The Press Telegram covered the meeting between Phil Hester, Director of the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department, and the community served by the Homeland Cultural Center. Orlando Greenhill, who teaches an improvised music class at the center, speaks passionately about the impact Zoot Velasco has had on every person at the center. I’m not sure, [...]
By Greggory Moore “You guys were fantastic,” I said as I handed over $10 for C.O.M.A.’s CD immediately after they finished their set. “That was the greatest jazz performance I’ve seen.” What I meant by my embarrassed gush was not that I’m an expert on live jazz, nor that C.O.M.A. deserves to be summed up [...]
By Greggory Moore Some musicians are looking to catch on as widely as possible, right down to finding that perfect group name and that catchy hook. None of these people were featured at {open} Saturday, as the two groups who played didn’t even bother with names, let alone “songs” or hooks. There were just five [...]
By Greggory Moore I had never heard of FOUND Magazine, and I’d never been a fan of “found art,” reading the side panel of a cereal box and such. So lame. But I was promised a good time, and so I showed up at {open} fashionably late but on time to see show #28 on [...]
by Sander Roscoe Wolff At last Saturday’s Last Saturday event in the East Village Arts District, I wandered around and shot some video. I edited it down to about 5 minutes, and you can watch a rather large but low-res version of it here. The excitement was palpable as I wandered East on Broadway toward [...]
By Greggory Moore The last of several forums for candidates running for the Second District City Council seat was put on by the East Village Arts District on May 24 in the Grand Salon of the Cooper Arms building. This piece will not pretend to be any sort of comprehensive coverage. This was my first [...]
By Greggory Moore I may not be in the loop. I may not be hip. I’m quite certain I’m ignorant of a great many things. Still, I feel safe in guessing that there’s no place in Long Beach (at least) that regularly features as eclectic a mix of musical and other performers as {open}. In [...]
By Greggory Moore If all politics is local (as was once asserted by former House Speaker “Tip” O’Neill), it is the actions on the streets that agglomerate to form the whole of our political reality. With this in mind, on May 6 {open} hosted a screening of Street Fight, the Academy Award-nominated documentary about the [...]
CREATIVITY NETWORK UPDATE: April 10, 2006 It was another energy-filled evening at Utopia Restaurant last Monday evening. A good crowd of 15 people showed up for more than wine and food. Getting them out of there was the challenge. Cultural exchanges, information exchanges and networking were among the topics thrown out. Of course, it always [...]
by Christine Amarantus Here are some wonderful photos taken by LBC contributor Christine Amarantus. – Ed.