52nd City: September 2008

You Had Me at "Planets of the Apes"

Quite possibly, the oddest press release that's hit my in-box in some time:

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Grandi...una parte dell'italia vi ama!!!!

"Planet of Apes" U - Tube VJ'ing and - " Performance Pieces "

This Saturday @ Mercury:

U-Tube Vj's Global636 - Very compelling images that strangely blend with the songs in a perfectly obscure fit.

$5 Dollars
10 PM
1025 Spruce Street Downtown St.Louis , Mo 63101
Its so iconic and effective... GREAT!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DQyusKTAh4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DQyusKTAh4

R.I.P.: Stan Kann

Just saw word that Stan Kann, the venerable concert and theatrical organist, TV entertainer and bon vivant, passed away earlier today. There's a short tribute up at the St. Louis Theatre Organ Society's webpage, which reads:

"Former concert organist and television star Stan Kann has died at St. Louis University Hospital. He was 83-years-old.

"Kann began his performing career at Washington University where he planed the organ. He went on to become the best known concert organist in North America. Kann played the Fox Theatre for 22 years before moving to Los "Angeles in 1975. Before the move, he appeared on the local program, "Charlotte Peter's Show." Following that, Kann co-hosted The Noon Show with Marty Bronson. For that work, he received the Silver Circle Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1997 and the Avis Blewett Award in 2001. Kann was inducted into the ATOS Hall of Fame in 1999 and was named ATOS Organist of the Year for 2003. Kann was also well known for his comedy. He appeared 77 times on "The Tonight Show" and 89 times on the "Mike Douglas" show as well as dozens of other programs. Kann was also known as an enthusiastic collector of vacuums. A memorial service is being planned to take place at the Fox Theatre. More information will follow. A Stan Kann Scholarship Fund is being established to encourage and promote young theatre organ talent. Contributions can be sent to the fund in care of the Fox Theatre, 539 North Grand Boulevard, St. Louis MO 63103.

"This is just a small tribute to Stan Kann. For more on Stan visit StanKann.com sponsored by the Lincoln Theatre in Belleville Illinois. Stan Kann known to many as the guy with all the gadgets that don't work from his 77 visits to the "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson".

"For the rest of us it's been his ability at the Theatre Pipe Organ."

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I had a chance to see the man play in person just once, at a New Music Circle production on The Hill, where he played the organ, then watched the NMC players perform with (a small portion of) his collection of vacuums. It was a magical night, with a silent film playing, numerous bats literally flying through the open-air venue and Kann at the keys.

Mike Steinberg's definitive, 70-minute documentary, "The Happiest Man in the World" should also be noted. It deserves another showing on local TV in the near future, as a nod to the showman depicted.

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Photographer David Torrence sends along a note, with pics of Kann found at his blog. Here's the address for his nice note on Stan Kann: http://davidtorrence.blogspot.com/2008/09/stan-kann.html.

Frost/Nixon @ The Rep

Despite being a lifer at Webster University, I've totally underutilized the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Last night, though, I succumbed to guilt feelings and the need to expand my cultural outlook, by attending the season's debut production, "Frost/Nixon," an amusing, energetic look at the David Frost/Richard Nixon interviews of so many years ago.

Three thoughts:

1. The play would appeal to all those already knee-deep in the spirit of the election season. Good, political theatre's all over town right now and this production can only enhance the dialogue. Smart, funny, admittedly fictional, but definitely a choice way to spend a "thinking evening." And, it should be noted, it's only at the Rep for the duration of the weekend.

2. While not sure what kind of ticket I could score at the last-second, I found myself at the box office window at 7:10, 50-minutes ahead of the curtain time. Wound up with a sixth-row seat, for a very reasonable $16.50. Everyone chatting around seemed to indicate that they were season-ticket holders, so I felt strangely in-the-know, despite being an interloper to their party.

3. Those folks were not young. It's amazing to hit those moments in which you feel really, really young. When, in fact, you're really, really not. To guess, 90% of the audience was over 60. And, outside of the youthful ushers, very few were under 30. Like so many arts organizations, it's obvious the Rep's crowd has grown gray. Maybe the subject matter had a bit to do with the audience's collective age. But it is striking to see how different the Rep's crowd skews, in comparison to other, newer companies.

Anyhow. I recommend the play!

Stan Kroenke in Business Week

Does it say anything new? Not really.

But it's always interesting to lose some of the local spin when reading about area power players.

The profile.

Rock of Love @ Orpheum

Multiple, independent sources have placed the "Rock of Love III" tour bus at the Robers Orpheum Theatre downtown.

Too lazy to go investigate myself. (Though, if it were at Pop's, I'd rouse myself, no question.) Any downtown employees who'd care to get the scoop for the 52nd City will be entitled to a bag of very fine 52nd swag.

David Sanborn

Long interview. Embedded videos. Via Daniel Durchholz, at Beacon.

New Soccer Bar in South St. Louis

All that I could possibly ask for has come true: a place to watch soccer, five-minutes from home.

Comments

We've alluded to this in the past, but don't assume that everyone is aware of the prior note: your ability to post comments has been compromised of late and we're aware of that situation. Having gotten a handful of notes about this in the last week, or two, we wanted to point out, again, that some of our blogging software is proving vexing to fix.

All that said, we will be debut a completely revamped blog on Thursday, November 13. New look, feel, software, content.

Until then, we apologize to those of you wishing to register your thoughts on a posting. If you have extra information or links to share, please send them to: thomas@52ndcity.com and we'll post up the relevant info as edits to the original posts. Thanks.

The Light Project x 2

Two sites, two videos. One specifically on The Light Project, the other skewing more towards the Lamp Project.

Light, at MayorSlay.com, by Carson Minow.

Lamp, at the St. Louis Beacon, by Eric Von Schrader.

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Edit, since posting this last night, the Beacon's added some content. Brent Jones, the Presentation Editor of the Beacon, sent us this note:

I thought you and your readers might also like to know that we've added another video this morning -- this one on Howard Jones's art at the Bruno David Gallery. We've also done a bit of rearranging.

The Howard Jones video can be found here: http://www.stlbeacon.org/arts_life/visual_arts/light_fantastic

The Lamp Project can be found here: http://www.stlbeacon.org/arts_life/visual_arts/relighting_a_church_and_lamps

Happy Cow?

While looking up some information on a local health food store, I figured that the little shop (South Grand's New Dawn) would have little-to-no web presence. That was pretty much true, though the shop is reviewed on a site I hadn't come across before, HappyCow.net, which gives readers a chance to review and discuss health food stores and vegan/vegetarian restaurants nationwide.

Here's a link to the STL pages.

Gotta love when that surfing pays off.

Poetry Scores' "Experiential Auction" Set

There are ideas and there are ideas. A couple years on, I'm still jealous of this idea: the Experiential Auction, which benefits Poetry Scores.

You can read about the organization and the event at a blog for the September 21 event, which will take place at the Atomic Cowboy. Have to say, thinking that the Jeff Miller singing telegram might be the keeper of the batch. And, of course, our own Stefene Russell's donated experience, a tarot reading.

Here's the list.

(A few of these experiences I would pay to never have to experience. Will stay mum on that list.)

WB11 Cancels "Fan Show"

All things must pass.

King on McKee

I find Chris King's comments about developer Paul McKee - found deep in a blog posting about this past weekend's PGA Tour event - very interesting.

That's all.

Jeremy Rabus @ Fort Gondo

The city's art scene is really kicking into high gear this weekend. There’s a lot of stuff going on, for a good run down check out Art-Patrol's webpage.

Along with all those shows, I'd like to put a little spotlight on this one.

Jeremy Rabus @ Fort Gondo

DISTORTED/NOISY PICTURE

For a few years now a young painter named Jeremy Rabus from Southern Illinois has been making the rounds throughout the city art scene. You’ll find him in group shows at Hoffman LaChance Contemporary, at Art Dimensions meetings and recognized as an emerging artist by the St Louis Artists Guild. He’s participated in and curated countless shows in the area and is always on the move either creating or helping out with various projects throughout the region. He just recently relocated his studio to a store front shop on Cherokee St. and has been knee deep in work for his latest solo show which opens Friday Sept 5 (TONIGHT) at Fort Gondo .Compound for the Arts.

Jeremy’s work has an incredible dream, sometimes scary, psychedelic quality to it which suggests innocence, honesty and immense imagination. Abstract acrylic paintings is his medium yet there is something very real about his images. The pictures are formulated by his subconscious making its way into reality by his relentless execution and continual tinkering.

His paintings have names like “Navigating the Gelsphere”, “Tundra at Aziku”, “Cape of Friowe” and you can almost believe these places are real or at least exist in a dreamy animated world populated by Dr. Suessisms or the citizens from Yellow Submarine. Drips of paint intertwine with ballooning shapes all brought together by a perfect color combination. Part story-telling, part eye candy design, his compositions are an impeccable mix of accidents and purpose confidently living together in their own abstract psychedelic landscape.

Here’s the important info –

DISTORTED/NOISY PICTURE

The paintings can be viewed Saturday the 6th from 12:00 to 4:00 pm.
Sunday by appointment.

Larry

A lot of people in Tower Grove East might not know Larry by name, but would know him to see him. Usually, he's found in the alleyways or sidestreets, his shopping cart weighed down by six-to-eight sacks of teeming trash bags, filled with scrap metal and aluminum cans.

I used to see Larry at a local watering hole, where he had taken up nightly residence, sipping at a canned beer, dancing furiously with no one in particular, often sliding through the bar and clearing a path in his wake. No offense to the homeless, but showering and old, well-worn clothes can be major issues and the cat usually would wind up with a five-foot berth around him, before he'd inevitably pass out on a barstool. "Ah, that Larry."

Once, I stopped my vehicle when Larry was pushing his cart down Louisiana Street. I keep a recycling bin in the trunk of my car and he went through it for the cans, though I alarmed when he began firing the glass and plastic into the street. While doing this, he kept up a steady patter about how he lived in New Orleans (or was it Memphis?) and how he'd lost a good woman. It was the kind of stuff straight off the pages of a piece of blues sheet music, but felt more compelling when told in the middle of a South City sidestreet; it was interesting, though lacked brevity, as we stood there a good 12-15 minutes.

Last weekend, while taking my daily constitutional through the neighborhood, Larry hailed me at half-a-block, a bit to my surprise.

"How are we today?"

"I'm doing real well, thanks."

He began wheeling the car into the alleyway, now a couple feet behind me.

"Sure is hot."

"No doubt about it."

He paused. And then delivered his next line with perfect comedic timing.

"It's George Bush!"

Another pause.

"That white fucker!"

R.I.P.: Killer Kowalski

A wrestler known locally for startting at the legendary "Wrestling at the Chase" has passed, Walter "Killer" Kowalski.

An obit from the Boston Herald.

House Fires

What happens if every-other blogger in St. Louis showed up at the same house fire in North City.

This.

And this.

And maybe more.

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And, yes, more. Pictures.

And some words! With pictures and video!

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A new add: neighborhood analysis of Fountain Park, plus pics and a map.

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And more pics!