Marquette Waterfront Festival + Ivory Room + Tornado

Sorry I'm so laggardly in posting this. The Marquette Waterfront Festival was one of the first festivals of the season, and I thought I'd posted about it. Alas, the other day, I found this half-complete post hunkered down in my drafts folder. Eh. It happens. My favorite band that day was The Pimps of Joytime from Brooklyn; they evoked Prince and Sly and the Family Stone.

Festing

Sona, Sola, + I on the dancefloor at the World Music Festival

at the Orton Park Festival

Feting and Salads

Greek salad

This summer when it was excruciatingly hot, I was really into salads. I can't recall which recipe I used for the Greek salad, but here's one from Epicurious if you're interested in concocting it.

Salade Nicoise

Again, I can't remember which recipe I used for my somewhat modified salade Nicoise, but here's a basic recipe from Melissa d'Arabian of the Food Network.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Some time ago, J. and I saw University Theater's production of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. The play's title refers to a song Rainey recorded in 1927.

Born Gertrude Pritchett in 1886 in Columbus, Georgia, Rainey performed in minstrel and vaudeville shows as a young adult. She first encountered the blues in 1902 at a tent show in Missouri. Rainey heard a girl more moaning than singing about how her man had left her. Prior to this, Rainey had employed a more theatrical singing style.

In 1904, she married William "Pa" Rainey and became known as "Madame Rainey." While touring the country as part of F.S. Wolcott's Rabbit Foot Minstrels and Tolliver's Circus and Musical Extravaganza, she adopted the "Ma" moniker, even though she was well under thirty. The nickname was given for her tendency to mentor younger performers. Her physical looks--short, heavy, dark-skinned, and sporting a mouthful of gold-capped teeth--didn't align with the era's perception of beauty for African American women, which prized thin, light-skinned women. Positioning her as a maternal figure made her more acceptable and less threatening.

In the 1920s, she toured as a solo act with the Theater Owners' Booking Association (T.O.B.A.), the vaudeville company for African Americans in the 1920s and 1930s. She signed a five-year recording contract with Paramount in 1923.

In 1933, she retired from performing to manage two theaters the she'd purchased with her earnings. She died in 1939 at age 53 from heart disease. In 1983, she was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Blues Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

We both agreed that the acting was great, although we wished that the play had showcased more of Rainey's music and that the performers had been musicians. (The music was all recorded instead of performed live.)

Fighting Bob Fest + Willy St. Fair

Bernie Sanders

In mid-September, a few of us hopped on over to Fighting Bob Fest at the Alliant Energy Center. We had great seats to hear Cornel West, Bernie Sanders, Thomas Hartmann, and Greg Palast speak.

Cornel West

Later that day, we moseyed around the Willy St. Fair eating, listening to music, and meeting some extraordinary stilt walkers from the World Music Festival.

Dragons and dragonflies at the Willy St. Fair

After hearing rave reviews, I tried the pork curry from The Corner Store's stand. My assessment: just ok. Although it was billed as pork curry, I was hoping that it would also boast some veggies. I hoped in vain. It consisted solely of large chunks of meat in a diluted curry sauce. And instead of brown or jasmine rice, plain white rice was the base. It was a little disappointing, but I might try again, just to be sure.

La Fete de Marquette

In early July, a bunch of us hit La Fete de Marquette to celebrate French culture and music. Held at the corner of South Dickinson and East Washington, the free festival benefited the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center. Despite the oppressive heat, I donned my stripey green halter dress, drank beer, and even burned up the dance floor a bit. I was very sweaty and a bit dehydrated by the time we left. (As most of you know, I imbibe so much that bottled water could easily bankrupt my retirement fund. Because I go through so much plastic, I also feel like I'm personally responsible for heightening our petroleum dependence. Next year, I vote for a drinking fountain somewhere where I can at least refill a purchased bottle.) The music was impressively good, and we were surprised that the stage was so large. I had fun and met some new people.