The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 

Review: Boston vs. NYC Slam Poetry Grudge Match at the Armory

For many, poetry slams are like open mike nights or not-drunk-enough Karaoke: powder-kegs for some serious collective embarrassment. It can be stifling, that shared awkwardness between strangers. You never quite get used to it, the unease; what is that? Delusion? Social subtext? A moment of unforgiving clarity? It's sort of like a mumblecore sex-scene: you know awkward when you see it.

But when that shifty-eyed discomfort is expected and miraculously doesn't show, it's likely that something good is in the making. All of which is to say that some fine poets, hailing from a town called New York, were dropped off by a Fung Wah bus this past Friday (a miracle in itself) to participate in a slam poetry skirmish with their big-city rivals. The head-to-head sparring took place in Somerville's aptly named Arts at the Armory, where the winners would claim bragging rights in time for this summer's showdown at the 2011 National Poetry Slam.

Kicking things off was New York's "eco-billy" (that's eco-friendly, rockabilly) poet Christian Drake, who set the tragicomic tone with his ode to a fatally shot Siberian tiger named Tatiana (download here). Then, Boston native Sam Teitel got the grudge match started in earnest with a hilarious NYC-bashing poem that concluded: "The people here are shot-gun shells, the winter is an atomic bomb, and NOBODY uses this city as an excuse to be an asshole."

Later, New York's veteran Jeanann Verlee delivered the night's most intimate performance with her psycho-tragic poem "The Session," which treated her struggle with loneliness and depression. Here, host Dawn Gabriel had her work cut out for her, trying to lighten the mood with jokes that often came off as overtly cavalier, deflating the kinetic atmosphere many of the poets created.

Fortunately, with one round remaining, raving Bostonian Brian S. Ellis revived the electricity, decimating the crowd with his trademark paroxysms of fury, which earned him the top individual score of the night. Yet, despite Ellis's bracing performance, NYC clinched the win by just 0.9 of a point overall, rekindling the already combustible rivalry as we head into the 2011 National Poetry Slam in Cambridge this summer.

| More

2 Comments

  • Dawn said:

    Great write up! But it's Christian Drake, not Christopher.

    April 8, 2011 3:57 PM
  • Michael Goetzman said:

    Fixed, thanks!

    April 13, 2011 4:14 PM

Leave a Comment

Login | Not a member yet? Click here to Join

(required)  
(optional)
(required)  
 Friends' Activity   Popular   Most Viewed 
All Blogs
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Articles

Boston Phoenix
Review: Boston vs. NYC Slam Poetry Grudge Match at the Armory
Published 4/7/2011 by Michael Goetzman
For many, poetry slams are like open mike nights or not-drunk-enough Karaoke: powder-kegs for some serious collective embarrassment. It can be stifling, that shared awkwardness...

beat_Whitcomb_list
Boston Phoenix
Whitcomb's legacy
Published 3/25/2011 by SAM PFEIFLE
Feel the poetry rattling your bones

more by Michael Goetzman
[PODCAST] Is the curse working? On Truth Tour Day, let's reminisce about Sheen vs. the warlocks [MP3] | April 12, 2011
Review: Boston vs. NYC Slam Poetry Grudge Match at the Armory | April 07, 2011
PODCAST: William Powers & Nicholas Carr on the Internet and the State of Our Braaains [MP3] | February 25, 2011
Flatbread Company at Sacco's Bowl Haven | December 10, 2010
Interview: Charles Ross, One-Man Star Wars Trilogy | November 11, 2010

 See all articles by: Michael Goetzman

Follow the Phoenix
  • newsletter
  • twitter
  • facebook
  • youtube
  • rss
Latest Comments
Haley And The (All-White) Red Sox - Thank you, David, for the history lesson. I had no idea about these facts. There are lots of people still...

By beachmama94 on 04-23-2011 in Talking Politics

[boston blackout] Controlled Bleeding's Paul Lemos on 30 years of experimental noise - Check out the band's website at www.controlledbleeding.com

By skullboy666 on 04-21-2011 in On The Download

Gears of War 3: Female Character Added, Game Ruined - I agree with Charlie and I think they also need to have a sandwich camp so the women can make sandwiches...

By Logan on 04-21-2011 in Laser Orgy

Coachella Day 1: Crystal Castles, Cut Copy, Sleigh Bells, Interpol, Cage The Elephant, Marina & the Diamonds, and a Killers reunion - Awww, sorry Millie! :(

By Michael Marotta on 04-21-2011 in On The Download

FREE ALBUM DOWNLOAD: New Audible Mainframe Mixtape - "Reframed" - shitty

By shitty on 04-21-2011 in On The Download

Latest Comments from PageViews
Most Viewed
Wordle Short Story Quiz
Boston V. NYC Slam Poetry Grudge Match
Review: Boston vs. NYC Slam Poetry Grudge Match at the Armory
Masters of Suspense: Tales from the Crime Scene
Signs of the coming apocalypse
[awesome video alert] Roadsaw "So Low Down"
[live review + photos] Richard Ashcroft @ Villa Victoria Center For The Arts
Most Viewed from PageViews
Search Blogs
 
PageViews Archives
Sunday, April 24, 2011  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
thePhoenix.com
Phoenix Media/Communications Group
Copyright © 2011 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group