The Orlando Weekly Best of Orlando Party.

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This year I was nominated as the Best Artist of Orlando. Andrew Spear won first place, and Boy Kong took second place. They both certainly deserve the recognition. I came in third place but just being nominated meant I could sketch the Orlando Weekly Best of Party at The Beacham (46 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32801). The party of the year is a celebration for winners of Orlando’s
most prestigious awards, Orlando Weekly’s Best of Orlando. It’s a free
party for 2000 taste maker VIP’s: Best of Orlando Winners, Orlando Weekly
clients, select readers, artists, politicians and media.
This is always a blowout event that gets super crowded. Pam Schwartz and I arrived somewhat early and as I sketched the venue filled up to capacity. Only when people left, would more people be allowed to enter.

There were two entrances to the event, a “Winners” entrance at The Beacham, and a general admission entrance at 64 North. A series of bars were interconnected, including The Social, Aero, and The Patio. Different things were happening at all the bars. Lasers and spotlights created a two point perspective grid over the crowd. I sketched the grid and then took it back out feeling it hid too much of the crowd detail. When the live performance started confetti was shot over the crowd. I like to watch the hectic action at the two island bars as the bartenders are swamped by orders for free drinks. Working digitally meant I could catch the amazing lighting of the scene.

With the sketch done, we agreed that we had seen enough. We didn’t venture into the other crowded bars.

Blackalicious at the Social.

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I met Katie Jane, and Britton Paine, at the Social (54 North Orange Ave, Orlando, FL) to hear Blackalicious perform.  I ordered a drink and sketched the band as they set up on stage. The place gradually filled up as I sketched. We must have arrived very early. The concert itself was a blast. Blackalicious i a bulky mass of a performer and he dominate the stage and crowd. The pit in front of the stage filled with a unified dancing mass.

New Breed was a lively brass band that performed next. with several drinks in me, the lines flowed easier but less accurately. (t was fun to try to catch the glow of all the different colored stage lights. Local artist and perform Asaan Swam burger Brooks was in the house and swung by for some face time.

Blackalicious took the stage again, and his rap lyrics seemed absolutely spontaneous as if s constant improvised flow.Another rapper got the crowd to raise their hands and pump their fists in the air. I have never experienced a mo lively and raucous concert. the social is small which keeps , performers and audience in close proximity. Sketching to rap music is a joy. I couldn’t stop myself and ended up do in y third sketch.  What ever happened to my “one a day” mantra? Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. In an inebriated moment of inspiration I might produce some thing unexpected.

Someone flipping through my sketchbooks though these sketches were an unfinished mess, but I rather like them. Sometimes it in about a polished result, but about the experience. Right now, Hurricane Matthew is threatening Florida, essentially shutting down the state. Wouldn’t it be fun if the Hurricane were named Blackalicious? This performer is very much a force of nature.

The Best of Orlando Party.

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Every year, The Orlando Weekly has its readers vote on the Best of Orlando. The Best of issue is a great way to scan the best restaurants, bars, shows, and all other venues. It is a great resource that helps me decide where to sketch. All of the 2015 winners were invited to The Beacham (46 N Orange Ave, Orlando, Florida). This is the biggest, bad ass, invitation-only party of the year. I didn’t win an award in 2015, but I pulled strings to get in to document the party. I immediately wanted to get up above the crush of the crowd. There was a bouncer at the staircase that wanted a password, so I searched for an Orlando Weekly staffer to get the needed word. I met friends on the ground floor, but the music was so loud that we couldn’t talk.

The two bars downstairs were constantly packed. I admired the bar staff that had to work at lightning speed to keep up with the demand. Obsessionally friends would stop to say hello. Some were Facebook friends I had never met in person. An artist, is far more approachable than a photographer. Photographers have more fun getting people to pose. Some people are just curious. It is always rewarding when people know what it is that I am doing. It makes my life as an artist so much easier. The music pulsed an the disco ball twirled. Besides the Beacham, four other clubs were tied into the party, including, The Social, Aero, Olde 64, and The Patio.

Since I didn’t have an award to pick up, I didn’t stay long after the sketch was done. It felt good to unwind walking around Lake Eola after all the noise of the party. All the activity inspires quick decisions and thus a rougher sketch. But I also love the calm of being alone and enjoying quiet scenery. I got to experience both in one night.

Sam Rivers Memorial Tribute

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I heard Sam Rivers play within months of first starting this blog. He performed with his band at the Maitland Art Center at a closing party for the Florida Film Festival. For me, sketching as he played, it was a liberating experience. Lines flowed and danced on the page with abandon. The sketch became about expressive vigor not clinical accuracy. Sam’s music was about the freedom of loose improvisation. He was a dynamic, creative saxophonist, flutist, bandleader and composer. He died December 26th here in Orlando Florida. He was 88 years old. Over the course of his career, Sam played with many jazz legends in smokey lofts and bars including Dizzy Gillespie.

An open call went out for any musicians who had played with Sam as part of the Rivbea Orchestra, to gather for a Tribute Memorial concert at the Social in downtown Orlando. I arrived fairly early and found a table to sketch from. As band members set up, a microphone was placed stage left and people were invited to get on stage and talk about Sam and his music. One man got up and said that he found himself always holding a beer at Sam’s concerts. When it came time to clap, he would slap his bald head with his free hand. Sam saw the gesture and took to clapping his head as well when he finished a set. A band member felt honored and a bit intimidated being in Sam’s orbit. In one rehearsal Sam stopped and asked him, “What’s that note your playing?” He responded, “E flat.” “We aren’t there yet.” Sam said. There was a long silence, then Sam laughed out loud. He was joking with the performer. Dina Peterson had met Mr. Rivers a few times. He tended to take an interest in what she was doing and she was pleased when he picked up the conversation right where they left off many months later. Genevieve Bernard admitted that she used to go to Rivers concerts on her own when she was single because she loved the music.

The stage became crowded with musicians. The music was driven, spontaneous, raucous and free flowing. Anything was possible. Performers danced the razors edge, taking endless chances and reaching out. Cameras flashed and someone held up an iPad above his head, like a glowing billboard to catch the scene.

Sam’s wife Beatrice died in 2005. The orchestra played “Beatrice” named in her honor. The gentle music filled the room. You could feel the love. This song is now a jazz standard. After that song one of Sam’s daughters got on stage. She thanked all the musicians for playing his music, keeping it alive. She said that “Sam’s still playing, and he’s watching you.” With the funeral and memorial behind her, she had to return home in the North East. I started to well up. The room was getting smokey.

Members of the Rivbea Orchestra stood in turn launching into personal solo improvisations. The focus of my sketch switched from one performer to the next as they played. The energy in the room crackled and built. Everyone swayed to the beat. Lines flowed and splashes of color were thrown down with abandon. The whole band joined together and built to a cacophonous yet structured crescendo. The room went wild. The spirit of Sam’s music still ignited the crowd. The room was on fire. “Keep perking Mr. Rivers.”

Andy Matchett & The Minks

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I had seen Andy Matchett & The Minks perform once before at a RIFF fundraiser at the Cameo Theater. They performed late that evening and I had put away my sketchbook. I had so much fun at that concert just dancing and jumping. It was a playful rave experience. Ever since then I have been looking for a chance to sketch this band in action. Andy told me about a concert at the Social and I leaped at the opportunity to see them again.

I had just finished an afternoon of sketching people for the Mennello Museum mural. Angela Abrusci had posed in a beautiful vintage dress as she applied lipstick and James and Jasmine Barone had me in stitches, joking and teasing as I worked. She held a parasol and he was in a kilt. When the sketches were done, I walked across the street to the Fringe festival’s green lawn of fabulousness to get some dinner. I bumped into Jeremy Seghers who was also going to see Andy Matchett & The Minks that night. He told me the group would be performing around 11pm so I had time for a Fringe show. He told me all about the show he had created called “Squatters” and it was about to begin so I rushed over to the theater. Jeremy told me the Social was on Orange Avenue just south of Colonial Drive.

I parked downtown in my usual “supersuprimo” spot and started walking towards Orange. I passed a cheesy mural which offered no inspiration. When I got to Orange I made the mistake of turning right to walk north towards a club I had been to before. After five blocks I realized I was lost. I looked up the Social address on my cell phone and went the other way. I was a sweaty mess when I got to the Social, where I was issued a green wrist band and ushered inside past the bouncer. I immediately saw Betsy Dye and Emma Kruch and my spirit lifted. Another band was performing and they were LOUD! I shouted a greeting to Betsy and she shouted out that this was a rare night out for her. Jeremy waved me over and I gave up trying to shout over the music. I found a spot where I decided to plant myself to sketch. I used the band on stage to block in where the Minks would likely be once they performed. Then I sketched the dancing crowd.

As Andy Matchett & The Minks set up, I continued to sketch. Before they played, a band member handed me some confetti. Jeremy found some seats and I joined him. The performance was pure unbridled fun. The second they started playing, confetti cannons sprayed vast clouds of heart shaped confetti over the crowd. Hair driers kept the confetti and streamers airborne through the whole show. Blowers sent streams of toilet paper into the crowd. Betsy collected the paper and wrapped herself into a fashionable cocoon. The lights flashed various colors on my sketchbook page. I imagined the Japanese animation that caused seizures in children. A parachute was unfurled over the cheering audience. Britt Daley had performed earlier that night and she introduced me to her mom, Gazelle. Jeremy kept getting bonked in the head and we laughed. Robbie Senior, a giant red robot from “Dog Powered Robot” invaded the stage. An epic laser and confetti battle followed. The crowd went wild. A wine glass crashed to the floor. A woman who had been sitting demurely all evening, was now dancing up a storm. The next day when I opened my sketchbook to see what I caught, a pink confetti heart fluttered to the floor.