Bay Area Not In Our Name Concert-Report

When considering that 20th century anarchist Emma Goldman once said, “If I can’t dance, it's not my revolution,” she would have surely been thrilled by last week’s phenomenal benefit show for Not In Our Name. Boasting an impressive line-up of musical acts that provided the party as much as the politics, the sold-out event set a high standard for the potential collaboration of art and activism.

And who better to kick off such an event than the very man who set the foundations for music and activism in our generation: Mr. Chuck D. Chuck premiered his latest project, the Fine Arts Militia, a sharply dressed, musically finessed, five-piece funk and groove band. After a brief introduction from a member of the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, Chuck cast his vote of support by starting an uplifting set with Public Enemy’s classic anti-armed forces jam “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos”:

I got a letter from the government the other day
I opened and read it - ‘said they were suckers
They wanted me for their army or whatever
Picture me giving a damn - I said never...

Wearing a black suit and reading glasses, Chuck came across as a sublime mix of radical college professor and empowering congregational minister. Using the band to carry his sly lectures, Chuck took the debate to the crowd with tracks like “Rebel vs. Thug” and “Intelligence vs. Nonsense.” Chuck was also in good humor, not only in amusing the crowd with his shrewd street wit (“Our country is being run by a Bush, a Dick, and a Colin”) but in closing out his set with the entire Ozomatli horn section on a rambunctious pair of covers: first with James Brown’s “I Don’t Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up the Door, I’ll Get It Myself)” and closing with a tribute to John Lee Hooker with “Boom Boom.”

After a brief recorded greeting from Mumia Abu Jamal, Ozomatli took the stage and promptly tore the roof off of the Berkeley Community Theater. Starting with the infectious “Chango,” Ozo’s mix of salsa rhythms and hip-hop beats clearly provided the evening’s most electrifying set of music. Ranging from the rowdy “El Sol” to the beautifully serene “Quando” and punctuated by instrumental excursions into percussion and brass, Ozomatli’s 40-minute set was a masterpiece of music-induced celebration. (However, if there is one complaint to be made of Ozomatli’s amazing performance it's that they omitted their typically grand entrance and exit through the crowd; a disappointment when considering the long sloping aisles of the Berkeley Community Theater.)

In having to follow such a blockbuster set, poet-actor-musician Saul Williams might have had the most difficult task of the evening. Stepping up to a lone mic without any supporting musicians, Saul began by reciting the Not In Our Name "Pledge of Resistance," effectively articulating the core sentiments of the event. Saul then quickly moved into “Coded Language,” his furious spoken word anthem invoking the names of past artists, prophets, and humanists towards the uplifting of the entire human consciousness. From there, Saul’s eloquence held the now silent theater in rapt attention as he closed his set with excerpts from his latest book of poetry, Said the Shotgun to the Head. Though Saul Williams might have been the least known amongst such a popular line-up of musicians, he may very well have left the biggest impression.

After a short intermission Ani DiFranco took the stage amongst enthusiastic applause and the frantic (if not humorous) sight of ushers trying their best to keep her legions of loyal fans from swamping the front aisles of the theater. Sporting a huge mane of dreadlocks, Ani quickly set forth to sustain the now escalating set of musical performances that had been built up over the course of the evening. Though she joked with the crowd between songs and was as personable as ever, her set seemed to ache with an impending urgency. Songs such as “Your Next Bold Move” provided a haunting reminder of past wars and the specter of those to come. However, it was clearly the 9-11 inspired, beautifully crafted spoken word of “Self-Evident” that provided the emotional climax of the evening:

3000 some poems disguised as people
on an almost too perfect day
should be more than pawns
in some asshole's passion play

Finally, the ever-beaming, perpetually barefoot, locally adored Michael Franti brought Spearhead out to close the show on a lively note. Playing the beautiful “Every Single Soul” and the upbeat “Stay Human (All the Freaky People),” Franti & Co. brought the audience back to the wildly celebratory mood that Chuck D and Ozomatli had invoked earlier in the evening. Franti closed his set with the infinitely appropriate “Bomb the World,” singing: “You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can’t bomb it into peace.”

Spearhead then brought out all of the evening’s performers for a final end-of-the-show jam. Whereas many of these star-studded grand finales come off as anti-climactic token appearances, this final jam at the Berkeley Community Theater was nothing other than pure bedlam. Perhaps it was the huge horn presence of Ozomatli and their sense of rabid marching band gone wild. Or maybe the couple of hundred long stem roses that the stage designers tossed out into the crowd and began frantically filling every inch of the theater. But really, it might have just been that the ushers finally threw in the towel, as the aisles turned into a 30-row dance party. Whatever the cause, it was quite a sight to behold. Amongst the hordes of flying roses and the sight of Chuck D laughing it up with Ani, it seemed that not only had each of the acts been at the very top of their game with magnificent performances, but that the party had indeed been finally reunited with the rebellion.


Charles Russo
JamBase | San Francisco
Go See Live Music!


http://www.notinourname.net
[Published on 2/5/2003]
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Events coming up
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The Not In Our Name Statement of Conscience presents

POEMS NOT FIT FOR THE WHITE HOUSE

Monday, February 17, 7:30pm

Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City



APPEARING:

Ammiel Alcalay

Lee Ann Brown

Steve Colman

Robert Creeley

Martín Espada

Jorie Graham

Andre Gregory

Sam Hamill

Suheir Hammad

Marie Howe

Galway Kinnell

Youseff Komanukaa

Stanley Kunitz

Ann Lauterbach

Mos Def

Odetta

Sharon Olds

Willie Perdomo

Robert Pinsky

Peter Sacks

Sapphire

Wallace Shawn

Mark Strand

Anne Waldman

C.K. Williams

Saul Williams



On the evening of President’s Day, many of the country’s greatest poets will gather at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, New York City to read poems in protest of the war. The event is presented by the Not In Our Name Statement of Conscience, and will feature Poet Laureates and Pulitzer-prize winners, along with beloved poets from the hip hop and slam poetry scenes.



This evening was put together in answer to a call by Sam Hamill, a poet who had been invited by Laura Bush to a White House poetry symposium on February 12; his response was to send an e-mail to 50 friends asking them for antiwar poems to send to Mrs. Bush. In four days he received 1,500 poems. Laura Bush subsequently cancelled the symposium, saying she "did not believe that poetry should be used for political purposes." Hamill then called for nationwide anti-war poetry readings against the war.



This is the first time in recent memory that such an extraordinary and wide-ranging group of poets has appeared on a stage together. Most are signers of the Statement of Conscience which has appeared twice in the New York Times, most recently on January 27 as a two-page ad, and has been published in over 45 newspapers and journals across the country and internationally. The statement’s opening line reads: "Let it not be said that people in the United States did nothing when their government declared a war without limit and instituted stark new measures of repression…"



Tickets are $10 to $100, Call Centercharge 212-721-6500 or go to



http://www.lincolncenter.org

You can avoid the handling fee by buying tickets in person at Lincoln Ctr. box office Avery Fisher Hall is at 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, 64th and Broadway For more information, go to http://www.nion.us OR call 212-875-5030.

February 15, 2003
6:00 PM » 9:30 PM
New York, Ny: Art's Celebration of Resistance to War
The Not in Our Name Artists' Project in Collaboration with the Cummunity Church of New York invites you to a festival in celebration of resistance to war. At CCNY Sanctuary, 30 Fifth Street (between Madison and Park Ave), New York City. Four hours of live festivities: the Lifetime Visions Orchestra with the NION Singers and featured soloist Tom Bruckner, anti-war troubadors John Black, David Rovics, Joel Landy, poetry by Lenny Cohen and others, a one-act Gene Ruffini resistance play, solo vocalists Rita DiCarlo, Pagnia Macri, Judy Goreman, Daria Musk Trio; Middle Eastern music and dance, Street Singers, Jazz composer Russell Branca, visual arts by painter Dzu Do, educational videos with MNN producers Frank Craven and Melinda Holm, and tables for conversations about Iraq, food and more. Join us to meet fellow anti-war activists in a festive , supportive atmosphere. For more information call Not In Our Name Artists' Project 212-787-1100 Ext 2205
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story unrelated to nion that is cool


Madonna Makes An Anti-Bush Video Madonna is preparing her most controversial video ever and her venom is going to be aimed at George W. Bush.

According to the Drudge Report, Madonna is making the subject of her 'American Life' video anti-War and anti-Bush.

Filming for the video was shot last week in Los Angeles but director Jonas Akerlund. He also made the videos for Madonna's 'Ray of Light' and 'Music'.

Madonna will be seen in commando gear throwing grenades to the beat of the music. Drudge reports we will see limbless men and women, bloodied babies and Iraqi children in the clip.

It is expected to be the most powerful statement anyone has made to date in music.

Previously George Michael chose an anti-war theme in his video for 'Shoot The Dog' but it backfired against him. In Michael's video, he portrayed the British Prime Minister Tony Blair as nothing more than a loyal little puppy to George Dubya.

Madonna however isn't using any humour in her message. She is going straight for George's jugular.

'American Life' will be released next month.