Femi Kuti's Hot Sweaty Towel: Open Forum 2012 The After Hours

Open Forum took good care of us while we were in Cape Town. Frankly I didn't have it in me to run through the gauntlet of nightly entertainments they had planned and I did have a night-time mission to fulfill. But here are some selected highlights from behind the scenes:

1. Stacey Ann Chin- performed on the first night. She's like crack for a certain kind of feminist, you know. And maybe a certain kind of poet. Good times- I love the way she doesn't hold back. The conference was small enough to afford me several chances to hang out with her. Got her book, and autographed too- I asked for something that might inspire a failed poet never to give up. She obliged. Maybe with a talisman like this in my library I'll finally get around to producing non-sucky lines.

2. The Mission: live Jazz in Cape Town. I found out from the nice concierge who drove me to Asoka that there weren't many places that still offer live Jazz in Cape Town, which makes me sad because Cape Town without Jazz is like a cat without claws. Still, managed two hours with a nice quartet and a nice single-malt that I only recently learned is NOT pronounced La Frog (don't pick up your style tips from the movies, it will show). If you are a Jazz aficionado going to Cape Town, it might be worth a look-in. The Manager knows some very interesting ways of consuming cheap alcohol, the bartenders are naughty fun and the Congolese doorman doesn't mind sharing a cigarette on the sidewalk if you're nice to him. Must be the coastal thing. Jazz on Mondays and Tuesdays.


3. Femi Kuti's hot sweaty towel: yes, I have it. Femi and his band (plus tattooed dancing girls), two hours of live music with that African beat. Four guys in the brass section, one keyboard, drumkit and percussion, two guitarists I think, bass guitar and of course Femi himself rotating across saxophones and his keyboard. Since I had waited many years to be within sweat-spray distance of Femi, only the scion of the great Fela himself, I did not plan to leave empty-handed. Two hours with this excellent musician just a couple of feet away? Of course I asked for his stage towel. Differences in politics cannot get in the way of passion. :) It's sitting in the freezer while I decide if I should frame it or just keep it frozen for... er...cloning purposes. Don't judge me.

Ok, done now! Officially laying the Open Forum 2012 to rest on the blog. Also I know that the picture has a vertical video problem going on, but I couldn't fix it. So.

Coming Attractions!

One of the best things about this blog is that it has given me friends in art places. Hehe, get it? Friends in art... nevermind. But you know how it is- this is a small city. Hang around people's porches ling enough and instead of getting arrested for stalking, you end up bumping into some creatives. And creatives do cool stuff.

Coming to an Alliance Francaise near you: capturing light on the ocean with paint. Origins is a collection of painting by Nadir Tharani- author, architect, artist. Here is a brief interview by VijanaFM profiling Nadir and his work. It opens tomorrow and will be running until the 8th of April and from the little I have seen if you love the color blue the way that I do, you better go treat yourself.

Then, there is Jazz. I love Busara, really, but I have always thought that this coast is very well suited to a Jazz festival. Turns out that other much more able people have been working on this idea for a while now. This April, the first steps are being taken in that direction and it's looking good so far. Check out the First Dar Jazz Event on their website and enjoy.

Jazz, The Military and Democracy Too.

To follow up on the Gongo la Mboto munitions dump explosions, Swahili Street has put up some links to excellent articles about the military in Tanzania. Not easy to find this kind of information, so the links are quite valuable.

Better late than never: FREE Jazz tonight at the Black Tomato from 6:30-8:30 pm- Top Brass. Yeah, it's army guys...

And a little something something that brings gaming joy to political buffs: I can't recommend this simulation enough. It really brings a touch of perspective about the interesting complexities of keeping a votership happy. Kinda like SimCity or Flight Sims, but for wanna-be politicians :) Just be warned, it takes a LOT of effort not to get booted out within a couple of cycles.