lit crawl 2006
tonight my bookhound pal sharona and i set out on our selected version of san francisco lit quake's lit crawl. the choices were endless and set up in phases- three in total. we chose a selection for each phase and then meandered to the next bar and the next reading.i'll share some notable moments below. here are the two things i realized as a writer from attending these readings: if your words on the page are brilliant, but the delivery is one dimensional and monotone, your words are dead, never connecting with the audience; a recent poll discovered that san franciscans spend the most money buying booze and books. this was fairly evident in how packed each of the venues ended up.
phase I (6-7p.): travel writers roam the globe: lonely planet and travelers' tales
bill fink read an excerpt about getting lost in thailand, as he and his buddy avoided the usual tourist haunts instead looking for the "real thailand" in a rented jeep with the word "party" emblazoned on the front and flames flanking the sides. they ended up accidentally driving to laos. his reading elicited laughter from a packed crowd in the casanova lounge. look for the book: "travels to nowhere" for more fun misadventures.
phase II (7:15-8:15p.): rockin' the page: music writers take the mic
at the amnesia bar, richie unterberger stole the show with his viewing of rare footage of the beatles. he first played two songs from their first concert in the united states and then played an unreleased filmed rehearsal of an ed sullivan show performance. we laughed every time they showed ringo, wearing the look of a tortured soul on his face, as his arms crashed down on the drums and george harrison "lurked" right behind paul. they were so green... other notable moments included a revelation about hip hop in the south- the way to release a song and have it become a hit is to play it in the strip clubs. hmm. look for the book: "the unreleased beatles" by r. unterberger.
phase III (8:15-9:15p.): the tasting course: writers on food and wine
at laszlo, we wolfed down a slice of mushroom pizza, bootlegged into this chic bar, as if we had brought in our own libations, masqueraded in a brown paper bag. i commented that it looked like we were part of the act, what with the focus being on food and all. while i give kudos to sara deseran's entertaining vignettes and scott keneally's lack of a palate for wine, the man who stole the show unwittingly was andy raskin. his tales of becoming a pseudo disciple of tetsuo, the chief sushi chef at hamako had us laughing out loud at embarrassing levels. he knew how to deliver his story and engage his listener. i would buy anything he wrote if it all possessed such wit and well thought out candor. look for the book: raskin is currently working on a memoir revolving around japanese food. my guess is it will be worth the wait.
phase I (6-7p.): travel writers roam the globe: lonely planet and travelers' tales
bill fink read an excerpt about getting lost in thailand, as he and his buddy avoided the usual tourist haunts instead looking for the "real thailand" in a rented jeep with the word "party" emblazoned on the front and flames flanking the sides. they ended up accidentally driving to laos. his reading elicited laughter from a packed crowd in the casanova lounge. look for the book: "travels to nowhere" for more fun misadventures.
phase II (7:15-8:15p.): rockin' the page: music writers take the mic
at the amnesia bar, richie unterberger stole the show with his viewing of rare footage of the beatles. he first played two songs from their first concert in the united states and then played an unreleased filmed rehearsal of an ed sullivan show performance. we laughed every time they showed ringo, wearing the look of a tortured soul on his face, as his arms crashed down on the drums and george harrison "lurked" right behind paul. they were so green... other notable moments included a revelation about hip hop in the south- the way to release a song and have it become a hit is to play it in the strip clubs. hmm. look for the book: "the unreleased beatles" by r. unterberger.
phase III (8:15-9:15p.): the tasting course: writers on food and wine
at laszlo, we wolfed down a slice of mushroom pizza, bootlegged into this chic bar, as if we had brought in our own libations, masqueraded in a brown paper bag. i commented that it looked like we were part of the act, what with the focus being on food and all. while i give kudos to sara deseran's entertaining vignettes and scott keneally's lack of a palate for wine, the man who stole the show unwittingly was andy raskin. his tales of becoming a pseudo disciple of tetsuo, the chief sushi chef at hamako had us laughing out loud at embarrassing levels. he knew how to deliver his story and engage his listener. i would buy anything he wrote if it all possessed such wit and well thought out candor. look for the book: raskin is currently working on a memoir revolving around japanese food. my guess is it will be worth the wait.
posted by annelies at 10:44 PM
1 Comments:
I would have loved all three of these phases combining three of my greatest passions: music, travel, food! Dammit. Well, I am glad to hear about it - I was returning from traveling myself so I can't complain but I'm in next year!
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