see. think. dance.: The Blog

Friday is extraordinary.
One of my favorite musicians, Marshall Trammell, invites me along to check out a mid-day gig he has at the Tenderloin National Forest, a project of the Luggage Store Annex.

At the Annex, I make my re-acquaintance with Chris Evans (who I’d met a dance performance a year or two back) and her partner in life and art, Ernest Jolly.  As much as I was there in support of the music, talking to Ernest was a literal explosion of ideas that continued to fuel me hours and days after.  After his set, Marshall walked in and said, “I can just see lighting bolts going back and forth.”  The response to which was a pause, self-conscious smiles, and more intense conversation.

As an installation artist, Ernest attempts to harness light and form to portray a sculptural landscape in dialogue with its immediate surroundings. His work has made its way into many places and his advice on that l/earning process is invaluable.
Chris is a cellist (and dancer!) whose at-times languid, at-times energetic works are a beautiful place to start a layered composition.
I trust that any and all collaborations see. think. dance. has with Chris and Ernest will be spectacular and path-affirming.

Night comes and the journey of simple ecstasies continues.
I haven’t had a Friday night off in San Francisco for a very, long, while.
All I want to do is eat, drink, and be merry. IN HEELS (was confined to flats at work for safety reasons).

I head over to Grand Coffee (my new favorite spot) and breathe in all the amazing aromas from the street food carts that have gathered on this night: @guerillaguac, @soupdup,@rockysfrybread. I grab a bowl of lemon, orzo, egg drop soup and have a PBR for the first time»>it’s not bad, ice cold - have I crossed the “hipster” line? Chopping it up with the guys is fun and after a mini-latte and the sweet version of Navajo Fry Bread (with raw organic honey!), it’s off to @somsf for the @gillespeterson & @how2bebrown-recommended Electric Wire Hustle.

I truly feel that SOM will become the Bay Area equivalent of @zanzibarlive»> baby steps. There’s more sound equipment present than I have ever seen in the space and the sound guy is not paying attention to the crowd’s visible discomfort on some of his levels. Still, I’m glowing with the warmth of street food, Jesse Boykins III does a fly job of getting the crowd hyped for more soul, and EWH keeps the energy up with their unique NZ tech-soul flava.

My rock-solid, rock-star, friend, C. texts that he’s done with his Friday night happenings so I head back to his place to crash, looking forward to a weekend where I can stuff myself full of awe-inspiring art.