Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Marc Bamuthi Joseph
A poet? Yes. Performer? Ditto. But I have said it before and will say it again. Bamuthi is most like a preacher. Not in a dry, moralising, "do-as-I-say" kind of way, but in the uplifting tone of his voice that provides an adrenaline rush for the audience when he's working them up.
For Bring the Noise 2005 he got the crowd hollering and then threw them a heavy load. He spoke of African Americans expressing "pain and rage," of Haitian suffering, of being made to feel unAmerican. Then he talked of his two-year-old son being shaped by mainstream forces that were against everything he believed in. He danced, too. Pirouettes followed body waves and street moves to the beat of congas.
Was it all too much to take in at once? Perhaps, but at least people listening didn't have to keep shushing all the loud, restless teens as they did throughout Ishle Yi Park's performance. It was an appropriate segueway to allow for Beau Sia to bring the house down.
Photo by ekai.
For Bring the Noise 2005 he got the crowd hollering and then threw them a heavy load. He spoke of African Americans expressing "pain and rage," of Haitian suffering, of being made to feel unAmerican. Then he talked of his two-year-old son being shaped by mainstream forces that were against everything he believed in. He danced, too. Pirouettes followed body waves and street moves to the beat of congas.
Was it all too much to take in at once? Perhaps, but at least people listening didn't have to keep shushing all the loud, restless teens as they did throughout Ishle Yi Park's performance. It was an appropriate segueway to allow for Beau Sia to bring the house down.
Photo by ekai.
