Ninth Annual Cbus Jimi Hendrix Tribute Show (11/20/2015)/Brothers Drake/Tokyo GoGo Food Truck

This Friday, my spouse and I had the pleasure of a return visit to the annual Cbus Jimi Hendrix Tribute Show, held around the date of this legendary guitarist's birthday (Hendrix would have turned 73 years old on Friday, November 27th.) This gathering, put together by Theo Perry (of Theo's Loose Hinges), brings together a collection of talented local musicians to blaze through a number of both familiar and deeper Hendrix cuts.

Unlike previous years, a scheduling issue brought the show from its usual home at SoHud's Rumba Cafe to the sophisticated digs of Brothers Drake, located where the Weinland Park and Short North neighborhoods intersect. In addition, the show was forced to an earlier than normal time slot (the guitar strumming began in earnest during the meadery's happy hour.) These changes, however, didn't stop a large crowd from showing up to watch locally talented guitarists pay homage to a man who still holds incredible influence in today's music world.

Jeffro Jam of Jam Cave Productions led things off with a version
of Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner" on his Keytar, and came back
with a Hendrix-styled montage that referenced artists
like Prince and Bob Marley

Veteran jazz guitarist Derek DiCenzo got to let loose some rock chords
on Hendrix favorites like "Manic Depression" and "Purple Haze"

.

Kenny Delicious, aka Kenny Caterer (drummer for Theo's Loose Hinges
and Lead Singer/Guitarist for Doctor Kenny Delicious), cranked out
the well-known "The Wind Cries Mary" as well as deeper
album cuts like "Castles Made of Sand" and "Red House"

Event organizer Theo Perry seemed to channel Jimi himself on his
renditions of "Machine Gun", "Crash Landing" and "Foxy Lady"

David Martinez of The Old Norths and Slight Rebellion finished out
the solo portion of the show with Jimi tunes like "Stone Free",
"Voodoo Chile" and "Bold As Love"

Columbus musical veterans Maxwell Button (drums) and
Nathan Smith (bass) provided solid backing throughout each set

All performers joined each other on stage for some final Hendrix
tunes, including a rocking version of Jimi's "Hey Joe"

For future information about next year's Jimi Hendrix tribute series (next year's tenth annual show, to be held sometime in November, should be a momentous one indeed), please refer to Theo Perry's Facebook feed.

Brothers Drake/Tokyo GoGo: I had previously blogged about Brothers Drake (and their sister meadery on the West Coast, San Francisco Mead Company) on this prior blogpost. We had become intimately familiar with their mead products over the years (and of course, we couldn't not order a mead drink or two on this occasion) but until this visit had no thoughts about exploring the cocktail side of the menu.

Brothers Drake's Meadhattan and Wild Sweet Annie, prepared with
care by one of the meadery's bar staff members

This new outlook on the mixed drink side of the adult beverage world was inspired quite a bit by revelatory experience received this summer. when we had a taste of the world-class cocktails during our fine tasting menu dinner at Delaware's Veritas Tavern. Since then, we've been willing to explore this world a bit more, and the unique mead-based offerings of Brothers Drake provided an intriguing opportunity. Indeed, from their Meadhattan (Wild Ohio mead, mixed with OYO Bourbon, cherry juice and Angostura bitters), the Wild Sweet Annie (my spouse's go-to this night, with Wild Ohio Mead, OYO Whiskey & ginger liqueur) and the Rosemary Fizz (a mix of their Motive Mead, Watershed Gin, lemon juice  and soda water along with a sprig of fresh rosemary) provided tasty accompaniment to the music this night.

Providing the food this night was what can be called Brothers Drake's resident food truck. Tokyo GoGo, operated by chef Miki Ashino, offers a selection of  Japanese-styled bar food items with a rotating selection of daily specials, as well as a special Ramen night on Tuesdays.

Clockwise from top: Karaage (flash-fried chicken thigh pieces), Pork Gyoza
Dumplings, and Korokke (fried potato balls with molten cheese interiors)

  

For just under $20, we picked up four different items that not only paired well with our mead drinks, but also were quite delicious in their own right. Their special of the night, fried tempura fish cakes, were nicely crispy with a pleasantly fresh-tasting, lightly chewy filet, while the Korokke balls and uniquely fried pork Gyoza dumplings (which came attached to each other in what seemed to be crepe form) were gobbled up with equal enthusiasm. However, our favorite dish by just the tiniest of margins so far is the Karaage - this crispy savory dish is a definite reorder again on a future visit.

As equally good as the food items were the variety of multi-profiled sauces that came with each item; we found ourselves enjoying experimenting with how the different sweet, spicy and savory taste profiles each item interacted with each dish. We look forward to another sampling of this food truck's offerings on another future visit to the area.

Brothers Drake Meadery
26 E. 5th Ave (Short North/Weinland Park)
Columbus, OH 43201
(614) 388-8765
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Tokyo GoGo
typically in the parking lot of Brothers Drake
(614) 916-6476 (MISO)
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No Broken Hearts Here: Norah Jones & Ruby Amanfu (Palace Theatre, October 23, 2015)

Like to our trip to see the revival of Pippin earlier this year in Cleveland, our visit to see Norah Jones at her tour stop at Columbus' Palace Theatre was definitely more about my spouse's music tastes, as she was owner of Jones' first three albums. Not that I personally didn't like Jones' style of music: I myself own a copy and got a lot of enjoyment out of her debut album Come Away With Me, which has sold more than 26 million copies to this date and earned her numerous initial accolades. But as is the case with my ADD-riddled musical tastes, I figured I had pegged what I would get from Jones' future albums when her similarly-styled 2004 follow up Feels Like Home came on the scene.

Friday's concert showed both I had missed out on quite a bit of development by Ms. Jones on the musical front in the decade since I more or less stopped paying attention. Even my spouse, the more fervent fan but was slightly behind on Jones' album collection, found a surprise here and there that elevated the artist more in her mind

The night opened up with a beguiling artist in her own right in Ruby Amanfu, a Nashville-based singer with roots in the African nation of Ghana. Known more recently for her collaboration singing with country duo Sam and Ruby and guest duet appearances (most famously with the White Stripes' Jack White on "Love Interruption", a song off his first solo album Blunderbuss), she recently has returned solo artist status with her recently-released mostly-covers album "Standing Still". Her unique takes on lesser-known songs by a diverse cadre of artists (including Kanye West, Wilco and Brandi Carlisle) has received critical praise from media outlets like Rolling Stone magazine and NPR.

Even with all her performance history, Amanfu seemed a bit nervous and even giddy during her initial hello to the still gathering sold out crowd; perhaps she was realizing that she was performing as a solo artist for the first time in quite awhile. This feeling may have been amplified initially a bit by the setting, as her lone accompaniment on the stage (aside from the already set-up instrumentation for Norah Jones and her band) lay in the form of fellow Nashville-based musician, guitarist Johnny Duke.

However, Duke's subtle and supportive fretwork was perfect in combo with Amanfu's voice; her on-stage swaying and distinctive vocal phrasings on "Where You Going" (original by Jimmy Dale Gilmore) and "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" (an Irma Thomas cover), slowly mesmerized the gathering crowd's full attention to the stage. As her set moved forward, Amanfu continually expressed her thanks to Jones, her musical colleagues and the gathered audience all the way to her performance's finale.

Her next song, the plaintive "Cathedrals" from Jump, Little Children, was a crowd-pleaser and highlight for both of us. We found ourselves were mouthing lyrics like "In the cathedrals of New York and Rome/There is a feeling that you should just go home/And spend a lifetime finding out just/Where that is" without ever hearing the song before. Amanfu closed out her set with a few more songs off her album, including the Bob Dylan cover "Not Dark Yet" (a song she has previously performed live and is also included on the new LP) and a lovely closing number featuring her lone original song off her latest album, the pleadingly romantic "I Tried"

Of course, the vast majority of people here were here to see Ms. Jones, and she and the members of her very capable backing band The Candles received a rousing ovation as they took the stage. The first quartet of songs ("What Am I To You?", "Out On The Road", "I've Got To See You Again" and "Turn Me On") started laying out my preconceptions about what I would be seeing or hearing on stage on their head. Jones was confident, relaxed and playful from the start, and she and her band produced a smooth and strong sound that easily carried through the Palace Theatre, despite her jokes with audience members that were so "way up high" and "being in the dark" beyond the first few rows.

For their part, Columbus audience members clearly let Jones know they were out there and enjoying every note, and she rode this energy quite well. Whatever remnants remained of my preconceptions were pretty much ground into a fine dust when Jones seamlessly moved to an acoustic guitar for "Black", her contribution to producer Danger Mouse's 2011 spaghetti-western inspired album Rome.

Unbeknownst to both of us, Jones had branched out quite a bit from her piano- and jazz-oriented beginnings, delving into country and rock through numerous collaborations and side projects. She moved over to the electric keyboard for "It's Gonna' Be" and "Chasing Pirates" from her fourth album The Fall, then donned the electric guitar for the rollicking rockabilly-ish  "Don't Know What It Means" off her country side project Puss N Boots (along with Sasha Dobson and Catherine Popper.) While Jones was the obvious focus, she allowed various band mates to show off their skills in the spotlight at various points of the concert.

After two more energetic renditions of "Lonestar" and "Stuck", Jones took the stage solo behind her piano for two from her debut album ("Painter Song" and the ubiquitous "Don't Know Why") mixed with two off her last 2012 Danger Mouse-produced album (the title track "Little Broken Hearts" and "Miriam".) "Painter Song" was something of a jaunty revelation compared to the more lazy and produced original, while "Miriam" was perhaps my spouse's favorite for the night, revealing a darker side of the singer we had no idea existed.

Jones and her band mates finished out their main set in fine style, including the New Orleans-styled bluesy romp "Sinkin' Soon" from the 2007 album "Not Too Late" and a cover of Neil Young's "Don't Be Denied", in which opening act Ruby Amanfu added her fine vocals (Amanfu and Jones exchanged a loving hug with each other after the song's end.)  After Jones donned the guitar once more "Come Away With Me" for the closing number, the audience's enthusiastic applause brought back a stripped-down edition of the band out for an encore.

After two songs off of her second album Feels Like Home ("Sunrise" and "Creepin' In", Jones and her band launched into an unintended bit of irony, ending the night her tandem contribution (along with bluegrass/Americana artist Gillian Welch) to the 2011"The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams", the playfully wistful "How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart." In reality, perhaps the only "broken" heart on this particular night belonged not to any audience member but rather The Candles' own bass player Josh Lattanzi, whom Jones had forgotten to introduce on stage and good-naturedly admitted to doing through her social media feeds after the show.

Norah Jones
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Ruby Amanfu
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The #ArtMakesCbus Campaign

The Big Room Bar at WWCD 102.5 FM radio station hosted
a special GCAC-sponsored event for the newly created
Art Makes Columbus/Columbus Makes Art campaign 

One sign of a thriving metro area is similarly thriving arts community and public interest in the arts. My old stomping grounds of the Bay Area was not lacking in this aspect, with numerous avenues for creative exploration of all art types available for both artists, locals and visitors to the area.

I've come to find that, similar to many previously unknown aspects about this metro area in general, that Columbus and its surroundings sport a pleasantly vibrant arts scene bubbling within its reaches as well. Much of this is event-driven: it seems you cannot find a weekend during the warmer months without some sort of festival or happening. Even during the winter months, monthly gatherings like the Short North neighborhood's Gallery Hop or the Gay Street District's Moonlight Market, and institutions like the Columbus Idea Foundry and the Glass Axis allow locals to explore the creative side of life throughout the year.

My spouse and I have done our fair share of exploring this aspect of Columbus-area living, but as a relative newcomer myself, I've felt like we've barely scratched the surface of what is out there. Thus, it was with interest when I received an invite from the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) for a special event detailing their " Art Makes Columbus/Columbus Makes Art" (#ArtMakesCbus) campaign, launched this summer with this year's edition of the popular Columbus Arts Festival.  I had read some media stories and scrolled through the associated website briefly before I had received the invite, but I was definitely eager to learn a lot more about the thinking and motivation behind this effort.

Held at the CD102.5 FM's recently opened Big Room Bar radio station, this special gathering, consisting of local bloggers and others involved with numerous aspects of Columbus' art community, featured five local artists whose talents are as diverse as you can assemble in a panel discussion/question and answer style format. This question and answer session was supposed to enhance what anyone can discover about these artists at the campaign's website.

The panel featured a diverse array of locally-based artists, whose talents
covered writing (Katharine Matthews), corsetmaking (Larissa Boiwka),
painting (David Butler), woodturning (Devon Palmer)
and music (Angela Perley).

As mentioned by both GCAC President and CEO Tom Katzenmeyer in the introduction, and elaborated in more detail to me by Jami Goldstein, GCAC Vice President of Marketing, Communications & Events, a prime motivator behind the new campaign was to lend a more personal aspect to promoting local artists. She elaborated that the event-driven marketing approach of the past, hadn't necessarily translated into a better economic bottom line for local artists and related organizations. Goldstein stated they had figured out that the human interest factor was not factored enough into the equation, and that the Art Makes Columbus campaign would focus on adding that factor in local arts promotion via its website, various media/social media efforts, and partnerships with the community.

I had noted to Jami my observation that while the website's features and the in-depth biographies were focused on individuals and groups who most people would consider artists, the campaign's Events section included happenings that extended beyond what most people traditionally think of as the arts such as food and athletics. Goldstein said this was done on purpose, as GCAC wanted this campaign to be a truly collaborative effort across multiple groups and art media and, in a way, was something of an approach that had been untried in other locales.

Indeed, as the artists answered questions and spoke to their personal experiences, this human interest aspect really came through in a big way. The Columbus Arts Festival is indeed one of me and my spouse's favorite events to finish, but in the desire to the whole experience in, there are times in my mind when the plethora of booths and cornucopia of media available for viewing become almost too much to choose from. 

However, the experience becomes special when we have chosen to interact with the artists themselves. One of my spouse's such moments came from the Columbus Arts Festival during the 2011 edition, when a surprise storm damaged or destroyed a number of pieces from a group of participating artists. She dropped by the next day and made an offer on one particular storm-damaged piece she ended up liking from an artist who was a victim of the storm with the cash she had on hand. The artist gratefully agreed to the offer, but my spouse liked the piece so much that she contacted the artist later and sent her the rest of the money to make up the original pre-damaged asking price. 

Better yet, when I entered our relationship on a more permanent basis, I myself ended up enjoying the piece quite a bit, and so much so that I had a companion work commissioned as a surprise gift to my spouse.

Human interest, a focus of the #ArtMakesCbus campaign, drove
the sales of these two locally-produced art pieces

Perhaps that's what struck me during the post-panel mingling as well. Initially, some of the featured artists seemed a little uncomfortable with the panel discussion format (to be truthful, most people would be uncomfortable in that setting), but when it came to the mingling portion, the featured artists were just as approachable as the next person, talking as easily about the small things such as their favorite restaurants or love of cats as much as bigger questions about their fields of talent, where they came from, and what drove them in their artistic pursuits.

Examples of the featured artists' talent were on display this
night, from Palmer's finely crafted woodwork,
Boiwka's intricate corsets, Butler's passionate
paintings and Perley's wistful singing

I asked Goldstein about how the success of GCAC's three-to-five year campaign would be measured; she replied that while there were metrics in regard to things like website visits and similar, an overall sense of their efforts ultimate success would be a bit more difficult to put into hard figures. I pondered that question in the back of my head as the event went on, but discovered the possible ultimate measurement in a response painter David Butler gave to an audience-member question about how to best encourage their young child to explore their creative side. He spoke about spending time with his niece this summer, who one day made the observation that he wasn't making a lot of money via his painting pursuits.

Butler acknowledged this to be true, but responded that he was doing something that was making him very happy. He followed that by asking her what her favorite things in life were, to which she responded chocolate and hula hoops.

"Well, if you could have chocolate and hula hoops everyday, wouldn't you want to do that? 

His niece thought about it and said "Yeah, that would be awesome."

Butler responded to her, "That's how I feel. I'm living the chocolate and hula hoops life."

I think for most artists, living this "chocolate and hula hoops life" i.e. pursuing their particular talents on a lifelong basis to their heart's content is really the true measure of success. Hopefully, a successful #ArtMakesCbus campaign will allow local artists to feel a little more comfortable with that pursuit on both the public awareness and the economic side of things.

Art Makes Columbus/Columbus Makes Art (#ArtMakesCbus)

Campaign to promote local arts by the

Greater Columbus Arts Council

100 E. Broad St. #2250

Columbus OH 43215

(614) 224-2606 

Campaign Information

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Featured Artists

Larissa Boiwka (Corsetmaker)

David Butler (Painter)

Katherine Matthews (Writer)

Devon Palmer (Woodturner)

Angela Perley (Musician)

Update: The original post neglected to credit the artist, Kelly Zalenski of those fine cityscape paintings featured in this post. You can check out her portfolio at her website klzart.com