monday - la green. this venue has one of the coolest host ever, rat pack slim. it was lackluster in attendance and though i gave it a great heave ho (insert: greetings to the home base) i couldn't help but feel like i was in the way! no matter. cbonejones, judy holiday, tam bam and sonya renee came to hang out with the kidd! we laughed, laughed harder and took pics to prove it! afterwards dj jedi hooked me up with the ill cd, rat pack was a great host hooking me up with some edibles and cop'n the his rib on the strength! and we headed to sonya's for a nightcap of poetry, chicken dumplings and some greasy drive thru mexican food named lucy's... don't worry - i just watched the great holiday eat it.
tues - da poetry lounge: you gotta love the west coast version of the nuyorican. unforutnately, shihan wasnt in the building to host with his sarcastic ass remarks and cut throat punchlines, my favorite, actually. but poetri did his thing. until of course he decided to give away tickets to the macy gray concert - and ME, yes I messed it up for the brother. i gave away an answer and his chance to win the tix were GONE! the whole crowd looked like they were gonna throw daggers at my ass. thank goodness i was able to rock the show right. i had to apologize and give homeboy a cd for the mishap. honestly, I DIDNT HEAR THE INSTRUCTIONS! some short dude with a mohawk was in the way! ooops, no diss javon. im just saying! lol good to get up with old friends: thea, crystal irby and jaha surprised me by showing up with her new book (published by ME! HA) whilst sekou, in-q and tshaka cracked me up all the while.
tues afterhours!: cbonejones spot. im dead tired by the time i get here. but cbones is the patna (very old school oakland for ya) so i make it a point to head to his spot. this is about when i find out the event is an erotica showcase. aww damn! not only did i NOT get that info (mr plan b) but i certainly wasn't feelin sexy! thankfully, mr jones allowed me to rock whatever i liked and let me do my thang for 20 minutes. it was mad fun, with jaha, tam bam and judy in the building. but this is where i realize i still have yet to hear the lady holilday spit a poem... not cool!
wed - i drive my neice's 4 runner back to san diego as i have a flight to oakland to tend to! i am way late leaving tamara's house in pasadena and find myself still an hour outside of san diego almost an hour and a half before my flight is to leave. thank goodness southwest has no change fee. and i make it to oakland before noon. chilling with family before my set at chaz elik's spot is always a plus. but this time it is sombering with the death of my uncle. though, my pride and babysitting spell makes it beautifully different. fast forward: the set in berkeley is located next to la pena. this is the bay area's nuyorican. i remember it well, as i heard sonya sanchez read on that stage during my first poetry reading EVER. the berzerkely slam was cool. good to see issac rock again. my aunt went with me. and afterwards we scattered before the pumkin turned into my life.
thursday - flight back to lax, and i find myself strapped with a beautiful 6 month old for a two week impromptu excursion. i am babysitting kevin amir. he is a heartbreaker and all he has managed to do is throw up, shyt and smile. more than enough. he escorts me to my feature in pomona. but not before we eat freshly made salmon salads with judah 1 and judy holiday. they are roomates, and very 90210 - ish. mic and dim lights is the closing set for my LA trip. unfortunately. it is wasted on a man with a harmonica and racist viewpoints. i rock my set. the energy is low - but hell, it could be me. kevin is sitting in the lap of tamara and i am thinking if i made enough bottles for him to feed before the night is up. i drop the line of singlemothersong. WHAT?! whatever. pick it back up after a pause, an un-apology and a farewell. i am certain my set will be welcomed regardless of the last mishap. unfortunately. my co-feature does not like white people (editor's note: 80% of the crowd is white) and decides to say it in his segway before starting poems about love, unity and such. the people walk out in droves (yes, like cattle) and the 100+ room is left with less than 30 by closing. this fuks with the pass the hat rule for features (fuk) and people actually walk out in such disgust that i thought i was the offender (a systa came back: im sorry. you were really good! i wanted to put money in the hat, but that dude was so offensive! i had to get out of there!) damn. what a way to end the tour. no matter. we laugh about home skillet all the way back to pasadena and kevin and i prepare for the flight to brooklyn
minneapolis and vegas highlights to come!
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