No Regrets:

I’m a few days late here but Tourettes Without Regrets fuckin’ rocks! Min Jung invited several of us to this monthly variety show of poetry slammin’, hip-hop battlin’ and a game show featuring suicide and serial killer trivia. The whole thing is held together by host Jamie Kennedy who swears a whole lot but keeps the rowdy crowd surprisingly upbeat.

The show clocked in at nearly 4 hours but about 90% it is solid–entertaining, smart, well-thought out. Much of this is thanks to Daniland, the East Bay promotional outfit behind much of the Tourettes talent. Dani has a remarkable eye and seems to select artist beased not only on content and performance but professionalism as well. And despite the teenage silliness of it (short skirted-chicks grinding, bras thrown at the stage), there’s a workmanlike discipline to the event that I’m defining as East Bay because I don’t have any other word for it.

It goes like this. Artists in San Francisco are remarkably proud of their own opression and think nothing of running, say, a Gay-Latino Letter Carrier’s open mike night for 3 hours with bad lighting, stiff chairs and so-so talent because everyone’s voice should be heard and artists are all second-class citizens anyway so they need a space that’s theirs. That’s fine if you’re on stage but sucks if you’re looking to support events like this and the organizers, through hubris or neglect, make it a horrible way to spend an evening. I’m guessing (based on nothing. That’s why it’s a guess) that the ethic in the East Bay, particularly a hip-hop influenced young arts scene like Tourettes is hard work and proving yourself. Got something to say? Grab a mike and do it. But go too long, indulge the audience in your guts spilling, think you don’t have to prep because your lover is the host? Forget it, you’re done. The stage belongs to those who can command it.

• Category: Art & Culture