ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST

Still in the Grand Center arts district. This somewhat strange building has been around since I was an undergraduate at nearby St. Louis University (which, recall, was in the Pleistocene).  It was some kind of burger place then. It went out of business and became a take-out Chinese restaurant. I never see anyone in there.

The architecture puzzles me. Is it supposed to represent something or just bizarre and eye-catching?        

ARTS AND LUGGAGE

There are unusual accommodations just south of the symphony hall, the Angad Arts Hotel. Not sure where the first word came from although it might be the developer. What's very different about it is that all the rooms are color themed. Just about everything, the walls, the floor, the linens (but maybe not the faucets) are monochrome. Pick the color that matches your emotions, red, yellow, blue or green. I would find this difficult to stay in, particularly red and yellow. Imagine what it could do to your blood pressure. Lots of people seem to like it, though.

And, in case you didn't notice, that's sculpture in the first picture.     

The Fringe Is Back! The Fringe Is Back!

The St. Lou Fringe had its opening ceremony last night. Honors to those who should be honored, announcements and samples of some of the major acts. I hustled over to Grand Center after work to get some shots. Too many people, too many names I didn't write down, but it's obviously gonna be a fabulous season.

Locals: GO, or never darken my doorway again. Schedule, map and tickets here.       

I Walk The Line

How do you know your feet should be on this spot? You take the test below. But is it good enough that it's on the honor system with no police watching you?

Saw this on Washington Avenue in the Grand Center district. You could wait there a long time since taxis don't cruise in St. Louis. We're not dense enough. You have to call one and the response can be spotty. Looks like we're about to get Uber X here after a long fight. I like the service and use it frequently in Chicago.                       

Right In The Middle

Kranzberg Arts Center, just south of the Fox Theatre. You never know what visual or performing arts you may find. My most memorable night there was when we heard Morton Subonick.                      

The Fabulous Fox

The Fox Theatre during an walk at dusk in the Grand Center arts and entertainment district. (Hey, Johnny Mathis is coming soon!)

The Fox is ming-bogglingly ornate inside, as illustrated in this set of photos I took on a tour for photographers some time ago.                   

Public Media Commons

How did this get by me? It was only a couple of weeks ago that I heard about the new Public Media Commons, an absolutely unique space between the buildings of KETC, our public television station, and KWMU, the local National Public Radio affiliate. There are video screens, a sophisticated sound system and projections on two-story walls. It will host a wide - and unusual - range of arts and entertainment events. In a couple of weeks we will attend a performance by Alarm Will Sound of John Luther Adams'  10,000 Birds. 

Lots more about this place to come.

I'm not getting any comments written on Friday night as this is uploaded. The Cardinals are leading Los Angeles 10-8 in the top of the ninth in the first round of the playoffs. A nail biter.                      

The Fringe, The Spotty Truth And A Twisted Story

The St. Louis Fringe was on this weekend in Grand Center. Thirty-five shows of an hour's length repeated over four days, ranging from bizarre to hilarious to thoughtful. We, naturally, went for the first two categories, catching seven acts on Friday and Saturday.

One of Friday's favorites was a Chicago improv troupe called The Spotty Truth. After a half-hour of typical (and good) improv gags, the feature presentation began. They got someone out of the audience, did a cursory interview and then strung together a series of mock-biographical skits, re-enacting the life of someone about whom they knew little and cared less. On Friday, they got some old guy with squinty eyes, a black iPhone belt holster (the twenty-first century equivalent of a pocket protector) who played stickball on the streets of New York as a child, had an interest in math and physics, and ended up in St. Louis. Needless to say, plenty of false propositions were proven to be true. 
                                   

Tough Break

Dancing In The Street always has a group of break dancers who do their thing right in the middle of Grand Boulevard. A dense crowd forms around them and it's hard to get to the front to get good shots (although I did get some last year). 

This one is the best I could get this time but I like it. This guy was tough, built like an athlete. Which I guess he is.         

Razor's Edge

Don't mess with a lady brandishing a scimitar. It was bright enough out there at Grand and Washington to be in the middle of the Arabian desert.

The deities of the local state religion, the St. Louis Cardinals, won their division. This is the scene yesterday afternoon. Today is the last day of the regular season. We move on to the playoffs. Your dedicated photographer will record some part of it.      

Reach For The Sky

I lost track of the groups and performers at Dancing In The Street, just concentrating on the shots before I had to run off to Forest Park for the balloon race. The light was sometimes hard to work with. These performers were under the shade of large trees while the wall behind was brilliantly sunlit. What to do? Something my job has taught me: improvise. Wing it.          

South Seas

On North Grand Boulevard. One of the groups at Dancing In The Street was doing authentic native Hawaiian stuff. Their moves were as serene and gentle as a tropical breeze. No ukulele, though. It's nice to have one around. 

The photo was pumped up in the computer to give that old color postcard feel.       

Dancing In The Street

There was more going on in The Lou last Saturday than the balloon race. The Grand Center arts and entertainment district had the annual Dancing In The Street event going on. Three stages up and down Grand Boulevard presented every kind of terpsichorean performer. Just starting to edit this set, so here's a starter. I think this was the modern dance ensemble from one of the local universities. More to come.

What's It About?

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This group sure was energetic but I have no recollection of what style they were performing. I am graceless and clumsy. I can't dance to save my life so I don't know much about the art. Plus I lost the program book. And the dog ate my homework. Cut me some slack.

The first scene is a little risque, n'est-ce pas? Oh, and you, down in front, in the bottom picture. Would you kindly get your head, hands and camera out of my shot?

Off to Kansas City again this afternoon for a niece's wedding tomorrow. May or may not be able to get a post up for Saturday. Like the old song said, I'll be standing on the corner, 12th Street and Vine, with my Kansas City baby and my bottle of Kansas City wine. Public drinking in KC? Kansas City wine?

Best Left To The Young

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Bare hands, stocking feet, asphalt. One hand on the ground, one foot straight up in the air. That's tough. The crowd sat in rapt attention.

Up/Down

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There were adults, teens and children performing hip-hop dance routines in the middle of Grand Boulevard at Dancing In The Streets. This group of kids started out writhing on the floor, like they were beginning a performance of The Rite of Spring. But no, the beat blew up into something very unlike Stravinsky as the dancers lept into the air. I like the top pic because the girl on the right looks like she has a tongue of fire over her head, as in some Catholic representations of Jesus and saints. Different philosophy at work here.

Dancing In The Street

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The Lou has seen a growing number of outdoor festivals, events and fairs in the last several years, happily coinciding with the existence of STL DPB. Dancing In The Street had its seventh edition on Saturday, up and down Grand Boulevard from Lindell to Delmar in the Grand Center arts and entertainment district.

There were three stages going with all kinds of dance forms, plus some actually on the street, as we shall see shortly. The women in the top picture were clog dancers, which, um, I'd rather you didn't ask me to define. (I'm as graceful on my feet as a rhino.) The announcer said the act had a Country & Western slant, but blue jeans are blue jeans to me.

The ladies in in the second picture were doing a step dancing routine, another genre you would learn more about elsewhere. The woman in front is wearing the colors of my alma mater, located just a couple of blocks down the street.

Sort Of CDP Theme Day - Silhouette (Lack Of Buddha Nature)

It's the first of the month, City Daily Photo theme day. The October 1 topic is silhouettes. Well, being a really busy guy and all that, I didn't get around to actually shooting a silhouette anytime recently. Could have dug through the archives, of course, but an opportunity dropped into my lap yesterday.

I was walking around Grand Boulevard, shooting Dancing In the Street, which we'll see the rest of the week. I noticed what seemed to be a tiny art gallery in the building next to the huge Fox Theater. No signage, no evident entrance. There was white neon lettering on an interior wall spelling out happiness is expensive, sort of in Bruce Nauman style.

It was fascinating, despite absurdity of the statement. Maybe it was meant to provoke, like Jenny Holzer's work. So I downloaded my shot, made a color negative of it, fiddled with it in Photoshop and then turned it monochrome. Sort of like a silhouette, don't you think? Close enough?

Latin Beat

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After Samba Bom, the Brazilian group seen here the last two days, the next performers at The Sheldon were Sol Salseros, a pan-Caribbean Latin band playing salsa, merengue, cumbia, cha cha and samba. So, okay, they threw in some Brazilian.

I like Latin music but I don't know that much about it, being the kind of guy who listens to the Metropolitan Opera channel on satellite radio while driving around. However, I once got to hear Tito Puente and his band play at the Blue Note in NYC. Talk about hot. Here's an example.

First Night

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The lead photo in Monday's post was from First Night, The Lou's no-booze public New Year's Eve party. They say that's family friendly. Hmm. Do you hate your family if you have a glass of champagne at midnight? Well, the point is that nobody gets rowdy, which is fine.

Saturday night's temperature was shockingly warm for December 31 (climatologists take note) and the area was absolutely packed. We went to performances that were not too crowded or venues where we knew you could move around. The upstairs ballroom at the marvelous Sheldon Concert Hall was the headquarters for Latin music. This shot is from the performance by Samba Bom, playing Brazilian music that gets you out of your chair. After the show, the dancer above gave a group lesson. We'll get to that soon.