Let’s start with the Institute Library. A “subscription “ library founded in 1826, it is housed on the second and third floor of a building on lower Chapel street. A small inscription on the foyer cement is the only outward indication of its existence. Pass the inscription and up some early nineteenth century steps, you enter the inviting library. I’m early for the show so I get my own personal tour. Comfy chairs, study tables, and walls lined floor to ceiling with books show a gem that pre-dates the modern library system, its mission has always been to provide “mutual assistance in the attainment of useful knowledge”. A noble goal for a $60 per year membership fee, though non-members are free to use the space. The third floor houses an art gallery with works from local artists and a small listening room with stereo. The listening room has a decent (approx. 500) selection of jazz vinyl that are spun on Friday afternoons. A small clatch of jazzbos descend with beverage of choice and macerate an artist, I notice that the saxophonist Joe Henderson was on the block for the next session. Back to the library floor for the WPKN sponsored Hamell OnTrial show. Ed Hamell is a one man folk punk dervish who was positively reviewed in this blog for a December 2024 show at Best Video. At that show, he alluded to a collaboration with his son, Detroit Hamell, who is currently a film student at NYU. This evening had that collaboration titled “Driving All Night: How to Raise a Child, and Survive as a Broke-ass Musician”. Hamell and his wife separated when Detroit was small leading to an unorthodox co-parenting arrangement. As a touring solo musician, Detroits days and nights were filled with “car rides, dive bars, and Motel 6s” in support of his father. The show had poignant video clips with songs and profanity laced interludes from Hamell. Like a cross between Lenny Bruce and Ani Difranco, Hamell exposed a rich life with no money. Friendships, experiences on the road shape the young boys life and form a strong father son bond. The songs comically tackle subjects like cyber bullying, respect for the police, and coming clean about his colorful past while raising his child. Hamell has a way with words, many of them have four letters. Wade through the quips and realize parenting, the notion of family, and sheer survival on a musicians income reveal a compelling story.
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