Gearing up for '08

OK, we already know you love the festival. Now we need you to share that love--by getting involved in next year's fest. We've formed a fundraising committee, which is meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 1, 2007, at Staples (253 Allen St., next to Spirits of Allentown). Everyone is welcome--and we need you.

Tales of self-infringement

I had to smile the other day when I was driving through Allentown and saw a guy sitting on a tree stump with his head bandaged. I don't usually derive amusement from the misfortunes of others, but I was pretty sure I recognized the big white strip of cloth wrapped around his skull. There's a very good chance that he was just following orders: orders from the "Self-Infringement" box in the window of Rust Belt. Orders that I put there.

OK, so they're not really orders. Just instructions. Directions. Assignments. Scripts, if you will, created by Brian Milbrand and me (actually, some--like the bandage piece--are actually swiped from the Fluxus performances of Yoko Ono and her colleagues back in the late 1950s and early 1960s). Every one is different; a few contain variations on a common theme. I can't tell you how much I've loved working on this project: coming up with new ideas with Brian or on my own, putting them in sealed envelopes, and dropping them off at Rust Belt like a surrealist mailman when the stock got low.

I have also loved seeing evidence here and there that people are really carrying out their assignments. At a party last weekend I spotted someone wearing a prize ribbon he'd been given by someone else, and I knew immediately what was going on. I've also found crumpled pieces of paper, cryptic notes, and other traces of various missions.

So what about you? Have you reached in the box yet? (Hurry--you only have about 12 hours as of now to do it.) I realize some of the assignments are top-secret, but if you'd care to write about something you've done or seen thanks to the box, please do!

The year I missed the festival (part one)

See these people?



They are performing in The Tell-tale Heart at College Street, and as you'll notice, I am on the outside looking in. Got there too late, thanks to a lengthy search for a parking space in Allentown. (I actually had one right next to the gallery for Shakespeare in the Parking Space, but it wasn't a legal one, so I had to relocate, which took half an hour if you count running into friends on the street.) The door was closed, the room was full, and the stage was right next to the entrance. Damn!

It's just as well. Right now I fondly remember missing a day of the fest--only one, that is. I'm up to three and three-quarters now. Thanks to a huge backload of work and a looming drop-dead-line at my day job, I haven't seen a show since last Tuesday. (I'm counting yesterday as the three-quarters, because I was at least able to spot part of Exception from the car and see ten minutes of Squid Ink, and then host Shakespeare.) Very, very pissed off about missing so much after working for five minutes to help put it all together, and about not having time to blog as regularly as I would have liked.

So in lieu of scene reports or reviews of shows (I do still have plenty of each from the first weekend that I never got around to), I will post a few fleeting memories and photos I like, both here and in a future entry or two, in no particular order. You have my sincerest apologies for not posting most of these while the shows were still up and running. Oh, well: maybe next year.



Aidan Baker at Soundlab last Saturday. His set and Beta Cloud's marked the end of a long day of festivalgoing for me, and they were kinda perfect: soothing noise, to coin an oxymoron. Quiet music at a deafening volume, if you can wrap your mind around that. I know I can, and I bought CDs by both artists so I can relive that perfect moment any time I like. (Full disclosure: Not for everyone! I was playing Beta's Nephology in the car the other day, and my partner asked, "Is something wrong with the radio?" Ah, what a question!)



Live painting at the College Street Block Party last weekend. I like this photo (these four people should form a band, just so they can use this shot as their album cover), and I love the intersection of the party and the festival every year. Gracias to Mike Mulley for making the party happen, and to Jason Klinger for putting together the visual art component of the festival.



A rapper performing in Vendetta's Open Lot on Monday night. I didn't catch his name, but I also saw him at the open mic in the Steel Crazy lot on Tuesday.



S. Vestas' Squid Ink setting up in Days Park last night. As noted above, I only caught a few minutes of the show, but I'll see it tonight. These two women are famous around the fest for two things: an incredibly lax approach to start time (fortunately the Saturday crowd had a good sense of humor about waiting around for an hour for them to show up, which is a fairly common occurence) and even more incredible performances. Don't miss them. It was also fun to run into them at Jim's SteakOut, still in those sheep/goat/whatever costumes two hours after their show.

More to come!

The Iffys are (almost) here again!

Infringement is all about thinking things up and then doing them--sometimes really fast. Case in point: during the 2006 festival, Kurt S. got the bright idea to create a tongue-in-cheek awards ceremony for the Closing Night Party. Think of the "Iffy" Awards as every bit as DIY as the festival itself. We made up a dozen or two categories, wrote them on paper plates, and handed them out at Nietzsche's.

This year's bright idea--which 'll take credit for--was opening up the awards committee even farther. Now you can:

a. Head to Rust Belt Books before about, oh, 6:30 p.m. or so on Sunday and look for this box right next to the front door:



(There are already about 8-10 instant winners in the box.)

2. Or you can come to Staples (on the early iside) or the party, grab a paper plate or two, and start creating Iffies then and there.
3. Or post your winner(s) in the comments section of this blog, or email them to me (use: ronehmke @ roadrunner.com), by 5 pm. Sunday.

So do it! See you at the party....

Architecture's Sister

I had a vibe that this might be my "Wow!" performance of the festival, but I didn't know how wow.
One of my favorite concepts is the appropriation of space, as applied to relationships, buildings, movement, whatever.
From at least a theoretical standpoint, one of my favorite mediums (as an audience member) is dance, as it's simultaneously, absolutely, abstract and concrete. (In practice, it's really music, for its emotional/visceral impact)
Aaron Piepszny's ability to take up and move through space are beyond my descriptive powers. Let somebody else take up that task; comments, please.
Follow this guy. He's brilliant.
Check the schedule for when to see in these waning hours.

Summer is Short

Seems like I've been playing catch-up since this thing started, but the most ridiculous delay thus far is my review of "Summer Shorts" a series of short films presented @ Staples by Scott Kurchak. The first in a round of presentations was this past Monday, including the premiere of Scott's first film "Audition Day."
I've known there's some serious film talent here in Buffalo, but most of what I've been familiar with is the more left-of-the-dial stuff produced by the folks attached to Squeaky Wheel. Looks like there's room for some product with a different vibe.
Two of the three other films were from Buffalo artists; "Life in 3D" which features a young man looking incredulously at his life in Buffalo from a not-so-different persective, and "Boxed Out" an hilarious look at being outsourced by technology. Both were well-executed, well-paced, nicely framed, funny, and cute (and I don't mean in a disparaging way).
"Audition Day"'s debut was marred ever-so-slightly with some technical problems which resulted in poor resolution of the film. Still, highly digestible. This was a "longer" short, which outlined the preparations of a young actress for an audition. Possible (probable?) obstructions to her success were explored in a sequence of "what if" scenarios, many of which were LOL funny. Wistful, sweet, too; again, more than a worth-see. Fortunately, an opportunity to catch things both today @ 8 pm, tomorrow @ 5:30 at the above venue.
I'm certain the technical problems have resolved. The film was literally hot of the presses as it was rushed to its debut.
Seen immediately before/after "Summer Shorts" is "Rag Doll", a more abstact 5 minute film that allows the audience to endure being on the receiving end of a rather aggressive haircut.

Shakin' in the parking space

Not the kind of record I'm proud of

I'm not positive, but there's a pretty good chance that Wednesday, August 1, 2007 marked the first day in the three-year history of Buffalo Infringement that I did not attend a single event. (I did add about 30 brand-new envelopes to the "Self-Infringement" box and create a last-minute poster for Shakespeare in the Parking Space, but that doesn't really count.)

You may also have noticed that I've slacked a bit in my posting scene reports and show reviews--I've got plenty to say, and still hope to catch up before the festival ends, but after devoting most of my waking hours to festival-related tasks for the past month, I am so unbelievably behind on my actual paying job that I could work all day and all night and still be swamped.

So here's another opportunity for those of you who don't feel like joining the blog (which you're always welcome to do) to post your own thoughts about the festival in the comments section.

What shows have you seen so far that you loved? Hated?
Which ones are you looking forward to this weekend?
Which ones did you miss completely?
Which ones have you heard good (or bad) things about?
What's the first thing you intend to do when the festival ends and normal life resumes?

And so on. Feel free to add questions of your own and answer those, too.

Because I can't resist, and in a desperate attempt to make up for posts I haven't written yet, I'm gonna post my own replies as a comment and hope that others follow suit.

Up For Round Two

Sunday night I promised the youngsters in Qualia I'd have a review posted sometime in the next few days...it's seventy-some hours and counting, so here goes...
Actually, I'm going to condense things and discuss two bands here. It's really hot, I'm lazy, and these bands share a few things in common.
I was sorta iffy when I saw the band dragging their gear in. Buncha earnest white kids that met (most of them) at City Honors. Young!! Perhaps toying with the whole rock star thing??? No; Qualia is composed of some serious musicians who have studied their craft, are comfortable with their instruments, know what they like, and know what they want to say. Sorta trippy, they describe their output as "Experimental music rooted in jazz, psychedelia, and progressive rock". (King Crimson?; no, Mogwai, etc. A friend of mine heard the psychedelia moniker and dismissed them as an, eww, jam band) They've put some effort into their myspace website, too, including the requisite video. The group consists of Jon Emerling, James Warren, Adam Fix, and Harvey Barnes; I forget who's attatched to what 'cuz it's been a few days, but definitely MORE than a worth see!!!
As is Dali's Ghost. Last night, one woman sitting next to me (who I recognized from yoga class) looks at me incredulously and says, "I can't believe I never heard of them!!!!!!" Exactly!! Perhaps a few (very few) years older than the kids upstairs, these guys have logged some serious miles in pursuit of their sound. Stylisticaly versatile, their music includes funky baselines, wailing guitars, aggressive drumming, on-target vocals, and the occasional trumpet. They switch from guitarbased rock to jazzy riffs to ballads and back seamlessly. Having a frontman with the allure of Kurt Cobain (but living) will not hurt their popularity.
Both bands will be playing @ Soundlab's Psychedelic Infringement on Friday, along with Fountainhead and Drivers to Warsaw, whom I have yet to see.
I plan on heading over.
Oh, additional comment, the back room at Staples is small, but has a really good sound. Nice addition to the venue option for smaller shows. Thanks, Adrian.

Murphy's Law - Channel cancels

So I get this in my mailbox this morning...

"Channel has been asked to perform at the big civic center in boston as an opener for the Dave Matthews Band on the side stage for 2 days in a row. this is the biggest opportunity the band has seen yet.
The band is in the beginning stages of signing with a label and this is the first effort in that.I hope you understand" damon fowler - channel


I want to be pissed, but I can't blame them

"The radar" under the microscope

Numerous people over the last two years have joked that our motto "11 days of art under the radar" may no longer be appropriate, given the incredible amount of press the festival has been getting: the covers of both Gusto and Artvoice two years in a row, numerous other articles in other papers and magazines, tv spots, and so on. (The obvious response to smart alecks is: Hey, it's the art and the people who make it that are--and remain--under ye olde radar, not this 2-week blip once a year. I can almost guarantee that most of these same media outlets would be much less likely or able to cover most of these same acts if it weren't for the critical mass that the festival provides. Which is one of the main reasons Infringement is so handy for so many of us--artists, audiences, and journalists alike.)

If you haven't seen them yet, here are:
*Tom Dooney's cover story (complete with suggestions on how to improve the fest in the future) from last week's Artvoice, and
*Colin Dabkowski's coverage of one typical day in the fest, which appears in today's Buffalo News. (That link will only work for free for a few days, so hurry on over.)

(Dabkowski's earlier Gusto story on the festival as a whole has already moved into the archives, so you'll have to pay to see it here if you missed it earlier. And depending on when you see this, you can find all of Artvoice's week-one coverage here.)

The main Artvoice story in particular has elicited a lot of response--I've heard everything from "How dare they!" to "Hey, great story; Tom made some excellent points"--so here's your chance to weigh in on any and all of the coverage thus far. I'm gonna hold my tongue till some of the rest of you have had your say.

Have at it: What do you think about the media coverage of the festival thus far? Good? Bad? Ugly? Spill it, people!

MC Vendetta @ Nietzche's

day one.

Well what can I say, so much cool stuff i have seen....

Day 1:

I checked out Rust Belt for the Ed Powell thing. Cool. What a great display.

Nietzsche's! The kick off!!!! - Rap of 3 varieties, classical/ folk rock, and well.... some art with instruments, free expression to say the least. Loved every minute of it. MC Vendetta commanded the audiences attention, with spoken word and song. Insightful, inspiring, and at points side spitting hysterical. The Genuflecktor's were really cool, first time I've seen the trio. Josh Gage also did an great job running the event. Z Mann Zilla, I have deep respect for since we work together often. While it may have not been the best Zilla outing. He still danced a good jig and drew some cool shit while doing it. MasterPeace Soicety, from the falls, cool cats, enjoyed meeting them. Had a techinical snag with their audio track but still delivered. Check em out if you can at the wrap up. The last act was "Forgotten Figures Fighting Over A Piece Of Bread" (or something). They presented a sound collage of acoustic and electric guitar, ramblings and poetry, a hammer hitting a makeshift metal xylophone with great enthusiasm. All in all a great evening, including an impromptu Joke / Story by the Rated R Superstar. Finally the kid made me laugh.

Subversive Theatre

Zilla's One-man Circus at Nietzche's

Genuflektors at Nietzche's

Sunday, all day

So much to see, so little time. Running way behind on my reviews; there's stuff going as far back as Saturday that I have yet to comment on. Hope to catch up by tomorrow, which is our lightest day in the schedule. Looking AT tomorrow, quick thumbs up for "Axeman's Jazz", Dali's Ghost (a taste from the College Street Block Party), and of course, MC Vendetta. I think both of us (that would be, two or, 2) that have ventured a comment thus far, have pointed out her facility with the language that neither had appreciated adequately before. Ron described her as a "wordsmith" (a favorite term of mine) which I concur with wholeheartedly.
Yesterday was, uh, recent, but already blurring, so let me just outline the streetscape....arrived at the tail end of the College Street Block Party, missed the Global Village Idiots to my chagrin; highly recommmended by at least two people I know. Caught much of Ramforinkus. They'll be at my venue Thursday, so more details then, but definitely a worth-see! Dali's Ghost made an unscheduled appearance, as well. More on them tomorrow, when I catch a full set.
My background in art criticism is lacking, but I must admit I'm attracted to Jason Klinger's work; really chaotic and visceral. Hard to avoid. He was putting the finishing touches on this massive piece hanging on the outside wall of Samples when I did a quick walk-thru. He also has a number of pieces (oil on canvas) hanging in Staples, with a book on the back mantel for commentary. Lotsa commentary! Check it out. Post it here.
Later (much), and inside by now, a short set by the Master Peace Society, followed by Qualia. There was some initial confusion with the schedule; I actually had thought I heard that they would be jamming together, which was retrospectively ludicrous given their disparate styles. Both groups skilled, though, both thoroughly enjoyable, both in command of their audience. I promised the kids in Qualia a full-length review; it's forthcoming. In the meantime, check out their page @ myspace.com/qualiamusic. They'll be a part of the Psychedelic Infringement Show @ Soundlab on Friday. The Master Peace Society will be back with their rotating cast of characters and mindful raps to close the Festival off next Sunday.
Tonight, a series of Summer Shorts @ Staples. Heavy on the superlatives here, as well, but I gotta work tomorrow, so we'll talk then.

Electronica at Soundlab

I was really looking forward to this event at Soundlab Saturday night. I had done a brief investigation of the myspace pages of both Beta Cloud and Aidan Baker (I was going to be too late for Praying for Oblivion because of another commitment); and was intrigued by what I had heard. Intrigued enough to notify a friend of mine who has VERY similar taste in music; he made the same investigation, and drove in from Niagara County late Saturday to meet up and listen. We were anticipating an evening listening to dreamy aural landscapes and abstract sounds.
I'm still apologizing!
I've been to events of this ilk before, and had forgotten how often very little is going on onstage. For Beta Cloud, at least this deficit was noted, and partially compensated for by frenetic black-and-white photographic images assaulting the backdrop. Since I had just left the cunnilingus workshop (see below), though, many of the shots looked vulvar to me, shades of Georgia O'Keefe. (not a bad thing)
Rather monotonous, albeit pleasant background music. Turn down the volume, give me a mattress; they could have lulled me to sleep.
I'm certain listening in a different setting (without a twenty minute drive between me and my bed) would provide a different experience.

Certified Graduate of the Institute

Strike all of the frivilous commentary made in anticipation of "The Art of Ypsilform Dining" the cunnilligus workshop being generously provided by caesandra this and next weekend at Squeaky Wheel. This was a thoughtful, playful, well-researched, and artfully composed tutorial on the exploration of this means of providing female sexual pleasure.
The workshop sprung from caesandra's labors while working on her MFA thesis at UB.
Saturday was a "mixed" night, which allowed for both male and female participants; straight and lesbian couples, singles, etc. I arrived a few minutes late, so I may have missed the whole story, but one of the gentleman was a fine art (read:erotica) photographer who was raised in Sweden. Apparently all the above is part of the curriculum for middle schoolers (or below?) in his country of origin. Provided for some interesting perspectives.
The workshop featured a history of tongue-dancing through art and literature, a tour of female anatomy, tongue exercises (some of us ate our peaches; mine was a little under-ripe), positions (thank you, yoga), associated slang, and a few toys, as well.
We even got goodie bags to take home!!!! And a Certificate!! Might be worth less for me than some others, but I think it's important to be informed on the receiving end as well.
I forgot to pay my required $5.00. This is probably one of the few events at the Infringement Festival that might be worth the extra zero or two.

Letters (from here)....

I was sprinting (after a way-too-long day at work) to make the first monologue of Susan Hodge Anner's "Letters to the World", the one written-in-stone committment I had made to myself for Friday evening. Arrived mid-way thru the first.
I was experiencing some trepidation, as Susan is my co-czarina for Staples (where her show is playing), and I had never seen any of her work before. What if it sucked, and I had to play nice?? (something I can only fake with Herculean effort)
Clearly, a healthy contingent of the Buffalo theater audience IS familiar with her work, as the room was packed. Heavy on estrogen; an older crew than perhaps I'll see at Soundlab tonight. ARTVOICE's Anthony Chase was also in attendance (I am surrounded by professional writers). I needn't have worried.
These verbal snapshots were obviously wrought by a feminine hand, heavy on character development and exposition of feelings. Subject matter ranged from the joys of substitute teaching to post-partum depression to professional anxiety to death and loss. The monologues were nicely executed by a number of Buffalo's professional acting community. I was particularly moved by "Frozen in Time", performed by Kristen Tripp Kelley.
Last chance to see this show tonight @ 8pm @ Staples on Allen.

Scene report: Day Two (Friday)

I now know from comparing notes with my fellow roving reporter Lynn that I"m not the only person who has trouble getting to the first show of the day. Once I'm out of my house and in the heart of the festival, I can happily zip from one show to another and another, but it's hard to get going in the first place.

Which explains why, despite my goal of getting an early start tonight, I only managed to make it to two things, starting at 8:30 and ending by 10 p.m.:

1. Theatre Of Truth(s): Within Boundary Or A Ride In The Air



This was one of those cases where I had NO IDEA what to expect--the abstract image on the postcard was as vague as it was beautiful, while the brochure had me thinking this was some sort of ithree-hour-long nteractive multi-media performance environment/happening/whatever--and the location (for the first weekend only) was a studio I'd never heard of on Linwood Avenue. I actually enjoy this sort of mystery: getting in the car and seeking out some unfamiliar destination, not having a clue what I'll find when I get there.

So I kind of hate to spoil some of the intrigue for those of you who share this taste for adventure--but I'm going to do it anyway, for the benefit of everyone else, who likes a liiiitle bit more explanation. "Theater of Truth(s)" is an eleven-minute video installation by Ella Joseph. And "Scenoart Studio and Gallery" is the artist's home. (Next weekend, the piece moves to Hallwalls--where I have a hunch it may be ever so slightly less exciting, if only because that weird sense of intimacy you get from walking into a stranger's house, hearing people cooking and eating dinner in the background, won't be there.) If you want a least a hint of surprise to remain, skip the next paragraph.

The piece is the essence of simplicity: projected video of parts of a body in an abstacted landscape, very school-of-Bill-Viola. What makes it most interesting to me is not the image or the accompanying soundtrack, but the way these elements are presented: headphones dangle from the ceiling, alongside IV drip bags, each containing a single live fish. It's a simple, very arresting image, and while I'm not entirely sure what it means in the strictest sense, I can definitely identify the feelings it evokes in me, from initial amazement to mild creepiness to admiration for its elegance.

2. Something to Say

The "earth's daughters" writers' collective was probably one of the first local cultural institutions I was aware of when I moved to Buffalo in 1982, so I associate it with the era of Black Mountain II College at UB, Yeast-West Bakery, the North Buffalo Co-Op, Emma Books, and other long-gone reminders of WNY's post-hippie era. (I'm not implying any direct connection between the writing group and these other fabled anti-institutions, just suggesting a context.) I confess I didn't realize the group was still around, so their current cycle of readings during the festival provides us all with a chance to catch up with them.

It's been a while since I've attended a straightforward poetry reading (okay, a poetry reading with banjo accompaniment and audience-participation chants of "avocado! avocado! avocado!", but still), and I'd largely forgotten how closely they tend to resemble old-school folk--er, acoustic music--concerts: longish background stories preceding/explaining the poems, polite applause after every piece, no matter how brief, and so on. But this is not to suggest that e.d. is stuck in the 70s: there was a pretty wide range of styles presented by the ever-changing stream of readers, much like the annual "Urban Epiphany" event, in this case moderated by Ryki Zuckerman and culled from her colleagues, students, and fellow travellers. Some of Friday night's writers had never read in public before; others have been active on the scene for decades. Their subject matter ranged from, y'know, the personal to the political, with plenty of overlap. We heard love poems, anti-war poems (one beautiful one linking the debacle in Iraq to the October Surprise Storm and vice versa), a nice evocation of female masturbation, a followup poem about the public response to that nice evocation of female masturbation, funny poems, sad poems, and all manner of other things. I wish I'd taken notes about who wrote what, quotable quotes, and other descriptive details, because as I write this seven hours later, it's all kind of a blur. A nice blur, mind you--a blur of powerful images and powerful voices (Joyce Kessel comes to mind in both of those departments, though there were others who impressed me as well whose names I didn't get)--but a blur all the same. It was hot and the lights flickered a lot. And it finally dawned on me that the woman I know as M. C. Vendetta is actually the daughter of Robin K. Willoughby, a name I recall from that bygone era I mentioned earlier. Turns out young Jana W. literally grew up around earth's daughters meetings, and it was a rare treat to see her in this tamer setting than the noisy bars and sidewalks where I'm used to seeing her. I assumed she'd bust out some of her Vendetta moves, but instead she read two capital-p Poems in a style utterly unlike her hiphop/slam/street-poet persona. I loved both of them, and they brought a whole new level of depth to her obvious skills as a wordsmith and performer.

(Note: the lineup of these readings will change from day to day, with a mix of new and returning anchor readers plus, I assume, more newbies each time--just like the issues of a poetry magazine.)

From there, I went to a party, and then home, where I won't be for long before heading out again for what promises to be a wild weekend: Garden Walk by day, Infringement by night. I love this town!

Amount spent on admissions for the evening (1 installation, 1 group reading): $0
(No collection taken at the former; arrived late at the latter and left early, so if a hat was passed, I missed it.)

Your turn

Here's one of those periodic posts that exists purely to give foilks who don't want to officially join the blog a chance to share their own reviews of shows they've seen, previews of shows they want to see, and ads for shows they're in. So have at it!

Wandering (A Turn)

It was the combo of playwright Lanford Wilson and director Matt LaChiusa--and the intriguing promise of that "epilogue by Stephen Hawking"--that got me to College Street Gallery on Thursday night. I didn't know the script in question, and I arrived late, which meant I missed the Hawking part (actually a prologue, as it turns out), but I was up for anything.

The play--which is far shorter than the hour-long running time the brochure had me expecting--reminds me a lot of other short pieces by Wilson's Off-Off-Broadway contemporaries from the mid-to-late-60s, writers like Robert Coover and John Guare back before they all went on to win National Book Awards and Tony Awards and such. The structure is simple: seventeen (or so) lightning-fast vignettes performed by three actors, each scene incorporating the word "wandering." The language is conscciously poetic and repetitive and the staging is remarkably efficient--perfect for the tiny playing space of the gallery. I sat on the floor close enough to rub elbows with the cast, and felt just like I was in some teeny Greenwich Village cafe watching the original production, say around 1967.

It's easy to imagine why LaChiusa picked this play at this time: the Vietnam-era saga of a young man confronting the military-industrial complex is (sadly) every bit as relevant in 2007 as it was 40 years ago. While the general aesthetic is High Sixties Experimental Theater, there's not a single line that sounds dated today. I don't know if that's a sign of how progressive Wilson was back then, or how backward our country is today, but either way, this short piece is well worth a visit.

Call It Chocolate Cake

At the risk of sounding like a jerk, I'm just gonna come right out and say it: between the title and the 20-word description in the brochure, I had fairly low expectations for "Call It Chocolate Cake" before I even walked into the room. More specifically, I was expecting bad standup comedy. (For no particular reason, I was even more specifically envisioning some well-meaning middle-aged liberal straight person's take on the oh-so-hilarious subject of gay marriage.) It looked short, it was just down the street, and i'm gonna be tying the knot with the man o' my dreams pretty soon myself, so I thought I'd give it a try anyway.

The moment I walked into Sp@ce 224, saw performer Janet Werther getting ready, checked out the crowd, and heard some early Ani DiFranco on a boombox as preshow music, my preconceived notions vanished--only to be replaced by a whole new set of expectations/stereotypes. Now I was imagining a super-earnest young dyke's perspective on the same topic, and for the first few minutes of her piece--a solo movement section accompanied by a reading of a text consisting of found definitions of various key terms--that's pretty much what I got. I figured I'd seen this kind of thing (both the dance vocabulary and the verbal content) a lot over the last 20 years or so, particularly in various small performance spaces throughout the East Village back in the late 80s and early 90s.

But. But. But. Werther is way smarter about what she's doing than my first impression allowed. She may be covering some familiar territory (okay, familiar to a tiny portion of the general population), but she absolutely makes it her own. She's got a wonderful sense of humor--which is to say a sense of perspective--about herself, her subject matter, and her art, and is terrifically alive to the twists and turns of live performance. That's not to say the piece was a laugh riot on Thursday night; she apologized at one point for the fact that we might be expecting a comedy and were getting something quite a bit heavier. (Hell, I got pretty misty-eyed as she evoked the hypothetical possibility of being in a coma and her life partner not being able to visit her in the hospital. Having dealt with numerous emergency-room adventures with my own spartner, her story truly hit home for me.) No, the greatest compliment I can pay "Cake" is this: it doesn't strive to be polished and perfect, it strives to be human--and totally lives up to that simple-sounding, difficult-to-achieve goal. One performer with one recently injured foot, two readers recruited from the crowd to deliver the aforementioned text cold after some hastily delivered direction in full view of the rest of the audience, several bags of Skittles deployed at just the right moment, and a t-shirt. She's even got a response for people like me who are tempted to turn up our noses at her use of those Ani songs. I don't want to give too much more away, partly because Werther is really good at surprises, and partly because the piece is designed to change from night to night. (There's an excellent chance that any lines or actions I quote will be gone next time around, only to be replaced by other great stuff.) I'm hoping to catch the show a second time later on, to see how it evolves. And I'm even more excited about watching Werther evolve, too: her instincts are fantastic, and she's a born performer.

Come to think of it, I'd even watch her do stand-up if I had to.

Epicircle: The Ed Powell Project

Forgive me for indulging in out-and-out hyperbole right out of the starting gate, but this installation of outtakes from the archives of the late, much-loved UB sociology professor and activist Ed Powell is not to be missed. It's one of the most fascinating and imaginative archival exhibits I've ever seen. The back room of Rust Belt has been transformed into a wild, slightly surreal dreamscape of papers, notes, personal effects, books, still-packed boxes, and miscellaneous ephemera. They cascade from the ceiling, they accumulate in corners, they spill across the floor, and they're tucked into every available nook and cranny of the small space.



Curator Erin Verhoef (familiar to most everyone who has spent time in the front part of the store) explains in a photocopied note that the project is an outgrowth of her work with Powell's archives at UB; what we're seeing here is mostly duplicates from the main collection. "With the technological advances in information science, paper communication is being replaced by virtual communication ... and frankly, it breaks my heart," she writes. "I am not resistant to change; I am resistant to disrespecting physical contextual history ... which is now and everywhere." (Reading these words in a 21st century used bookstore gives them even more weight.) Visitors to the show are even encouraged to take a part of it home with them ("but please do so with consideration")--a brilliant notion, because in trying to pick my own souveneir, I was obliged to think about the very act of collection (my home office is almost as cluttered and crazed as this simulated one) and about the difficult choices entailed in curating any posthumous show.

I never took a class from Powell; I had a passing conversation or two with him over the years, and I certainly remember seeing him on his bike and at events all over town. (He was pretty hard to miss.) So I am not be the best judge of how accurately Verhoef has captured his spirit. (Whoops, bad choice of words: no way to capture a spirit this wild and wooly. "Preserved"? "Honored"? "Evoked"?) But the minute I walked in the room, I got the basic idea: Epicircle is every bit as eccentric, and as inspiring, as the legendary packrat to whom it pays tribute. The installation is so damn cool I almost wish it coud be permanent--but the notion of "permanent ephemera" is an oxymoron Powell would surely find hilarious.

Important note! If you want to see "Epicenter," HURRY! Today (Friday, July 27) is the last day, and then it will be gone forever.

Scene report: Day One (Thursday)

After last year's festival, one reader of this blog suggested that we stick to a one-show-per-post principle so it's easier to find info on individual projects in a hurry. Makes sense to me, but I also think there's something to be said for daily "scene reports" as a way to capture the essence of the festival as a whole: the difficult decisions about what to see and why, fleeting observations about peripheral activities that may or may not be "part of" the fest in an official sense, and the ever-important question of economics. So when time permits, I'm gonna do both: write in broad terms about my day at the festival, and also provide more detailed notes on each show I see in separate posts.

I was really wiped out Thursday afternoon, and I didn't feel like I was up for a lot. Besides, even though I'd spent many, MANY hours proofreading the festival brochure and press release, I hadn't taken any time to make up my own personal list of what I wanted to see. I spent at least an hour at home highlighting descriptions of stuff that sounded interesting, then threw up my hands in despair and said, "Oh, the hell with it; I'll just head to Allentown and see what's playing when I get there." Ended up spending another full hour at Jim's SteakOut just mapping out possibilities for Thursday through Saturday, and checking out the fab Artvoice cover story. By the time I was done, I'd already missed at least three shows on my original list, all of which I figured I could catch another day anyway. While there are several full-length, serious plays this weekend that I'd like to see, I just didn't have the energy to commit to an hour-and-a-half-long production. The main thing I knew I wanted to catch was "Epicircle," the Ed Powell retrospective at Rust Belt, and I was very glad I got to spend some time in that amazing installation (which is only up through Friday night).

From there I headed to Sp@ce 224 (my first visit to this ever-changing site since it was a comic book store) for "Call It Chocolate Cake," followed by "Wandering" at College Street Gallery, at which point I realized I'd lost my wallet. Back to Sp@ce 224, where it was waiting for me, and then to Nietzsche's for the tail end of the Kick-Off party, where I caught part of a typically noisy, anarchic set by Josh Strauss and the other members of Forgotten Figures Falling Between Two Twigs.



Walking into Nietzsche's, I couldn't help but notice a huge piece of fabric rolling out the front door like a giant tongue. Music Czar Curt Rotterdam tells me this thing will be reappearing at future showcases, and you're welcome to add your own comments to it. Just like this blog! Long live Infringement!



(That blurry figure to the left is my Dream Cabaret colleague Jeannine Giffear, whom I'd hoped to see in the Genuflektors during the Kick-Off Party, but I missed their set, so I'm gonna have to catch one of their two Steel Crazy gigs later on.)

Amount spent on admissions for the evening (2 performances, 1 concert showcase, 1 exhibition): $1
(Okay, I know I sound like a total cheapskate, but in my defense, I did lose my wallet. And I also shunned one of Artvoice's hot tips for festival survival: I didn't bring enough small bills! Lesson learned...)

The fun part

After all the months of planning, it's hard to believe the 2007 festival is a reality instead of just a series of agenda items at a meeting in the back room of Staples. "Now comes the fun part," as many of my fellow organizers are fond of saying.

A big part of the fun, at least for me, comes not just from attending lots of shows, but comparing notes on them with other people. That's where this blog comes in: it's a vehicle for anyone and everyone to play critic, advocate (devil's or otherwise), roving reporter, hypester, or any other role that suits you. The main blog innovation this year is that we've tried to organize a small cadre of folks who have volunteered to see as many shows as possible and write about them here on a daily basis. You've already read some of Chris Uebbing's thoughts on Day One; I'm gonna be posting my own mini-reviews in a sec; Lynn Lasota will surely be chiming in soon; Caesandra S. promises to share the many photos she's been taking; and we're hoping to hear from Lawrence Rowswell as well. If you'd like to join the team, just send an email to me at (ronehmke @ hotmail.com) and I'll be happy to add you. (If you're already a member of the blog from last year, you're good to go.)

Of course, if you don't feel like committing to more than an occasional post, you can always click on the "comments" line below any review and add your thoughts about the same show. From time to time, we'll also create spaces where you can write about any show you've seen that we haven't reviewed yet, or simply share your thoughts about the festival in general.

Without further ado, let the games begin.

Cunning Linguists

In the venerable tradition of "Snap Judgements" this writer is so excited (damn!) about her attendance at the first Infringement installment of "The Art of Ypsilform Dining" this coming (shit!) Saturday that I have to review it BEFORE I'm there.
First, caesandra, thank you for your role as a community service provider. Sorely (oops) needed in this town (I speak from the perspective of a gracefully aging heterosexual female).
Per my observation, the heterosexual male audience at last Saturday's pre-Infringement bash (where a teaser was provided) was divided into two camps: the "I could GIVE this workshop" contingent, and the "Will there be live demos?' crew. I jest; actually this seems like an enlightened batch of folk.
Discussion about this workshop proved fodder for some highly entertaining conversation at the Left Bank last night, as the Infringement calendar worked its way across the bar. A bartender I'll call Jeffrey confirmed my suspicion (with his expertise as the poor man's, well, not POOR, it was the Left Bank....counselor) that cunnilingus is highly preferred to straight..poor choice of words..simple intercourse. Statistically, anecdotally.
I really just want to see who has the stones to show up.
A real review to be posted later.....G'night, all.

Some Hero!

What a relief to see a professional at work!! Scott Andrew Kurchak's reading of Jon Byrd's "For Want of a Hero" was another of his engaging, impassioned, and moving performances. This is a one-act play depicting a young man's experience with a disabling illness, and his disenchantment with a hero that had sustained him during his early trials. The Infringement Festival is likely to be once again the venue for refining this work-in-progress for a later launch in a more traditional theater setting (see "My Life as an Ape").
To be available (and deservedly, better attended) tomorrow, Wednesday, and next Friday evening @ Squeaky Wheel.
This reviewer is personally jonesing for Scott's "Audition Day" premiere @ Staples on Monday, July 30. Other short films from this same artist will be screened at this time and several more occasions after.

First Night (not to be compared to another event of a decidedly different ilk)

First foray into Infringement 2007 started with a standing-room only fledgling performance of "CSI:Buffalo"; the half-hour skit parodying the popular prime-time TV show and its' spawn. This one-woman show received polite attention as the comic (who remains unknown by this reporter, clearly lacking in the most rudimentary of detective skills) segued loosely from the predicted format to standup and back again.
Street noise and the humidity were an early distraction.
One young fan in the front in particular seemed to get all the in-jokes accesible to fans of the series(es?). Seems like Buffalo crime solving is light on the forensics, and high on.....intuition???? Humor?
Plenty of opportunity for the show to tighten up a bit, as performances extend though August 5th at the College Street Gallery.

Comments re: schedule release party

1st installment from this neophyte on the Blog Street Team; my impressions of the schedule release party @ Staples (as tempered by a couple glasses of red grenache recommended by Chris @ the bar) : if this is representative of what's to transpire, we're in good shape.

This event was pretty much what I would have hoped for, a loose combination of thin hustles, intact/succinct segments of full-fleshed performances, and a couple of more lengthy sets by musical acts involved with/appended to the Infringement Festival.

A few of the more notable moments from my perspective......

M.C. Vendetta demonstrating some range by veering pleasantly from her more usual strident and in-your-face political rants with a lovely poem about her mother's acceptance of things broken yet still viable in "Teakettle."

Z Mann Zilla's (self-described as the Laziest Man in Show Business) donation to my vocabulary with "Monochromonotony".

A short excerpt from the Brazen-Faced Varlets ribald romp "A Midsummer Dyke's Dream".

And then regarding some performers who played full sets....

Matthew LaChiusa's vigorous showmanship fronting "Dick Whiskey" was nearly as amazing as the band's insistence on covering some of the most embarrasing components of this writers vinyl collection with aplomb and expertise.

I'm not sure how "infringy" Tori Spark's music is, but it's immaterial as she was just damn good. She was the exhuberant and muscular vocalist/songwriter/guitarist from Tennesee who finished off the core of the evening's performances. The half-dozen or so individuals who were not yet wrapped up in the more social end of the festivities were paying rapt and appreciative attention. If I heard correctly, one of her songs is showcased in Scott Andrew Kurchak's series Audition Day/Summer Shorts. I was enthused enough to buy a CD. She's got a non-Infringement gig (who's keeping score?) at Merlin's on Thursday.

More to come. See you the 26th.

Schedule Release Party THIS Saturday

July 21st 8pm at Staples Bar on Allen St (across from Nietzches)
Live music and featured festival performers will be present to meet you, schmooze you and figure out the best way to coerce you into attending the Fest!!
(Personally, I prefer rubbing of chest hair, but if you don't have any, we'll think of something else)

Infringe TONIGHT at Soundlab

BIZARRE BAZAAR

Saturday June 16, 8pm at Soundlab

All proceeds benefit the

2007 BUFFALO INFRINGEMENT FESTIVAL

Music By
Baby Machines
Draconians
Laura Jean and Friends
Ramforkinus
Drivers to Warsaw
Jack Toft and the Vegetables

Live Performances By
Alemaedae Theatre Productions
Caesandra
The Rated-R Rockstar Josh Smith

Film / Video By
Scott Andrew Kurchak
Ron Ehmke
Andrew Michalski
Morphine Heart Productions

Added Attractions!
50/50 Raffle
Indoor Garage Sale: Hidden treasures at rock-bottom prices!

Saturday June 16, 8pm at Soundlab

110 Pearl St. http://www.bigorbitgallery.org/

Suggested donation $5 and up

We're baaaaaack...

After several months of much-needed hibernation, this newly redesigned blog is back in action. And so is the spirit of Infringement! We've been meeting off and on since March to plan this year's Buffalo Infringement Festival, which runs from Thursday, July 26 to Sunday, August 5, 2007 and things are really starting to heat up. Here's a little of what has happened so far:

*we held our first fundraiser of the year on April 28 at Nietzsche's, featuring the Skiffle Minstrels, Jax Deluca, Z. Mann Zilla, Gentlemen Callerz, Acoustic Therapy and Buffalo Soundpainting Ensemble. Many thanks to all of 'em for helping out!

*proposals for this year's festival have been pouring in; we should have a tentative schedule in the next few weeks, but it already sounds like we're going to have a great mix of artists from past festivals and newcomers.

*the festival was awarded a Certificate of Excellence at the 2007 Arties, the annual theater awards sponsored by Artvoice, for "supporting a breadth of new performance and independent production in Buffalo." Aw, shucks!

And here's what's coming next:

*look for our table in the Allen West festival (ie, the fun part of the Allentown Art Festival) this weekend, June 9-10. There you'll get your first glimpse at our spiffy new postcard designed by the one and only Mr. Paul Szp.

*attend our second fundraiser, "BIZARRE BAZAAR," at Soundlab (110 Pearl,here in Buffalo) on Saturday, June 16 from 8 p.m. until the wee hours. It's a concert! It's a screening! It's a night of wild live performances! It's a chance to buy cheap stuff at an indoor garage sale/Chinese auction! Read all about it (at least until the event itself) here.

*audition to be in someone's show! A bunch of festival directors will be sitting in the back room of Rust Belt Books, 242 Allen Street, on Saturday, June 23, 2007, from noon to 3 p.m. Actors of all ages, ethnicities, and genders are asked to prepare a 2-5-minute monologue of their choice. To schedule a specific audition time, contact Matthew LaChiusa at 716-884-4858 or MORPHINEHEART@msn.com with your name and the time you would like to come in--or just drop by on a first-come, first-served basis.

We also hope you will get even more directly involved in making this year's festival a reality by joining our volunteer organizers. Meetings are fun, funny, and relatively short. The next one will take place Tuesday, June 19, at 6:30 p.m. in the back room of Staples, a.k.a. the bar at "Spirits of Allentown" (near the corner of Allen and Wadsworth).

There's waaaaay more to be said than that; your best bet for keeping informed about the festival is this page on our main site devoted to announcements, meetings, events, and other news.