Sonic Youth played a fantastic show on July 31 as part of the Celebrate Brooklyn series in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Showing no signs of slowing down, the band continues to push the boundaries of conventional music.

Videopoem Sonic Youth in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park from robert dene on Vimeo.

Sonic Youth are famous for the loud distorting guitars the create the foundation of their music. Revolutionary when the sound came out over thirty years ago, the sound still continues to sound fresh in the present. The lyrics, which inspired bands from Nirvana and Pearl Jam, express a hedonistic joy of life admist an alienated fractured world.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Police shooting of Oscar Grant refers to the fatal shooting of unarmed civilian, Oscar Grant, by BART officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California, United States, in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2009.

In Memory of Oscar Grant from robert dene on Vimeo.

Responding to reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid Transit train returning from San Francisco, BART Police officers detained Oscar Grant and several other passengers on the platform at the Fruitvale BART Station. Officer Johannes Mehserle and another officer were restraining Grant, who was prostrate and allegedly resisting arrest. Officer Mehserle stood, drew his gun and shot Grant once in the back. During his court testimony, Mehserle said that Grant then exclaimed, “You shot me!”. Grant was pronounced dead the next morning at Highland Hospital in Oakland.

The events were captured on multiple digital video and cell phone cameras. The footage was disseminated to media outlets and to various websites, where it was watched hundreds of thousands of times. The following days saw both peaceful and violent protests.

The shooting has been variously labeled an involuntary manslaughter and an execution. On January 13, Alameda County prosecutors charged Mehserle with murder for the shooting. He resigned his position and pleaded not guilty. The trial began on June 10, 2010. Michael Rains, Mehserle’s criminal defense attorney, has claimed Mehserle intended to fire his Taser, but mistakenly shot Grant with a pistol when he thought Grant was reaching for a gun.Pretrial filings argue that his client did not commit first-degree murder and asked a Los Angeles judge to instruct the jury to limit its deliberations to either second-degree murder or acquittal.

Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris filed a $25 million wrongful death claim against BART on behalf of Grant’s family

On July 8, 2010, the jury returned its verdict: Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and not guilty of second degree murder and voluntary manslaughter. Initial protests against the ruling were peacefully organized; however, looting, arson, destruction of property, and small riots broke out after dark. Nearly 80 people were eventually arrested.The sentencing date was set for August 6. If Los Angeles Judge Robert Perry decides to sentence Mehserle on August 6, he could impose a sentence from 5 years to a maximum of 14 years in prison. The involuntary manslaughter conviction carries a sentence from 2, 3 or 4 years in prison. Because the jury also found the gun allegation to be true, Mehserle’s sentence can be enhanced by 3, 4 or 10 years.

Patti Smith addressed the Pen Conference held at Cooper Union back in May in support of her new memoir, Just Kids. The book talks about her chance encounter with the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and their journey and rise in New York art world of the late sixties and early seventies.

In this talk before a rapt crowd at Cooper Union, Patti raps about the point of view she adopted for writing the novel and how New York city was a down and out city at that time which allowed for artistic growth because it was very cheap to live in the city at the time.

The books caps a process that begun in the winter when Patti had an art exhibit at the Robert Miller Gallery uptown. Displaying her formidable talents as an artist, Patti can not just be tagged as a rock artist. So in this engagin talk she describes the writing process she came to use also how it was blocked by deaths of Mapplethorpe, her parents, husband, and brother. Patti also played her song My Blaken Year which is an ode to the poet William Blake.

Patti talks about what rock n’ roll meant to her in the early years and how it was a rebellion against the corporatization of the form. And then her years as a parent while becoming a better person nonetheless continued to work on her craft as a writer.

Videopoem Patti Smith at Cooper Union for Pen from robert dene on Vimeo.

Videopoem featured The Smithereens from their set at the State Theater in New Jersey on April 30th. In support of The Court Tavern, a legendary bar in New Brunswick where bands like the The Smithereens and musicians from The Patti Smith Band honed their skills, the band displayed the fine rock chops they are famous for.

In a time when musicians no longer play their instruments, The Smithereens showed they can lay down a driving beat with the best of them. Riveting up the crowd with old favorites like Only a Memory and Blood and Roses, the band infused the the scene with a vivacious energy. Their set lasted over an hour and included a fine rendition of The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes.” On a fine warm night with a small town feel, The Smithereens showed why they are still in the game.

Videopoem The Smithereens at The Court Tavern Benefit… from robert dene on Vimeo.

Patti Smith and her band put on an amazing show at the benefit for the Court Tavern at the State Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey on April 30th. At the top of her game, Patti shows no signs of slowing down exhibiting a tremendous amount of energy.

The concert had all the earmarks of a hometown show. Conceived as a benefit for a legendary rock bar The Court Tavern where Lenny and Tony from the band played in earlier days, there was a local hometown feel to the show as the crowd too very warmly to the musicians.
Although now in her sixties, Patti Smith continues to infuse her music with a dynamic energy. From soft ballads to hard core punk Patti brings her unique presence to the stage.

Videopoem Patti Smith Band at The State Theater in New Jersey from robert dene on Vimeo.

This Town This Far explores my relationship and identity with the landscape around Chappaqua. From the jet sound in the opening credits which can be heard quite often since we are in the flight path of Westchester Airport to the closing view of the nature sanctuaries set to the music of Hot Tuna’s Water song, this Videopoem is about finding transcendence in one’s backyard, which is a famous dictum from Ralph Waldo Emerson.
This show also takes inspiration from the sustainability movement that is beginning to gain momentum in counties like Westchester. Although the show does not specifically examine the topic, the video and stills of the environment echo the sustainability’s movement emphasis on the power of the local. There are many shots of the gorge which has been selected to have a good portion of its natural beauty chopped this summer in the name of progress. As a life long resident of Chappaqua, the show celebrates my vision of the town with its heavy emphasis on the local.

This town this far… from robert dene on Vimeo.

There’s a reason that John and Exene are playing sold out shows thirty years after hitting the music scene. They just keep getting better. After the glow of their youthful punk days waned when they were the king and queen of the Los Angeles punk scene, the foundation upon which they based their musical inspiration has only gotten stronger.
Where most bands fade in an instant, John and Exene has created an enduring appeal which draws upon their considerable music appeal as well as their winning personalities.

Videopoem John Doe and Exene Cervenka at the City Winery from robert dene on Vimeo.

This show draws upon their strengths as musicians who are well versed in the traditions of Americana. From Exene’s bittersweet rendition of its A Lonesome War to John Doe’s haunting melodies of Dry River, the two evoke a deep emotional response from listeners.

I had the great opportunity in the fall to see Dave Kolker and his band at The Bitter End. Playing originals mixed in with a few covers the band put on quite a show. Dave plays with a lot of soul and shows great dexterity on the guitar with the band providing a strong backing. If you ever get the chance I highly recommend seeing them. They will be at Kenny’s Castaway’s in April.

Kolker at The Bitter End from robert dene on Vimeo.

The River Blues explores the supernatural aura of the Hudson River landscape. Within this aura exudes a sublime comedy…deer unseen deep in the woods…expressionistic sunsets of vivid color…a pulsing blues rhythm underlining the commercial reality of the environment and expressing my personal vision of the landscape where reality is made to resound quite naturally with overtones of the weird.

Videopoem The River Blues from robert dene on Vimeo.

On Saturday, January 9, 2010, Videopoem braved deep-freeze temperatures and ventured to Issue Project Room in Park Slope (Brooklyn) to catch an evening of great ambient, improvised, psychedelic and electronic rock. Fortunately, quite a few other folks did too. The night’s performers included Concord Ballet Orchestra Players, Forma, and A.R. Plovnik (who also provided interesting visual projections for the entire show)

Concord Ballet Orchestra Players (sometimes known as “C.B.O.P.”, pronounced “SEE-bop”) originally convened to perform a one-time live tribute to the 1970s “krautrock” group Faust — but then enjoyed playing together so much that they decided to carry on together with original trout-stream-of-consciousness performances.

Hailing from Somerville, Massachusetts, the group has evolved into an improvising experimental-rock collective who have been represented onstage by anywhere from 3-9 players. The members met while playing in other bands who shared the same rehearsal space — a space that was once occupied by a “Concord School of Ballet”. Apparently a cracked, hand-painted sign for the school still hangs on the wall there.

FORMA began a year ago as a new project of recording artist Mark Dwinell (Bright, Nonloc) and pianist Sophie Lam. Starting with electric combo organ, various analog synths, reverb chamber and a steel string-driven drone instrument designed and built by Mark, their improvisations explore a sonic territory that has much in common with the melodic beauty of early Kraftwerk, Cluster and Harmonia combined with the rhythmic rigor of the American minimalists Glass, Riley and Reich. George Bennett joined in on drums over the summer and along with Dwinell and Lam’s spontaneous compositions created a sound at once hypnotic, expansive and urgent. A selection from their set can be seen Here.

A.R. Plovnik is Andy from Astronaut and Healing Feeling. Astronaut was his project with Daniel Lopatin (now of Oneohtrix Point Never) and Lee Tindall. A.R. let loose with some some kosmische synth workouts, unholy space echoes, and brain-tingling video projections (which he provided for the other acts as well). His set from the night can be seen here.

Links:
- Concord Ballet Orchestra Players
CBOP
ConcordBalletOrchestraPlayers
myspace.com/cbop
- FORMA
formasounds
myspace.com/formasounds
- A.R. Plovnik
myspace.com/hcisolation
- Issue Project Room
issueprojectroom.org

Concord Ballet Orchestra Players 1/9/10 Part 1 from robert dene on Vimeo.

Concord Ballet Orchestra Players 1/9/10 Part 2 from robert dene on Vimeo.