Displaying items by tag: New York

I heard about Forq, watched a video and decided to go. It was a Friday night and Martyr’s is always an interesting place. It has some of the vibe of the old Rock Clubs but you can bring a date there. This however was Jazz Fusion night, not the 1970’s version exactly.

Spare Parts is a Chicago band. After a look at their website, they describe themselves as a Funk band. This category thing is tricky. One thing the listener will find is that there is indeed Jazz fused into the Funk of Spare Parts.

This is a trio that is keys, bass and drums. Kevin Kozol is on keyboards. That’s where the 70’s funk sounds are really strong with this band. He had two vintage keyboards. It looked like a Wurlitzer ala Ray Charles in the Blues Brothers and something that had that old clavinet sound at times. Run a delay pedal and the sounds were very reminiscent of early Pink Floyd. Kozol has chops, no doubt. There were some nice chord voicings and soloing flowing through the sound system at Martryr’s. How ‘bout that rhythm section? Colin Scott on bass and Mike Bruno on drums. They were solid, funky and more than a good compliment to the keys. Scott’s approach was somewhat unique. He used a variety of effects and techniques to fill ups space without a guitar player. They had a sax player sit in on one song. A melody instrument might be a nice addition to the lineup.

Forq is a band that also seem to be somewhat led by the keyboards but this time, there is guitar added to the mix. Henry Hey is on keys. He sets up right in front with a small keyboard rack. It looked like he had one regular, utility board and one hooked up to a lap top. If Keith Emerson were starting out today, he could use a lap top instead of the giant Moog, but the visuals wouldn’t be the same. The concept is exactly the same. The role of mad scientist takes shape in Hey the same way as it did with Emerson.

Chris McQueen sits in the guitar seat. Chris is a former member of Snarky Puppy. He played a Fender guitar with Gibson style pickups through a Supro if you are a guitar geek keeping score. Pedals and gadgets were tastefully used. He got a great tone and played some tasty stuff. McQueen even snuck a little slide in there in one song.

If you left the other players out, the rhythm sections could have competed for the most solid. Jason “JT” Thomas is a pocket owning drummer. He and bassist Kevin Scott built a very strong foundation for Hey and McQueen. These guys were tight.

Here’s an observation for both bands. You can often say too much in the first song. I would say the same thing to a lot of Jazz influenced bands. Chops are impressive, but in both bands there could have been more melody. I am not claiming to be familiar with either band’s specific music. I just know what I like to hear. Even though I love improvisation and jamming, I am a sucker for a good melody. That’s the song really. It was there but a little more would be nice.

If you are Jewish, you will especially appreciate and love this play which is full of biting humor and keen observations about how modern day Jews define themselves philosophically and how that vision of themselves plays out in their family relationships.

“Bad Jews” is set in a beautiful New York pied de Terre or studio apartment on the Upper West Side of New York bought by the parents of brothers Liam and Josh and they are being visited by relatives following the death of their beloved grandfather

Their first cousin Diane Feygenbaum is a rabbinical student with an Israeli boyfriend who insists on being called by her Hebrew name Daphna a has to share the studio with them for a few nights and is outraged by the fact that spoiled cousin Liam has actually missed his grandfather’s funeral because he lost his cell phone while skiing in Aspen.

During the course of the play we find out that Daphna is very intent on inheriting the gold Chai (Hebrew for the number 18, and symbol of Life) medallion necklace worn by her grandfather during the holocaust. In fact, he had to hide it under his tongue for two years in the Holocaust death camp he was kept in while the rest of his family members were killed. It turns out Liam has a plan to give the medallion to his “shiksa” girlfriend instead of an engagement ring just as his grandfather gave it to their grandmother 50 years prior.

A ferocious verbal fight breaks out and the true feelings of each cousin for the other and their Jewish values, or lack thereof, pour out with the fury and passion that sometimes occurs particularly after the death of a loved one.

Liam, played by Ian Paul Custer and Daphna played by Laura Lapidus are both hysterically on point in their portrayals. The fantastic monologues for these two characters, written to perfection by Harmon and well directed by Jeremy Wechsler are cutting but truthful, funny yet excruciatingly honest.

Non-Jews will find this play funny and full of Jewish stereotypes handled with great political correctness. Jews will see themselves in all their self hating and neurotic glory, with intelligence bursting at the seams.

I think Daphna could have been played with a little bit more compassion and a little less self righteous bitterness. At one point she mentions poignantly her education about the holocaust and her grandfather’s “tattoo’” or concentration camp number burned into his arm.  We realize as an audience just how deeply touched  and perhaps scarred emotionally a sensitive child is by being thoroughly  exposed to the horrors of the holocaust at the tender age of 13 , as every Jewish child who studies for a bat mitzvah is required to do.

There are a lot of self-hating Jews out there. I was one of them for a while, in part because of the patriarchal and misogynistic attitudes towards women in the Old Testament that Liam brings up during the play to combat Daphna’s self righteous religious rants. Ironically, it took the realization that Jesus or “Yeshuah” (Jesus’ Hebrew name) was the greatest Rabbi, indeed the greatest Jew who ever walked the earth that made me the proud, comfortable, self loving Jew I am today.

The title by Harmon, “Bad Jews” is both eye catching and absolutely perfect because by the end of the play it is clear there are no bad Jews, only good Jews who are internally judging themselves or being judged by others too harshly.

Skillfully directed by Jeremy Wechsler, I highly recommend this thought provoking and hysterical piece of theater for its brilliant writing and two fantastic performances created lovingly and delivered with mind blowing rapid fire delivery by Lapidus and Custer.

“Bad Jews” is being performed at Theatre Wit through June 7^th. I highly recommend this play. For tickets and other info visit www.theatrewit.org.