I didn’t know what to expect when I signed up to attend the PEN Cabaret at Webster Hall last night. I used to go to this venue to see bands like Eurasure, Eurythmics and The Human League back in the late 80’s when it was called The Ritz and nothing ever started on time. Plus, this is NYC, and the only thing that ever starts on time here are the shows on Broadway. Well, we can now add PEN to the punctual list.
Upon arriving 20 minutes late, I missed the opening act which was was supposed to be the British Dandy Sebastian Horsley, who was recently denied entry to the United States on grounds of ‘moral turpitude.’ I know there was some worry over at PEN that he might not make it back in the country for this event but it seems that homeland security unwadded their panties for him.
[UPDATE: “Sebastian did not get in to America to perform for the PEN cabaret,” emails his publisher, Carrie Kania. “We still can’t believe it.”] Well, this certainly is a good lesson in punctuality for me.
Bosnian fear of brain inflammation and Rick Moody on Moo Cow after the jump
However, I was in time to enjoy NYC dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones on stage reciting from his work Ballad. Let me tell you, the man is ripped. You could see every muscle on his body as he moved to his words across the stage.
After a brief break, I was startled when a woman behind me began wailing. Since the ballroom was packed, I had situated myself conveniently out of the way over on the side at the only freestanding cocktail table. The wailing, which was the beginning of Hungarian folk musician Bea Palya’s a cappella song, turned from “why is this scary woman yelling at me?” into “Oh, its the next performance” as she walked up toward the stage, filling the hall with her music that draws inspiration from jazz as well as Persian and Hindi sung poems. For two of her songs she even got the crowd to participate as her background choir.
Following Palya was Bosnian-born author Aleksandar Hemon who read from his new novel, The Lazarus Project. The MacArthur Fellow regaled the audience with a story from the book about celebrating Bosnian independence day in Chicago with fellow Bosnians, who it turns out are all deathly afraid of “draft” and believe it can give you “brain inflammation.”
After the wedges had been adjusted Singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding (who will be performing at the Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn fundraiser on May 15) performed Hamlet in 4 minutes. My brain had a tough time keeping up and it was truly amazing when he rhymed “Claudius” with “fraud he is.” For his last song he was joined by Rick Moody on the moo cow for the Minotaur song.
Wrapping up the evening was Swiss yodeler Erika Stucky who I at first thought was another crazy woman who wandered into Webster Hall banging on a shovel. I soon discovered that she is not insane, but brilliant. Between yodels she told us stories about the three fingered woodsman and the anarchist who’s yodels she sang for us. Stucky reminded me that I have a recurring dream of being a professional yodeler and I think that’s what the evening reminded all of us of. Well, maybe not being a professional yodeler, but of the inspiration that can come from dreams and that it doesn’t matter where in the world you’re from, you can find your own unique way to express your inner voice. Thank you PEN for a great evening.