loss of civil liberties, the erosion of affirmative action and the culture of violence") it's still a powerful documentary that spotlights an amazing piece of St. Louis history.

Never Meaning No Harm

I first saw Eric Gibbons work in New American Paintings, a publication that showcases emerging and mid-career artists from throughout the United States. The magazine never disappoints. It consistently delivers to my doorstep the finest eye candy in the art world. While I find plenty to love in each issue, Eric’s work really stood out; enough so that I suggested to Mad Art (where I was working at the time) that we invite him to exhibit—even if he was in Texas.

That was well over a year ago and now I’m anxiously awaiting his opening next Friday, February 9th. I’m not sure what to expect. I fell for his 2004 work, heard he’s done some Star Wars paintings since then, and he’s indicated that for his Mad Art show, he’s channeling “the spirit of Yoko Ono so things will be peaceful and weird”.

Without even meeting him--I love this guy already. I’m betting you will too. You can find out more and see some of his work at www.ericgibbons.com or visit www.madart.com for more information on the show.

Never Meaning No Harm
Friday, February 9, 2007
7pm – 11pm
Mad Art Gallery, 2727 S. 12th Street, 63118
Free admission / cash bar

Mexican Buffets for Gondolfi!

On many a Saturday evening, I've thought that... it would be great to be more involved in grassroots politics, while also enjoying a damned good combo of salsa and chips. This weekend, it's not a dream, but a reality:

Galen Gondolfi's
Aldermanic Campaign Fundraiser

Saturday, February 3

8 to 11 PM
@ La Tortuga
2817 Cherokee Street
$10 Suggested Door Donation
Includes Mexican Buffet & Music
Individual campaign donations may be made payable to

Citizens for Gondolfi
P.O. Box 19082
St. Louis, MO 63118

For more info, please call 314.772.3628

Tour De Donut: Doc's a'Coming

Local filmmakers Steve Kelly and Jim Klenn have combined to craft a look at the East Side's most interesting bicycle event, the Tour De Donut, which will feature plenty of footage from the event, along with music by Jim Ibur.

A still-in-progress website has gone live, detailing the work:

http://www.tourdedonutmovie.com/

Collegiate Film Series II: UM-St. Louis

UMSL Student Life to sponsor film series

'Race: The Power of an Illusion' will include scholar discussions

The Office of Student Life at the University of Missouri-St. Louis is sponsoring a film series titled "Race: The Power of an Illusion." The series will address the psychological idea of race, including how it affects life chances and opportunities. Each screening in the three-part weekly series will feature a one-hour film followed by a discussion lead by Teresa Guess, associate professor of sociology at UMSL.

The series is free and open to the public, and co-sponsored by the Institute for Women's and Gender Studies at UMSL. Call (314) 516-5270 or e-mail oayes@umsl.edu for more information. The schedule is as follows:

"Episode 1 - The Difference Between Us"

4 p.m. Feb. 7 in the Student Government Association Chambers at the Millenniums Student Center at UMSL. The film will examine the contemporary science, including genetics, that challenges our common sense assumptions that human begins can be bundled into fundamentally different groups according to their physical traits.

"Episode 2 - The Story We Tell"

4 p.m. Feb. 14 in the Student Government Association Chambers at the Millenniums Student Center at UMSL. The film will uncover the roots of the race concept in North America , the 19th century science that legitimated it and how it came to beheld so fiercely in the Western imagination.

"Episode 3 - The House We Live In"

4 p.m. Feb. 21 in the Student Government Association Chambers at the Millenniums Student Center at UMSL. The film will reveal how race resides not in nature, but in politics, economics and culture. It will show how our social institutions "make" race by disproportionately channeling resources, power, status and wealth to white people.

Collegiate Film Series: SLU

Campus Film Series Starts Soon

Event Details: 7:00 p.m., February 01 - April 26, Kelley Auditorium

SLU's film studies program has announced the schedule for the "Campus Film Series 2007." All films are shown free of charge at 7 p.m. on Thursdays in Kelley Auditorium. This year's theme is "It's About Children."

The films are introduced by faculty members. Some films in languages other than English are subtitled. Faculty, staff and students are welcome.

Feb. 1 "The Devil's Miner" (K.Davidson and Richard Ladkani, Bolivia , 2005, 1:22)

Feb. 8 "42 up" (Michael Apted, Great-Britain, 1999, 2:14)

Feb. 15 "Quando sei nato non puoi pi? nasconderti/Once you're born, you cannot hide anymore" (Marco Giordana, Italy , 2005, 1:55)

Feb. 22 "Le Papillon/The Butterfly" ( Philippe Muyl , France , 2002, 1:25)

March 1 "Jenseits der Stille/Beyond Silence" (Caroline Link, Germany, 1996, 1:47)

March 22 "Brick" ( Rian Johnson , USA , 2005, 1:50)

March 29 "Meng ying tong nian/Electric Shadows" ( Xiao Jiang , China , 2004, 1:33)

April 12 "Rang-e khoda/The Color of Paradise" (Majid Majidi, Iran, 1999, 1:30)

April 19 "Vor/The Thief" (Pavel Chukhrai, Russia, 1997, 1:36)

April 26 "Lage Raho Munna Bhai/Carry on Munna Bhai" (Rajkumar Hirani , India , 2006, 2:24)