While reminiscing on the Harlem Renaissance last week, I told Butta about Bricktop, a similarly freckle-faced and red-haired dynamo who owned her own jazz spot in France during that era. All the poppin' artists of the jazz age frequented Bricktop's bar because she was fly like that. It occurred to me that Butta was a virtual version of Bricktop, using her extensive knowledge of soul to curate an online experience that is as valuable as it is unforgettable.
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It's interesting then, that a lot of the places people congregate now are online. Twitter allows us to talk smack about the Basketball Concubines in real-time; Google+ lets you get people together for a group "hangout," while Facebook acts as a virtual photo album of your entire existence. In real life, though, musical performances tend to be less than intimate. Many of the artists I love (Maxwell, Jill Scott, Jay-Z, Kanye West) are doing stadium-style concerts, where you're just another body amongst 50,000 other randoms that you don't really want or care to know. I want to smell the sweat and liquor on the musician, be able to see their music struggle face (the grimace all real musicians have when they hit a note that's funky, regardless of the instrument -- voice, piano, guitar, it doesn't matter) up close and personal. Gone are the times of slow grinding at a hole-in-the-wall juke joint. Now we have to two-step in the aisle of the Verizon Center and avoid tumbling down the cavernous arena's stairs.
So I wondered: what if SoulBounce was a brick-and-mortar music venue? Seriously, how dope would the "SoulBounce Lounge" be? And, of course, this lounge would have to be staffed by your multi-talented SoulBounce Editors:
- Proprietor: *duh* Butta would be the hostess with the mostess, ensuring the patrons are enjoying themselves and not trying to steal napkins and condiments.
- House DJ: *double duh* Keyknow. Nuff said.
- Bartender: D-Money, because he's mellow and what not and I could definitely see him wiping out a glass with a bar rag and giving sound advice on how to swindle "The Man."
- Waitress: Ivory, because she's sweet and quick on the uptake.
- House Band: Remi, moi, and Ms. Peachy Kween. I'll take the guitar, Remi will hold down keys, and Peachy will do vocals. We would need a drummer, though. Questlove what's good?
- Stage Manager: SoulUK. He'd book all the talent and intimidate their managers with his stush British accent. Also, he'd be responsible for making sure things start on time, because *ahem* I know how my people are...
- Bouncer: ChrisAlexander. He would be responsible for gently escorting rowdy customers outside by the elbow while cutting them to the white meat with colorful insults.
The best spaces and places, in my honest opinion, inspire a sense of wonder; they're lightning rods for the exchange of ideas. This applies to anything: technology, hair, food, you name it, and having a place that fosters that level of dynamism is key in a culture that is vibrant (or vivrant, in the words of Q-Tip). That's why I think the game has seriously been missing honest-to-goodness, old school venues. What's the best small or mid-sized venue you've shook your jelly rolls, Bouncers?
