A Sunday of Funnies

Last Sunday night your Olde Pal Foz had himself a wonderful time at Cole’s. Yes. I know that I always have a great time at Cole’s, and I spend a lot of time there. That is because of the unique intersection of art and booze that Coleman Brice provides his customers.

Sunday was the conclusion of the fabulous annual Milwaukee Avenue Arts Fest, and Cole lined up an unbeatable bill for the evening. It started with some terrific deejay types spinning vinyl Jazz discs. These Frisky Grannies DJ’s had quite a collection of classics, and spending the hottest part of the afternoon swinging to great music in an air conditioned bar was a definite first choice for me.

The second round of entertainment was silent movies, with live music provided by the same dissipated piano player who is writing this blog – right now! Cole gave me three DVD’s to choose from, including the Murnau’s 1922 masterpiece, Nosferatu. We did not see Nosferatu on Sunday, but might in the future. I chose to go with a “B” feature starring the that great Edwardian Hottie, Gloria Swanson. The Danger Girl (1916) was “supervised” – which I guess is old timey movie talk for “produced” – by the first great comic film maker, Mack Sennett. In this 18 minute slapstick old Gloria cross-dresses and indulges in some hot, sweet, girl-on-girl action to win back her wavering fella.

The feature film was a 25-minute Charlie Chaplin flick called Shoulder Arms (1918). In this story from the early (or earlier) part of Chaplin’s career, he plays a bumbling Doughboy who accidently captures Kaiser Wilhelm and wins World War I for the allies. I wonder if Quentin Tarantino thought he was doing something crazy and unusual when he changed the end of World War II for Inglorious Basterds?

Playing piano for silent films was a new experience for me. I could have done it better, but I look forward to trying again. I was surprised at how much easier it was to score the Chaplin film, because of the brilliance of his physical comedy. Sennett’s more narrative style didn’t provide as many opportunities for the music to interact with the action. If I am going to play piano for silent movies involving romance I am going to have to learn more Stephen Foster tunes. Knowing how to play and improvise around When Johnny Comes Marching Home proved valuable for Shoulder Arms, while The Danger Girl could have used some Beautiful Dreamer.

After the silent films the evening continued with a comedy show hosted by Cameron Esposito, and then wrapped up with a truly wonderful couple of sets by Chicago’s Patsy Cline tribute band, The Weepin Willows.

Check out the Weepin Willows Performance here, but be advised that You Tube does not come close to capturing how completely Natalie Jose fills the room with her strikingly powerful voice.

Later, I woke up in my bed, and found the refrigerator door open.

Must have been a good night.

Our accompanying picture features either Cameron Esposito, Natalie Jose, or Gloria Swanson. Leave your answer in the comments section. Correct answers earn a kiss from Foz.