Photo by Whitney Curtis
Poet David Clewell
A trip to Joe's Cafe is always advised, even if you don't know anything about who's going to be up on that magical little stage. If someone invites you to a show there: JUST GO. You will never be sad, never regret the decision. St. Louis is filled with bazillions of cool joints (Venice Cafe, The Fortune Teller, The Palomino, The Hideaway...) but at Joe's you enter another dimension, a place lit by red neon and dusty yellow incandescent marquee bulbs where time doesn't move the same way it does in the workaday world of spreadsheets and 36-ounce diet sodas. If you've never set foot in Joe's but your childhood was profoundly shaped by Beatnik Bob's Cafe at City Museum, then know that Bill Christman is the genius behind both of these STL cultural treasures. Just to personally give testament, some of the most memorable performances I've seen in the 12 months happened at Joe's, including Iva Bittová and Hamid Drake's concert there in January. (Disclosure: I'm on New Music Circle's board, and was there to be an extra pair of hands, though wasn't much help because I spent most of the night covering a mouse race. But the 30 minutes I did get to see were magical, and I'd say so even if I was some so-and-so who'd just wandered in off the street. Watch this, and you'll understand why.)
Tomorrow night (that'd be Thursday, June 8) there is another show I'd advise you not to overlook. And by that I mean get yourself there by any means possible. Though David Clewell performed quite a bit when he was serving as Missouri's poet laureate, his readings are much rarer these days. And when he reads in public, he means it. He's one of the finest readers around—he's compelling and dramatic, transcending the academic mumble 'n' obfuscate approach, yet never slipping into that brassy school of Performance with a capital-P-with-spit-flying-off-it. He's also one of the finest writers around, and by that I don't just mean local, though of course there is absolutely no shame in that. (Last year when we nominated him as our A-List poet, we noted that Mr. Billy Collins himself had told the world that Clewell deserves “a gang of listeners for the truth of his insights and the sheer fun of the delivery.” We agreed, obviously.)
Clewell will be joined by two very fine jazz musicians (who, by the by, also teach at Webster). Paul DeMarinis is the university's director of jazz studies; plays saxophone with the St. Louis Symphony; is an alum of the Count Basie Orchestra; and has played with Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Nancy Wilson, Doc Severinson, Johnny Mathis, Sammy Davis Jr., Gladys Knight, the Temptations, and the Four Tops. (I can list impressive stuff all day, but the best thing to do, always, is open your ears. So check this out.) Jazz pianist Kim Portnoy composes in both the classical and jazz forms, and set the poems of e.e. cummings to music for most this amazing day. He's not just a writer, though—he's also a prolific performer, and has backed Clark Terry, David "Fathead" Newman, David Halen, Erin Bode, and Roseanna Vitro, among others. Again, we'll direct you to the audio so that you can just listen, and make sense of it with your own ears—there's a passel of excellent YouTube links on his website.
Also See: A review of Clewell's most recent book, Almost Nothing to Be Scared Of
Sometimes quoting from press releases is very lazy (in reporter lingo, the practice is known as "churnalism"). However, we're talking about a press release from Joe's, and in true Joe's fashion, it's not your standard fare (at least not in the bad ways, i.e., boring or insincere). And so we quote:
"This ain't your grandfather's cartoony-beatnik-call-and-reponse ragout of self-conscious Cool. More than a dozen of Clewell's poems (this guy's Missouri Poet Laureate Emeritus, whatever that exactly means!) are here reimagined, augmented by the original compositions of local jazz virtuosos Paul DeMarinis and Kim Portnoy of Webster University's Jazz Studies program.
"Join us for an unforgettable joy-ride through the lyrical and narrative territories of conspiracy theories, the New Jersey shore, the glory days of flying saucers, the cockeyed specifics of No Soliciting signs, never-closing diners, street performers, elephant jokes, bird-watchers and Albert Einstein's Sunday-afternoon brush with a particular Jersey baby. Listen for cameo guest appearances by Coleman Hawkins, Adam & Eve, Willy Loman, Jimmy Stewart, the Swiss Army, Richard Nixon, vengeful Girl Scouts and Jehovah's Witnesses, the legendary Uncle Bud, Nicola Tesla, Schrodinger's Cat and many other notables along for the ride."
Also See: Missouri Poet Laureate David Clewell is a Wise Guy
And there's a postscript (after a note that there were "lots of fireworks" when Clewell read at Joe's a few years ago): "Over the years a number (6?) of musicians from Webster University have performed at Joe's and the quality has been outstanding. The chops are great, and the playing is joyful (not at all 'academic')." Which is just another way of saying the musicians have the same chops as Clewell—exquisitely smart and well-trained in their field, but not obscure, unfun, or unapproachable.
Joe's Cafe is located at 6014 Kingsbury; just look for the giant chicken, and you'll know you're in the right place. Cover is $10, doors open at 7 p.m., and the performing commences at 8 p.m. Also note that Joe's is "BYOB/BYOF," alcohol consumption ends at 10:15 p.m., parking is on Des Peres Avenue only, and the best place to find more info is on Joe's Facebook page.
