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- Written by: Editor
Evolutionary Blues... West Oakland's Music Legacy Trailer from KTOP TV-10 on Vimeo.
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Join Lake County Community Radio for the only Lake County screening of the powerful film documentary, “Evolutionary Blues: West Oakland’s Music Legacy.”The film will be shown only on Friday, July 13, at 5:30 p.m., in the Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum, 16435 Main St.
The film is based on evidence revealed in the book, “The Warmth of Other Suns” by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Isabel Wilkerson.
The great migration of six million black Americans from the Jim Crow South to the urban centers of the West Coast, Midwest and East Coast oversaw disparate, yet similar musical trends that followed the inhabitants to their destinations.
This film traces the development of the West Coast Blues; specifically, the blues that evolved on postwar Seventh Street in Oakland.
The cast includes over 30 people including Bay Area musicians Alabama Mike, D’wayne Wiggins, The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol, Freddie Hughes, Fantastic Negrito, John Turk, Wylie Trass, Lenny Williams, Lady Bianca, Marvin Holmes, Ricky Vincent, Bob Geddins, Jr., Sugar Pie DeSanto and author Isabel Wilkerson.
The soundtrack includes music from Big Mama Thornton, Fantastic Negrito, Sugar Pie DeSanto, L.C. “Good Rockin’” Robinson, Lowell Fulson, Jimmy McCracklin, T-Bone Walker, Johnny Talbot & De Thangs, Omar Sharriff, Marvin Holmes, Sonny Rhodes and Jimmy Reed.
The film also sports stunning archival still and video footage from public and private sources.
Immediately following the screening will be a Q & A featuring the film’s Director, Cheryl Fabio, and writer, T. Watts. Refreshments will be served.
This event is a benefit for KPFZ, Lake County Community Radio. Tickets are $12.50 for KPFZ members and $15 for non-members. They can be purchased at Watershed Books, 305 N. Main Street in Lakeport, or the studios of KPFZ 149 N. Main Street in Lakeport.
For more information, call 707-365-5503 or 707-995-3565.
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- Written by: Soper Reese Theatre
LAKEPORT, Calif. – If you’re a Francophile and even if you’re not (but you love parties), the Soper Reese Theatre invites you to a Bastille Fête on Sunday, July 15, at 3 p.m. to celebrate France’s national holiday, Bastille Day.
This afternoon of French-themed fun includes live music, dancing, surprise guests, food á la française, wine and song.
Wear your favorite French outfit, bring your worst French accent and get ready for a rousing sing-along of the French national anthem.
Lake County's own minstrel group, My Divas, will open the day's activities.
Headliner the French Oak Gypsy Band gives a fresh spin on French and American Swing Era classics with a repertoire from French Chanson, Gypsy Jazz, Dixieland Jazz.
North Bay vocalist Stella Heath and French/American guitar player Gabriel Pirard lead this group of gypsies in their undeniably fun performances. Reed player James Inciardi rounds out the group.
With their French-inspired sound, spotlighting Heath’s magnetic vocals and the band’s tight rhythms they'll transport you straight into the bygone era of swing.
Tickets are now on sale for $25, $20 and $15. All seats are reserved. The dance floor will be open and dancing is encouraged, mais oui!
Tickets can be purchased online at www.soperreesetheatre.com or at The Travel Center, 1265 S. Main St., Lakeport, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport, telephone 707-263-0577.
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- Written by: Ted Kooser
John Foy is a poet living in New York whose book, Night Vision, published by St. Augustine's Press, was the winner of The New Criterion Poetry Prize.
I especially like this leisurely, conversational account of a walk in the woods that just at the end lifts its eyes and looks into a deeper place beyond the particulars.
Woods
I took the dog and went to walk
in the auditorium of the woods,
but not to get away from things.
It was our habit, that was all,
a thing we did on summer days,
and much there was to listen to.
A slight wind came and went
in three birches by the pond.
A crow uphill was going on
about the black life it led,
and a brown creeper went creeping up
a brown trunk methodically
with no record of ever having
been understood by anyone.
A woodpecker was working out
a deep hole from the sound of it
in a stand of dead trees up there.
And then a jay, much put upon,
complained about some treachery
it may or may not have endured,
though most are liars anyway.
The farther in, the quieter,
till only the snapping of a stick
broke the silence we were in.
The dog stood still and looked at me,
the woods by then already dark.
Much later, on the porch at night,
I heard the owl, an eldritch thing.
The dog, still with me, heard it too,
a call that came from where we'd been,
and where we would not be again.
American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2016 by John Foy, "Woods," from Night Vision, (St. Augustine's Press, 2016). Poem reprinted by permission of John Foy and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2018 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
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- Written by: Tim Riley
INCREDIBLES 2 (Rated PG)
One must reach into the memory bank, as well as bring along a new whole generation of younger viewers, to appreciate the fresh appeal that still resides with Pixar’s gift to creative animation in the original “The Incredibles.”
Fourteen years have passed since writer-director Brad Bird delivered an animated film that was energetic and ingenious, with plenty of heart and good humor, and one must assume that he took great care and meticulous devotion to produce a worthy sequel with “Incredibles 2.”
Most of the primary voice actors have returned with Craig T. Nelson as the patriarch of the Incredible family, Bob or his alter-ego Mr. Incredible, and Holly Hunter as his wife, Helen aka Elastigirl, and Sarah Vowell as teen daughter Violet.
The modern world has banished all superheroes into retirement due to the collateral damage that often followed their heroics. The Incredibles chafe at these limits, feeling discarded from society, until a new villain, the Underminer (John Ratzenberger), surfaces.
Though Mr. Incredible, with the physique of a competitor for Mr. Universe, wants to be the center of attention in the superhero world, the sequel belongs to his spouse, Elastigirl, who is called upon to use her powers as she has a less destructive method.
The superheroes, referred to as Supers, have fallen into disfavor with the public. Tech wizard Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk) and his sister Evelyn (Catherine Keener) seek to restore the public image of the Supers and enlist the help of Elastigirl to serve as the ambassador.
The Incredible family and all other superheroes have been declared illegal and are eager to get back into action. Meanwhile, the Incredibles are living like fugitives in the low-rent Safari Court motel until Elastigirl proves their worth to society.
After dispatching the Underminer’s destructive plan to level Municiberg with a giant boring machine contraption, Elastigirl heroically uses her flexible powers to stop an insidious plot to derail a brand new high-speed monorail train filled with dignitaries.
The evil force behind a plot to cause panic and turn Municiberg into a dystopian urban wasteland is Screenslaver (Bill Wise), a high-tech super-villain who manages to hypnotize his victims to bend to his will, acting as pawns to thwart Elastigirl’s mission.
For now, the Incredible family goes about new routines while Elastigirl is engaged once again as a Super. Mr. Incredible becomes Mr. Mom, struggling to keep up with baby Jack-Jack who is showing signs of unbelievable superpowers usually manifested during tantrums.
Jack-Jack has abnormal powers for a toddler, including becoming a demon baby with the ability to burst into flames, turn invisible, break through walls and windows, and levitate. Best of all, his power includes shooting burning lasers from his eyes.
Violet, mastering the power of invisibility and creating force fields, is an introverted and bright 14-year-old who is socially awkward but sarcastic and has a crush on classmate Tony (Michael Bird) that is complicated by his inability to remember who she is.
The Incredible middle-son is Dash (Huck Milner), a mischievous sort modeled it would seem on Bart Simpson, who desperately wants to be part of the action. He has the remarkable power of super speed and is dismayed that he has to keep his ability a secret.
Screenslaver turns out to be an exceptional villain in his use of computer screens and special goggles, once affixed to a person’s face, that transform his victims into hypnotized pawns for his evil plans.
An old friend of the Incredibles is a fellow Super named Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), who falls prey like all the others to Screenslaver’s master plan after being turned into his unwitting accomplice.
An epic battle takes place on a cruise ship where officials from around the world are gathered to formalize a treaty that would restore the Supers as guardians of the public order. Screenslaver will have none of that.
The climactic confrontation brings the entire Incredible family into a serious showdown on the ship, where they are called upon to save the day once again. Even the precocious Jack-Jack gets to use his powers along with his siblings.
As with most sequels, “Incredibles 2” creates a sense of déjà vu of what transpired the first time, mainly because it picks up where “The Incredibles” left off. The riveting action, including a daring helicopter rescue, makes for a good time for family entertainment.
Whatever might be said about this sequel, “Incredibles 2” is likely to be one of the summer’s big hits and for good reason.
Chinese Animated Short “Bao”
Viewers of “Incredibles 2” should be treated to the offbeat Chinese short animated film “Bao.” An aging Chinese mom suffering from empty nest syndrome gets another chance at motherhood when one of her dumplings springs to life as lively dumpling boy.
The dumpling grows up fast and becomes a teenager with the typical desires. It’s a weird short that a friend thought was the mother’s hallucination. That may be the best explanation for what unfolds, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.