The Good, the Bad, and the GLOW

To quote Jean Paul Sartre, “Hell is other people”, and perhaps, the so-called "failure" of a large scale-art event is due to the same crowd. No doubt, GLOW had its issues. Absurdidly packed with close to 100,000, and generally lacking in enough points of interest to compensate for the “ready to rave’ masses, “GLOW” was a stunningly ambitious event, overwhelmed by its own viral hype. The public demand for ‘bread and circuses’ (google Juvenal) clearly outstripped Santa Monica’s ability to provide either. This being said, I’m not going to join those outright bashing the event. If you were lucky enough to be with friends who know how to entertain themselves and/or enthusiastically relate to others, then you probably had a good time. If, however, you expected to sit on your ass and get the visual extravaganza shoved down your eyeballs for you, then you should gone with a combination of 2CB and IMAX. (I hear the seats are VERY cushy) As for GLOW, my experience was more sociological study than visual feast. Fueled by the prospect of staying up all night to do Art, I led my blacklight paint-covered crew in a ‘Family Circus’-style trajectory across the festival landscape. My biggest regret of the evening was the choice of blacklight-reflective fashion over glow-in-the-dark, considering there weren’t actually many blacklight-centric installations to illuminate our UV couture. Nevertheless, my friends were ‘in it to win it’, and brought the interactive spectacle to the Interactive Spectacle. We split off into contingents that simultaneously led impromptu Butoh-Kabbalah rituals on the sand, mislead party-moms to non-existent beachfront bars (“yeah, just keep walking THAT way, appletinis await you!”), and indulgently posed for pictures displaying our “fashion that anticipates” aesthetic. Considering we were a highly-costumed freak-flock 10 people strong , we were often asked if we had any X, frequently told "the line starts back THERE" and constantly accosted with conversations starting with, ""blah blah blah Burning Man". Along the way, we met teenage gothravers, fratboy yahoos, friendly burnouts, jaunty preschoolers, Nazi stroller-moms, and a wide swath of art-history cognizetti/ ignoratti. We saw facial expressions alternately blissed out and pissed off, and could almost taste the bittersweet vibes of the crowd’s anticipatory energy curdling into disappointment. At around 1am, one lady stopped us in the middle of the Pier to ask, “I don’t get it. Did I miss the show?” We found this to be quite an existential question, one which could only be answered yes AND no. Truly, the most poignant artistic statements were in these people’s restless eyes, those desperately searching for ‘the party’, ‘the art’, and, ‘the bathroom’. Amidst the process of herding neon housecats, my internal monologue started a dialogue with itself that included the following round-table discussion points: 1. Why do festival organizers (save most burners) always underestimate the number of porta potties needed? (seriously, ALWAYS double the raw sewage expectations!) 2. Is this a radical democratization or a ‘dumbing down’ of public art? 3. If the idea behind this art festival was to externalize and illuminate an art museum, it begs the question, “what do 21st century citizens want out of 'art', or out of 'festival'? Discuss amongst yourselves. As for me, I’m still digging sand out of my ears and scraping day-glo paint off my scalp.

Cirque Berzerk/Lucent D.

It's my first feature in LACitybeat!
They had to cut some of my best lines, but I'm still really happy I can give good press to these amazing artists...


Steps: Commandments from the Dance Commander

Get Naked

No, this isn’t a Craigslist proposition … it’s art, people! In its continued exploration of violence, sensuality, and intimacy related to the male-gendered body, Dandelion Dance Theater presents Testiculish and other adventures through the underbelly. On July 14, this Bay Area-based company begins a two-week residency at Highways that includes a workshop open to the public entitled “Healing Body Image Through Naked Dance,” which is just what it sounds like. Participants will then have the chance to perform with the company during excerpts from ANNICA, Dandelion’s widely acclaimed work from the ongoing “Undressed Project.” The workshop takes place July 14 and 21, 7-9 p.m., and the performances of Testiculish…/ANNICA are July 17-26, at Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica, (310) 315-1459. highwaysperformance.org.


Hang Out with Circus Freaks

Cirque Berzerk, the circus-on-psychedelics that your mother should have warned you about, presents BENEATH, a visual and aural extravaganza of truly big-top proportions, July 24-27. Cirque Berzerk performs in its very own full-size circus tent, mounted in the Los Angeles State Historic Park in the heart of downtown L.A. Punk-rock clowns, fire breathers/dancers, dizzying aerial acts, scintillating cabaret numbers, and the stilt-walkers that dreams/nightmares are made of. Arrive early to picnic and enjoy a decorated beer and wine garden from 6 p.m., with performances at 8:30 p.m. 1245 N. Spring St., downtown, (213) 448-3507. cirquebezerk.com.


Rekindle your Love/Hate Relationship

It’s true, having a relationship with contemporary dance performances can be as harrowingly bipolar as that guy you met on the Personals. Think of these next two performances as highly recommended blind dates, set up by that one friend – the only one – who has really great taste in significant others. Described as “Looney Tunes comedy meets magic realist mystery,” Rachel Lincoln and Leslie Seiters bring their duet An Attic, An Exit to the Unknown Theater, combining precise movement, rigging, and soundscaping to create a truly intimate spectacle. Performances are July 17-July 27, Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 6 p.m., at 1110 Seward St., L.A., (323) 466-7781.
www.unknowntheater.com.


Drip with Feminine Complexity

On August 15 and 16, Sue Roginski curates Spill, Splash, and Splendor. Four dance artists – Alison Bory, Cynthia Lee, Rosie Trump, and Sadie Weinburg – compose pieces “dripping with feminine complexity” and reflexive wit. Dealing with issues of romance, gendered nostalgia, and representations of women, Spill showcases some of the best emerging choreographers in SoCal. Highways, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica, (310) 315-1459. highwaysperformance.org.


Contribute to the Gentrification of Hip Hop (Kidding!)

The Culture Shock Los Angeles Dance Troupe rocks the Ford Amphitheater July 25, taking a hip-hop twist on Ray Bradbury’s dystopic classic Fahrenheit 451. In A Beautiful Struggle, Culture Shock works out creative impulse under censorship. All graduate student sarcasm aside, this looks to be a dynamic display of empowering diversity. 8 p.m. 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, (323) 461-3673. fordamphitheater.org, cultureshockdance.org.


Succumb to your Inner Bourgeois Anachronism

Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque, purveyor of all things exotic and untimely, continues its bi-monthly residency at downtown’s swankiest adaptive reuse project, The Edison. Lucent’s interactive performance art based in a fin-de-siecle bohemian dreamworld fits like a jeweled glove on The Edison’s elegant interior design. (Tip: this is possibly one of the most impressive date-night ideas in the Los Angeles area.) Check the dress code at edisondowntown.com for detailed instructions. July 23 and Aug. 6, 9 p.m. 108 W 2nd St., downtown, (213) 613-0000. lucentdossier.com.

--Ramie Becker

Published: 07/16/08

Music Reviews for LACitybeat...I review dubstep? WTF??

Tanz
Delon & Dalcan (Boxer)

Pursuing in a signature style that blends the principles of minimal tech with the flow and heat of house/electro, Greg Delon and Andre Dalcan have established a solid reputation throughout the Clublands of France and Spain. In their continued pursuit of music that moves, they have successfully produced this cyborg of an LP. Tanz is proof that dance music with minimalist foundations can simultaneously employ tech-y, android structures, yet retain enough warmth and sensual groove to remind us there is, indeed, a ghost in the shell. Other artists have of late pounded the hot, hard, metallic synth sound into the dance-dance bedrock, D&D craft diversely stylized landscapes spread across electro, rave, house and techno. With impeccable pacing that makes it engaging to listen to even off the dance floor, Tanz is a collection of aural geographies equally inhabitable for dancers both human and machine.–Ramie Becker

2 Robots Sex With 2 Robots–the Remixes (Digital Records)

This is a case of being roofied by robots. Much like vodka and Ritalin, our loves of the Roland 303 and fetish for anthropomorphized machines are two great tastes that … well, you get the idea. This DJ/production team here blends both like so many have done before them, yet undeniably, the chemistry is still there. In this remix album of their own work, "Sex With 2 Robots," these androids prove that they are quite adept at playing with their own equipment. All your favorite components of sexy robot music are here. Low distortion in the vocoder voice? Check. Thick, penetrating acid synth lines, pulled out like melting rubber? Check. Grooves that straddle the ambiguous labels of "electro," "breaks" and "house"? Check. Ironic lyrics about drugs, sex, and technology delivered in a come-hither monotone? Ch-ch-check. Let's just say, if Benny Benassi, Kraftwerk and Nintendo turn you on, this is your bootie call.–Ramie Becker


Mary Anne Hobbs/Various Evangeline (Planet Mu)

Over 20 years after the first techno records from Detroit fell into the hands of British DJs, the electronic music mitosis continues, splitting genre into sub, micro, nano, and beyond. One of the latest (and arguably most innovative) sub-sub-genres to infect Anglo-American turntables is Dubstep, the mutational byproduct of drum & bass, U.K. two-step, grime, and Jamaican dub. Sparse, syncopated rhythms punctuate dark, minor-key driven synth lines, creating a framework for MC or reggae-style rapping, which is all enveloped by "wawawawa" bass like so much alien amniotic fluid. In this latest compilation, Mary Anne Hobbs of BBC's Radio 1 holds our hand down the dark alley of Dubstep and into the unnamed sidestreets of contemporary electronic experimentation, uncovering the gems of the genre by mixing well-known artists such as Shackleton and Boxcutter with those venturing into even more left-field terrain. Highlights here include Cult of the 13th Hour's scintillating "Way of the Gun," which conjures up visions of post-apocalyptic interplanetary warfare (or just really good sex), and Ben Frost's slice of Rothko-esque minimalism, "Theory of Machines." Wiley's "Local Lad" brings back the spirit of "jump-up" jungle, thrusting out spitfire rhymes and angular sonic textures. Hobbs's reputation as a superior curator of music precedes her, and this compilation is a classic example of her talents. Evangeline is an invitation to Step into the Dub, where the water is strangely inviting. –Ramie Becker

R.A.I.D., the second coming...

If you haven't heard by now, Random Acts of Irreverent Dance is back in action! We just finished an amazingly successful performance at BootieLA's 3rd year anniversary Pirate Ball, and we are slated to perform again there July 5th and Sept. 6th! We are looking for more participants for the Sept 6th show, so if you aren't going to the big burn, and have the yearning to wear a full-body gold spandex unitard, this is YOUR ticket to fame and fortune!!!!
or...at least a couple drink tickets and my undying love.
lemme know!!!

Orbital Bebop 2008: RAID at BootieLA

It was no 'basic scene'(1) to be sure. It was gregarious swashbucklers, big n' busty wenches brazenly wearing horizontal stripes, gay swing dancers, indie rocker boys, LA Pride refugees, hot-as-hell lesbian couples, closet musical theater lovers, jock-ular polo-shirt wearing boys, and us, the communist dance pirates from the future. Me and my four dancers were resplendent in full-body gold unitards, Kayne West-slit sunglasses, and gold pirate hooks attached to our heads at rakish angles. Katie and I struggled to keep the black pleather letters "LA" attached to our asses, but the Old english font they were cut in proved to be cumbersome. Ah yes, it was BootieLA. The looks we got backstage were priceless, a mixture of goodnatured enthusiasm and 'what-the-fuck?" We rehearsed our 'moves' in the hallway, perfecting our "German Macarena", our signature "Spank-the-Baby", and our synchronized-swimming-inspired side dives.
We were applying gold glitter lipstick as the suprise celebrity guest, Lady Gaga, was exiting. She had finished her P.A., where she and her dancers vogue-ed in designer latex, with hot-as-fuck intensity. Standing there in our cheap chinese-made gold tricot suits sagging in the crotch, we were stoked. What better way to set up an ironically 'sexy' dance performance than with a fierce, straight white woman vogueing? (2) My mind shot back to the endless hours I spent as a child, making up dances with my friends in our parent's living rooms, trying to replicate moves from Madonna, Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, watching "Flashdance", "Teenwitch", and of course, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". I dreamed that one day, just like a young Sarah Jessica Parker, I would make it to DanceTV. Soon after, our song started playing over the speakers, and before I could even get nervous, I was out on stage, prancing and thrusting with total elation. Miggs pulled out his best bhangra, Katie rocked the tootsie-roll, Shak crumped with fierce abandon. The crowd roared as we turned our backs to them and shook our "LA" tattooed booties with the utmost ironic debauchery. The club lights pulsed on our amazingly unflattering spandex, and I felt so.......sexy. I totally made it to DanceTV. And, just like in my dreams, there were pirates there as well.

"the american dream" as festival theme?

why don't we enact it every day of the year?

Techno Tracy has great ideas.

Hey Mr. DJ! Me and my friends were at Jack in Box after your last set at the Echoplex, and we (well, I, really) thought of some really great ideas for your next gig. I know I'm just a fan of dance music, I don't push the buttons to make the music go 'bleep-bloop' and all that, but, um, I thought it'd be really awesome if you'd, like, remix one of those super rad indie-dance-rock songs like, y'know, Justice or Datarock or something. Yeah, you could like, cut up the vocals real choppy like, and then add a really heavy four-to-the floor-beat,(cause me and Haircut Rave Hanna are sooo over breaks). and then some of those big stabbing synths, to make it like really HARD sounding. An then, you could like, use those cross-fader thingamajigs to mix some sort of totally minimal track....like that one that goes 'bip....bip.....bipboop'. You know that one? OMG that totally makes me lose my shit on the dancefloor....like I'm following the bip...bip....and THEN.... it goes..... 'bipboop'......and I'm like OMGWTF! Yeah, I love that shit.
Ok, so, then, I was thinking...I know this is totally outa leftfield, but what if you mixed a Peaches track in next? Like, you could have her speaking OVER the minimal track, so i'd be like 'only double A (bip) but I'm thinking triple X (bipboop!)". OMG I can hear it in my head right now! If I can find my dad's dictaphone, I'll totally sing it for you and send you the minitape.
Peaches would work really well with some sort of really dirty rap track, it'd be like throwing a little black culture in there. But, we would all be kinda in on the joke of it, y'know, cause really, it is kinda funny how they are talking about asses and money all the time. And if we sang along to the lyrics and accidentally said the n-word outloud, it'd all be ironically, not really racist or anything. fer sure.
And for the end of your set, I thought of the ULTIMATE closer. OMG, you are gonna love this.
Member that super cheesy 80's (or maybe 90's, i dunno) band, Journey? Well, they have this song that's like, so out there...I don't know the name of it, but the lyrics are like..."don't stop believin', hold on to that feeling...."
You know the one I'm talking about.
OMG people would shit themselves, it'd be so rad.

Long distance running/writing

So, as you may or may not know, I am training for this "underwear Affair" that me and several other notorious RLD-ers are participating in. It's a 10K run for City of Hope cancer research, and we get to wear our undies or othersuch crazy costumes. So, I've been running. and running. and running some more. and mind you, I'm not a "runner".....it's really not my thing.....but I'm doing it. Longer than I want to. Longer than is enjoyable. Longer than is entertaining or comfortable. Sometimes I dread it, sometimes I run pissed off. Sometimes I have blood sugar issues and get frustrated and feel like quitting. It's alot like writing my dissertation, actually. It's teaching me a lot about perseverance, focus, and commitment.
I run 4 times a week, no matter if I'm feeling stressed, sad, hungover, or lazy. I'm up to running about 45 minutes w/out stopping to walk, so I figure I'm over half way there...just like my dissertation.
My goal for the the summer is this:
August 1st- hand in a complete rough draft of my dissertation in to my advisor.
August 2nd- run a 10k

There! I blogged it! And so it shall be!
....
Oh.......and if you can help me or the RLD team out ......please please please take a moment to go to
la08.uncoverthecure.com/
and go to the donate section, team name is RLD, my name is Ramie Becker
I'll love you forever, I swear! I can't participant in the run unless I earn 300$. Even 5 or 10$ would be so much appreciated!

No Kansas for me

apparently I'm "over qualified".........and sad.