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Birthday fun features Rundgren and hip-hop. Punk show, jazz organist coming up this weekend
Published on Thursday, Sep 10, 2009
What a sweet birthday weekend I had.
I got to experience the world premiere of Todd Rundgren's weirdly wonderful A Wizard, a True Star (cool poster) and my wife and I — along with a few thousand other people — enjoyed the second annual Akron Hip Hop Showcase at Lock 3 Park.
It was cool to see Big Daddy Kane reach out to the young folks by bringing a little boy out of the audience, dubbing him ''Little Daddy D'' and letting him cut loose while Kane performed. It was also good to see KRS-One (whose abrupt commands kept DJ Mick Boogie on his toes throughout his set) still holding it down for hip-hop culture while running through some of his classics.
KRS also tried to inspire local hip-hop artists to not emulate the sounds of other cities or the hot producers on the charts but speak directly to their experience of living, working and surviving in Akron, a pertinent message for any hip-hop scene.
So kudos to the Keepers of the Art crew — Big Ish and Don Juan, Brandon Laster, Bay Shaun Seay, Paul Ware Jr. and brothers Tobin, Monty and Brandon Buckner — for putting on another successful showcase and to Akron hip-hop fans for coming out and supporting the show.
But as we all know, success often brings conflict ( I won't go so far as to call them haters) and in the past several weeks and months, I have heard grumblings from local artists who feel the Akron Hip Hop Showcase doesn't showcase enough actual Akron hip-hop.
Ace Boogie and Cap C and Random X are Akron acts that have performed at the showcase, but it seems other local artists are feeling ignored and they would appear to have a valid argument.
''Honestly, we just wanted to use the first couple of years to lay the foundation of exactly what we deemed to be true school music,'' KOA Executive Director Ismail Al-Amin said.
''We always have people from the city onboard, like [Akron rappers] Ace Boogie and Random X and Cap C, because they fall in line with our mission and hopefully, based on these last two years, we've inspired some young artists to step up their game in terms of content.''
In other words, if your verses are limited to drugs, hoes and the acquisition of shiny, overpriced things, you probably aren't saying much KOA wants to hear or present to the public.
Al-Amin did say that future showcases will probably begin to incorporate more local artists, but they currently receive few submissions from the local scene.
Local artists who want to submit their music for next year's showcase can start by e-mailing KOA at info@keepersoftheart.com, but keep in mind:
''We're not going to add anybody who doesn't fall in line with our mission or isn't going to enhance the show,'' Al-Amin said.
Stuff to see and hear
Akron punk ain't dead if for no other reason than Dropgun simply refuses to go away.
On Saturday night, the venerable Akron punk outfit will join another set of Akron punk vets, First Offense, which will be celebrating its 10th anniversary at Annabell's in Akron's Highland Square with a free evening of . . . well, punk rock with a dash of punky ska and reggae dub from Rubber City Hooch.
This ain't no pop-punk. There are no traces of the bratty sing/songy melodies of the stuff you hear on the radio but rather the straight-forward (though not straight-edge, as these folks seem to enjoy alcohol) chant-along choruses and gravelly voiced pronouncements over adrenalized punk grooves in songs such as their empathetic ode to high school outcasts who resort to violence, The Worst Revenge.
This weekend, jazz fans will get three opportunities to see German jazz organist Barbara Dennerlein, who will be blowing through Northeast Ohio.
Unlike many modern jazz organists, Dennerlein is known in part for not sounding like the late great bop/soul jazz organist Jimmy Smith, whose influence still looms large. Dennerlein is also one of the few jazz organists who also performs on church and pipe organs.
She has a 2008 solo live recording called Spiritual Movement No. 2 on her own Bebab lab that features her originals and a cover of the Stones' (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.
She'll be tickling the keys of local church organs this weekend for two of her three shows. She'll perform solo and with a trio at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Fairmount Presbyterian Church (2757 Fairmount Blvd., Cleveland Heights) and will perform in Akron at 5 p.m. Sunday at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1250 W. Exchange St., Akron.
In between, there will be a gig at the Cleveland Bop Stop (2920 Detroit Ave.) at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
What a sweet birthday weekend I had.
Get the full article here.
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