Porches. at Palisades

Saw Porches., LVL UP and What Moon Things on Friday at Palisades in Bushwick.  Best show I've seen in a while. . .rare to get three solid bands in one show, and all three played great sets.  Porches. has been my favorite Brooklyn band for a little while now and I finally got to see them live.  Palisades was also the perfect venue. . .very basic space, a good small-ish size with good sound, a bit off the beaten path. . .what else do you want?

Anywho, check their bandcamp pages, give a listen and buy their music!

Alvin Ailey at City Center

Last night I saw Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at City Center. As usual the dancers are beyond beautiful and mesmerizing.   It's always a small thrill to see students I have played for in class performing on stage with the first company!

The first piece was Chroma by Wayne McGregor. In addition to being the best piece on the program, it was also the clearest sign that Robert Battle is figuring out how to move the company forward. Yes!

Bill T. Jones's D-Man in the Waters was next which I also found highly enjoyable with its frenetic energy. 

And then came Revelations...oh boy...The choreography is still mostly engaging, especially Fix Me and Sinner Man.  That said, good gracious it looks and feels so dated.  The music and the costumes, oof.  I feel like no one is willing to have a real conversation about how dated this piece is, it only happens in hushed whispers.  My dream is that Robert Battle will figure out how to lead the company out from under the shadow of Revelations.

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