Wed.Sept.3-CMJ Night One:
A great kick-off night to a very cool four days. This was a roster of Antihoot All-stars beginning with the ever lovable Novellas. As usual they gave an intimate yet highly energetic performance prompting comparisons to The Talking Heads and the B-52's.
Dan Emery was up next accompanied by Steve Espinola. Emery has been playing with a larger band of late and it seemed he was trying to recreate that sound as a duo by using a noisy guitar sound and shout/singing his lyrics. It was a foot in both worlds without the richness of either. He also gave the spotlight to Espinola for two songs but the sudden switch in tone, though generous, was confusing and caused the set to become even more non-cohesive. I look forward to a real solo acoustic set of Emery's fine songs in the future.
Dina Dean & Chris Moore played the following 2 sets to a packed house. Both of these talented artists proved how a great song on just an acoustic guitar can be. It is amazing that artists of this raw, honest caliber can still regularly be seen at The Fort.
Rick Shapiro was the only non-musical act of the night. The comedian continued his weekly Wednesday spot with a mind-bending diatribe on everything from Starbucks to movie previews. As always the room was filled to capacity for this ultra-hot comic.
The Humans rocked the house. One of the more compelling moments was during the song "Melting City" with the boys plaintive cry of "Hold Me, hold me, like I hold you". Fantastic!
The last act of the night, Didjiworks, was a version of Meccabodega featuring 4 percussionists, bass & didjaredoo. This 3rd world band set up a beat that kept the crowd grooving into the early morning hours. A wonderful ending to a beautiful evening. (Robert Temple)

Thurs.Sept.4- CMJ Night Two
Steve Wynn (of Dream Syndicate) and Chris Barron (of Spin Doctors) both played wonderful, soulful and intimate sets leading up to Fort Founder Lach's performance with his full band. Rumor has it Lach has finished his new album and if this is the band he brings on the road then he will conquer all.
John Taylor (of Duran Duran) played next to a packed house of devoted fans. John started his set playing acoustic guitar and singing the song "Panhandler". As the set progressed John switched to the bass and played with a power trio singing old Duran standards such as "Rio" and "Planet Earth". The fans loved it and even though his voice was off the club was filled with good time energy. Check out his new solo CDs on B5 records, a big Roxy Music influence with spiritual lyrics.
Coyote Shivers played a short, solo electric set which included some new, lyrically raw songs. The man transmuted his emotional life through pure rock star stance and came out shining. We look forward to hearing what comes next!
The final act of this star-studded evening was John Easdale (of Dramarama). Playing acoustically to a small crowd of perhaps 25 people Easdale was amazing. Suffice to say I went out the next day and bought two Dramarama CD's. The day I hear he has released a new solo record I will be at the store buying it. (Robert Temple)

CMJ Fri.Sept.5- CMJ Night 3
Rachel Sage kicked off the night. A charming, sexy performer with soulful, delicate lyrics, her sets at the Fort would probably work better with less equipment. I was distracted by the bands constant tinkering with the amps and boxes. I'd love to see her on the baby grand with stand-up bass and congas.
Amy Rigby, whose album "Diary of a Mod Housewife" topped many critics' top ten lists, charmed the crowd with her songs and down-home style. After reminding the audience that she first started playing out at The Antihoot she played a mix of new and old tunes. A crowd favorite was "Tonight I Give The Drummer Some".
It was great to have Heather Eatman back on the stage of The Fort. Having performed at the club numerous times, she had been away for a while. It seemed that a number of people in the crowd were new to Heather's work and they were quickly won over. True star quality with songs that tell stories, a classic and classy combination.
Brenda Kahn played with a new band set-up, stripped down and acoustic, yay! For years this artist has struggled between her solo and electric leanings. This set-up had the best of both worlds.
Patti Rothberg rounded-out this mini-Lilith Fair. Another artist who got her start at The Fort, Patti played a wonderful set. She has grown musically by leaps and bounds from her days at the Antihoot a mere two years ago. She included an Aimee Mann song, "Amateur" from Mann's latest release and the best album of that year, I'm With Stupid. A great ending to a beautiful evening. (Robert Temple)

Sat.Sept.6- CMJ Night 4
Roger Manning started the night with his usual set of self-sabotage. If this guy would just play his songs without the equipment hassles, meandering stage patter and faux-confrontational stage attitude he'd be brilliant. He's a great song-stylist and a unique guitarist but all that other stuff obscures his true abilities.
The other side of the coin was an amazing set by Hammel-On-Trial. This performer, who was influenced by Manning, has taken what Roger does best (fast strumming and wisecrack lyrics) and left the rest behind. Brilliant songs, authoritative stage presence - Hammel-On-Trial is one of the best Antifolk acts of the past ten years.
John S Hall (King Missile) read from his latest collection "Jesus Was Way Cool" A funny, sharp set. "The Difference Between Gay and Straight" had the crowd howling for more.
Matt Keating performed a charming though sedate set. A fine craftsman, he teeters the edge between stark realism and technique. I would like to see him fall over that edge and explore some realms beyond being polished.
The final act of the night and the festival was Twang!Bang! from Chicago. Picture the Blue Man Group meets The Violent Femmes. Check them out next time they come to town. Circus music for hipsters. (Robert Temple)

The dueling pianos of Jerome Rossen and Peter Dizozza (Tuesday, September 16th)

One of the real pleasures in seeing Jerome Rossen and Peter Dizozza play together is the fact that they probably shouldn't be playing together. Their songs, their ideas, even their performance styles are so wildly different that by all accounts it shouldn't work. Jerome's performance is pure professional showmanship while Peter's immensely entertaining performance relies on his obvious but bewildering passion over his convoluted and seemingly arcanic references.
Dizozza is, to put it lightly, intriguing. You get the impression that his incredibly dense and intelligent songs are above even his head. Every once in while as he's singing he'll look very confused at whatever it was he just said. But then, in the middle of a Dizozza number just as you're about to give up on understanding what the hell is going on, he'll sing a phrase that hits you emotionally. This, of course, only bewilders you more.
Jerome's songs have a stronger emotional center in that the jokes are jokes; the sad parts are sad; and the sad parts that turn into jokes (and vice versa) do so exactly when Jerome wants them to. You always know where you stand in a Rossen tune while with Dizozza you always feel as if you came in halfway through the conversation. (I don't mean that as a bad thing by any means.)
The kink in the evening of dueling pianos was the presence of only a single piano. On one or two songs, they played this piano simultaneously, but on everything else it was piano and accordion, or just piano. One of the brilliant strokes of the evening was having Jerome play Dizozza's songs while Dizozza came into his own as a vocalist. Standing up there without a piano to hide behind, Peter's called forth an astounding array of hand gestures and facial expressions that I did not know he was capable of.
What magical tie binds these two bizarre performers together? What strange bond held the evening from splintering into a thousand pieces? Perhaps we'll never know. But perhaps it's obvious. In either case, it's not something you can easily forget. Or remember.... Or whatever. (Dave Wechsler)

Bill Popp (of the esteemed New York combine, Bill Popp & The Tapes) performed the opening set at the recent Libra Birthday Bash at the Fort at the Sidewalk Cafe. Of the many beautiful pop songs that Popp sang was one (one of many) on the groups recent CD, Insides. entitled "Sidewalk Dance."
"Sidewalk Dance," offers itself to a particular East Village interpretation. Considering the band's long-standing association with the Fort (brought about by the Libra Birthday Bash's organizer, Anne Husick), it is hard to ignore the likelihood of that association being the point of derivation of the lyrics.

"We'll dance, 'cause we want to / dance 'cause we need to Can't tell us not to dance / so we do our sidewalk dance I'll sidewalk dance with you / Sidewalk Dance."

Bill Popp, composer of the majority of songs on the album, playing alone with nothing but piano accompaniment, left greater opportunity to understand the lyrics, consider their meaning, and appreciate their particularly AntiFolk connotations.
Naturally, the history of the movement is one of individuals being told what to do, and rebelling against it. This is not necessarily because they chose to, but because it was a creative necessity. They could not be told how to perform, so they chose to perform in their own way, at self-made clubs, on the street, or finally, in the Sidewalk Cafe.
Bill Popp speaks to the coda of the song, over the particularly catchy rhythm, and he offers another possible hint at deeper levels of explication of his material.

"Sister's got the best sneakers in town, and she's dancin' with the kingpin now!"

A valid concept of this spoken lyric, however, is support of Lach's decision to merge his own Fortified Records label with Shanachie, the major indie, perhaps with the best sneakers in town. And what member of the AntiFolk community could be considered kingpin more easily than Lach?
Mr. Popp is a deep songwriter, clearly. In his September 27th gig, he showed not only his solo groovy side, but offered, within his lyrics, potentially insightful views of modern AntiFolk history and interpretation. (Professor G Lesse II)

An unprecedented meeting of two New York City neighborhoods took place on September 20th, 1997 when the East Village met Forest Hills at the third Romantic Enlightenment Variety Show. This installment took place on the stage at the Forest Hills Gardens Communty House, equipped with Klieg lights and an amazing soundsystem. Included among the cabaret voices of Joanna McEvoy and Ellen Auwarter, was the emphasis on original material from cutting edge folk/rockers of the East Village Music Scene. Beautiful songs by Scarecrow (last there to attend a wedding of two men), the magical Liz Brody, The great Novellas, the harmonious Gene & Mimi, the emotionally volatile Pinataland (Doug's first performance since the accident of September 16th), Debbie MacDougall (in great voice), the multi-talented Little Oscar, Debra Wakefield (in jungle colors with dance debuts of Dan Scanlon and Richard Skeet), Jocelyn Ryder rousing the audience with "I'm not going to hell for you," the amazing Mike Rechner, the Brechtian Tom Warnick and ever entertaining sounds of Charles Herold, with watercolors by Faith Palmer-Persen. Kenny Alvarez ran sound. This Cinema VII presentation was organized by Peter Dizozza and Debra Wakefield. With the Fort at Sidewalk as the common ground for so many of the performers, the pervasive presence of AntiFolk was felt throughout! Look for this show's broadcast on http://onlinetv.com. (Peter Dizozza)
What tha Fuck?! is a great fucking game, is what it is! I just saw it played at the AntiHoot for the first time the other day, and I loved it. You hear people stupider than you answer questions that any fool would know the answer to, and then you watch them go home with some ridiculous prize nobody would want in the first place! It's too cool, man!
I wanna play next time, but, hey MC! Don't make the prize be something so stupid and stinky; make it a drink ticket, or something else I want! Come on, man, what the fuck!?

Arnie Rogers
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