World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA

WHEN: Thursday, October 20th, beginning at 6PM
WHERE: World Cafe Live - 3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA

WHAT: I am really excited to be setting up the booth at World Cafe Live. Not only is this simply a great venue for cutting edge live music, but it is the sister operation of the venerable World Cafe radio program produced out of WXPN in Philly. David Dye is the host of this show and spends lots of time seeking out new and interesting music that deserves to be spread to the eager ears of us listeners and the mission of the live venue is much the same. I wish that I could get involved with the radio program as well, but being there in the first place is a good start.

I will be setting up in the lobby with great visual presence starting at 6PM when the doors open for the show. I'll remain setup until the show is over, though I imagine once the music has started, there won't be too much participation. The performance for that evening is What is Jazz? presented by Ropeadope & Blue Note Records so it should be a very interesting evening all around. Hopefully I'll have a chance to meet some of the performers and people from Blue Note and Ropeadope. I'm coming to understand that promotion is all about simply putting yourself out there enough to generate random connections. You never know who will be where at what time. The only thing you can control is the extent to which you allow - even encourage - these random things to happen.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Summary:

Number of voices recorded: 15
Reading sheets used: 14, 13, 15
Weather: OK for the event (not that it really mattered), but terrible on the drive home
Level of success: high - not tons of voices, but great exposure and interesting people around
Records broken: most rain on the drive back
Photos: Check them out

Well, it is a long drive to Philly from Boston, especially when you have the New Jersey turnpike to contend with. I hate that road with a passion, but it's sort of hard to avoid on this trip. Thankfully the event itself, and my time in Philly with friends made this transitional experience well worth it.

I did know that World Cafe Live was the coolest live venue in Philadelphia, as this is what all my sources have said, but now I know why. The place is beautifully built with a great design aesthetic and, more importantly, excellent sound. They have quality acts coming through nightly and the whole place is very professionally run. Hell, even the nachos are really good (no skimping on the guacamole!)

So this is what greeted me upon arriving and stayed with me throughout. I set the booth up in the vaulted and muraled lobby between the downstairs venue and the WXPN radio studios and I think it fit in pretty well. I was able to meet, record and explain what I was doing to a number of people at WCL and WXPN (including David Dye himself) as well as a bunch of concert-goers. This is what Bring Your Own Voice is all about.

Special thanks to Julie, first and foremost, for hanging in there all evening giving me tons of moral and physical support, and to the crew at WCL - Karl and Laura in particular - for letting me do this in the first place and for being so helpful throughout. Thanks!

As usual, click below to access some representative audio clips:

the timing of

namer

blamer

strainer

claimer

rarefied space

fear and love

let me down

they don't slobber

I just don't buy it

faith and happiness