Acentos: The Dueling Banjos Edition

Whenever something happens at Acentos, we always rise to the challenge. It’s not THE most ideal situation. In fact, I keep finding myself asking “what next?” and then saying “no, don’t answer that.”

Last night we had to deal with a party right next door to door us with the pumpin sound system and (damn the party animal in me) some damn hot music playin’. One part of the evening saw me starting to move my shoulders to Crazy In Love as someone was starting to throw down their poem.

The plus side of it was the Acentos audience ignoring the festivities for 80% of the show and only losing it for the last few open micers. The Open Micers also came through as well and our feature, Flaco, delivering all the goods. At this point I would like to say Gracias to the curating gods for intervening and helping us land a feature that has some of the best vocal & theatrical skills in the game today.

This whole thing reminds me of the St Louis Nationals debacle and how people were complaining left and right that the audiences were not there to listen to them. Phil West correctly pointed out that the whole reason we use lyricsm/rhyme/volume/exaggerated body motions/theatrics/pandering arguments/anaphora/narrative/pop culture references (pick whichever applies) is in an effort to enrapture an audience that is easily distracted.
Oh but we have a message and it needs to be heard.
Mierda! If your message is so damn important than just pump up the volume and if it still doesn’t get across, then chalk one up in the LOSS column and call it a day or book a room at a library if you want some quiet. (End side rant)

Our next show features Rigoberto González and I am already in full poetry groupie mode.

Love ya like Tom Cruise loves publicity girlfriends!

[EDIT: Photos from last night courtesy of Señorita Inglaterra- Jannine]


FLACO NAVAJA AND JANNINE


OB PATIENTLY WAITS FOR BATMAN TO COME THROUGH THE SKYLIGHT


I’LL SAY IT AGAIN: THE PRETTIEST OPEN MICERS IN POETRY!


TEGO… I’M WAITING


THE AK AND THE HK

jannine_wedding


jannine_wedding
Originally uploaded by oscarb.

familia acentos: profe, kristen, jannine- the bride, geko jones, fish, grande, marcus- the groom, ob, and down front la raina & aruba

the story behind the pic- me desperately holding on to ‘ruba as she does a near matrix move to stay in the pic.

side note: i caught the bouquet – well, actually, a single flower – with a left handed windmill grab that woulda made jet li say “damn, sun!” said flower was quickly deposited in ms leon’s palm before you could say ‘ob.nuptuals’

love ya like green loves a park pond

off to ‘nother fiesta. the company of people keeps me sane but it isnt clearing mah malaise much.

and just as he says that- the post man comes through with quite the large package. poems, art, the intersection of worlds. purple and ivory. and a genuine smile from me. feels good. yes it does.

in other news, i have not written a poem but some single sided pages later, i am feeling more like a writer than ever before.

take care of y’all selves

"melancholy maybe but not sad"

the jukebox is currently rockin “The Very Best of Ray Charles”

i have no idea what the fuck is up with my current mood. some real life shit that was messin me up bad is gettin resolved.

poetry is currently on cruise control. i have not written anything significant lately but thats probably cuz i dont have any significant features in the future. in fact, i have NO features set up. my off the top of the head reaction to this… YAY!

instead of writing poetry, i am reading like a mufuckah. MILES is almost done and its flooding me with a host of new definitions as to what the term artist means. niles is all kinds of honest and detailed when it comes to certain stories and can remember some damn things clear as day. he also lays it down hardest when talkin about his own life and art. yeah, i am definitely feelin this book. more later…

starting to form some thoughts on ego and its role in my personal art. (miles is helpin me on some of this too) this is going to be one great big fuckin rant that most of you are going to skip over once i hit paragraph eight but thats cool and shit.

thank god that i am surrounded by some wonderful people that let me at least smile on the outside. (sratch that) y’all genuinely make me smile and help me keep my sanity. i love being me around y’all.
grumpy/foolish/elder.patched/quiet/hatah/lover
it all comes out in one way or another and thats why i am really pensive right now. my moods make me retreat inward and start cutting off my ties to some of these great people. i am tryin hard to fight this (un?)natural pattern in my life and stay in the light amongst the living but its rough.

tuesday, after an incredible day of seeing a couple tie the knot in central park, sharing chino-latino (the waiter chastised me for not just ordring by the special number- DING! the inside joke bell rang real hard), walkin down broadway in the summer heat, catchin BATMAN on the Imax screen, reading some comics, tears at the customer service counter, the dispelling of tears on broadway with some good natured ribbin, krispy kreme and milk, more chino-latino, more ribbin, fuckin wit people, walkin along central park under the wrinkled face of the moon and in the end, being by myself.

and thats where i lost it. walking through eight ave at midnite. the dark streets. lookin for trouble. almost finding it. a well timed email response let me detach myself enough to stay away from my old stompin grounds and get back to a good book.