Ignition at 7:44PM sharp. There might be some afternoon storminess today, but tonight looks good. Whenever there might be a question of weather, check the WaterFire website for updates. So go get your fried dough fix. And when you realize that the paper peace crane you have been handed is a cynical appropriation of this symbol by a corporation with huge image problems, please dispose of it properly. (Of course Fidelity has buffered itself from any direct interaction with the public by enlisting kids from the Institute of the Study & Practice of Nonviolence to distribute the cranes. Nice touch.)

I had been meaning to spotlight the swell plantings dotting the downtown area but the ProJo beat me to it yesterday. The simple and sophisticated designs are by Gates, Leighton & Associates with the all-important maintenance being performed by the Downtown Improvement District. Big ups for getting the hanging baskets right; they are enormous which means that not only is the scale right for their surroundings, but the plants have a good root-run and can flourish. And the choice of plant material was kept simple, and repeated from basket to basket which is much more pleasing to the eye. As to the petunias that adorn the ‘lawyer crossing’, they are just mental.

This is sure to mean a tourism bonanza!

In recent years, Providence has not only seen a new convention center and a revitalized waterfront, but historic corridors have also been restored to their Revolutionary-era glory, giving the Rhode Island capital an architectural sense of place. But these cultural trappings, more commonly associated with overcrowded metropolises, have not caused this city of 200,000, near the banks of Narragansett Bay, to lose its small-town flavor. Drivers still request their initials on license plates, sandwich shops let regulars run a tab and Mayor David N. Cicilline greets residents by name and lists his home number in the phone book.

For the record, the Times ended their Friday and Saturday nights at the Black Rep and Local 121, which sounds pretty true-to-life. And did you know that the original State House, “where, in 1776, Rhode Islanders declared independence two months before the rest of the country,” used to be on Benefit Street?

Espresso at Caffe Dolce Vita, brunch at Nick’s on Broadway, and dinner, oh so predictably, at Al Forno. Sounds like a typical weekend!

The 5:18 update on the WaterFire website says they’re going for it. It looks like the weather has cleared up just for the event. So get down there. That fried dough isn’t going to eat itself. Starting time 8:02PM.

Hello! the August printshop classes are now available for viewing and sign up at the online shop! go check it out: AS220 shop.

ALSO, friends! the AS220 community printshop is AIR CONDITIONED (don’t be jealous!!! just sign up for class.) For more info visit the printshop website.

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How do you blow a .49 on a breathalyzer? Does that mean that half of your blood is alcohol?

For the answers to these questions and more, we turn to 34 year old North Providence resident and former Brown University presidential chef Stanley Kobierowski, who recently crashed into an electronic message board on I-95 near the mall in what turns out to be the drunkest attempt to drive, or do anything except die, in the history of Rhode Island.

In fact, according to variousw booze-ologists unearthed by the ProJo, this dude should not have been concious:

“For the average individual, there is a very severe risk of death when you start to approach a reading of .4,” said James Harasymiw, director of Alcohol Detection Services in Big Bend, Wis….

“He is in a very small class of people because most people — even heavy drinkers — would be unconscious or approaching death to get up to .5. The danger with this guy is that with that kind of tolerance, you may appear to be fine one moment and unconscious the next.”

Harasymiw calculated… that the man would have had to have had roughly 24 drinks — defined as a 12-ounce glass of beer or a shot and a half of whiskey — over six hours.

For those of you keeping score, that translates out into a whiskey shot every ten minutes for six hours straight. (more…)

Fans of mediocre, overpriced coffee rejoiced today when they learned that Starbucks will not close any of its Rhode Island locations.

From the ProJo Biz Blog:

Fans of Starbucks coffee can rest easy as the Seattle, Wash., chain skipped over Rhode Island in a recently announced store-closure plan.

Starbucks this week named the 600 stores it will close around the country and no Rhode Island locations appeared on the list. Starbucks loyalists in Massachusetts are not so lucky, as the company will close seven stores in the Bay State.

So, if your feeling the craving for a Mint Chocolatey Chip Frappuccino with Whipped Chocolate Creme and scone that was baked last week, frozen, and shipped to thaw onsite, rest assured that you can stop by any one of the five Providence Starbucks locations within a one mile radius of each other.

Here they are performing an acoustic set. They’ll be plugged in tonight or I’ll kick their ass.  Also tonight Chris Rosenquest and Michael Minto.

10PM/downstairs at Trinity Brewhouse/186 Fountain Street/no cover

What could be cooler than jazz? Check out Tim O’Keefe’s Listening Party, tonight with a couple of live sets by The Cozy Collective. Misters Crenca, Teixeira, Minto, Wood and O’Keefe will be showing the squares how it’s done starting at 10PM at Local 121.

tonight 10 PM/121 Washington Street/no cover

Table space is still available for the Providence Rock & Roll Yard Sale at the IndieArts Festival on Saturday July 19th. This all takes place in Burnside Park and the Bank of America Skating Center from 1PM to 11PM, with live bands and DJ’s, and food and drink, and tons of people walking by with plenty of money to spend on…. well, whaddya got? Books? CD’s? Vintage clothes? Crafts? Propaganda? Cookies? Please, someone be selling me cookies.

For info contact Jen or Chris at What Cheer? Antiques and Vintage, 861.4244, and get yourself a space (it’s BYO table). It’s only $25, but you must pay in advance. (Make credit card payments here.)

Mighty Crown is the shit, sayeth XLR8R of the recent World Dancehall Clash:

 … the main stage belonged to the now dominant soundclash team  Mighty Crown, also known as the “Far East Rulers.” Mighty Crown is the only non-Jamaican soundsystem to have won a World Clash event on Jamaican soil. The five-member crew’s latest victory cup will join a bursting trophy case. Crown has also won World Clash U.S. twice (’99 and ‘07), the U.K. Cup Clash (’02 and ‘05), and World Clash Antigua (’05). It’s a fitting win for the Japan and New York-based team. Mighty Crown will celebrate their 17th year in the reggae business with a number of high profile reggae concerts in Japan, where they’re known to pull up to 40,000 fans to their shows.

Go support them at Black Rep tonight: 276 Westminster between Clemence & Matthewson. Doors somewhere between $15 and $25 (this performance will be legendary).

SIMULBLOGGED AT RIPEYAMS.COM
Jazz is one of those idioms that doesn’t come easily to everyone. I’m not a Jazz head by any means, but I’ve certainly come around to a little bit of equanimity in my appreciation for Jazz. Where once the ambling solos, indirect melodic focus, rambling uneven tonal patterns and blue note syncopation, drove me up the wall, I’ve found a certain satisfaction with the music through learning its vocabulary and history. One of the things that can be said unequivocally for Jazz vocalists is that she must have an unflinching command of her instrument; its timbre, its range and its pitch must be mastered. Otherwise audiences are unable to transcend the lyrics. When I pump Ella, Sarah Vaughan or Jon Hendricks on my stereo, I try and train myself to hear the voice as if it were just another horn stepping out from the big band. This could be why José James is such a joy for me to listen to - he plays his voice like a horn. New York City, and the history of Jazz born there, shape James’ first release for world-acclaimed DJ Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label. The Dreamer is the title track and easily my favorite. Another standout from James’ album is Spirits Up Above, reworked here by Simbad. José James performs for FREE at 5PM on Tuesday, July 8th at The Providence Black Repertory Company as part of Sound Session 08. Tickets for all performances on sale now at Arttixri.com

Where: Westminster St., Downcity

When: TODAY!!!! Saturday 12pm-6pm

What: Over 40 vendors, including yours truely, funkepunkemonke at the Hydrogen2Foxygen booth on Westminster St. in Downcity Providence. Lots of fun and food. Providence’s only open-air market with tons of good finds all made locally by a select group of artists and crafters. Plenty of yummy treats too!!

Everybody knows that just before you get to New Haven proper on I95, there is this giant American flag. Its all tattered and brown, and it can’t always appear majestic because of its shear weight. RISD prof and local smartist  Liz Collins will be bringing 8 knitters and thousands of queers together to reimagine the original pride flag - maybe even surpassing 95’s old glory. The flag will incorporate the original hot pink and turquoise that we now see missing (representative of sex and art respectively). It happens today between 12PM and 6PM at Waterplace Park and is the fourth installment of Collins’ Knitting Nation project.

Just a reminder.

You can peep the schedule for New England’s 2nd largest pride celebration in full here. As Matthew noted previously, the Saturday headliner is 80’s teen pop sensation and current mid-lifer Tiffany. Woot woot!

There is something burbling up in Brooklyn. Its one part straight island Rasta, one part BK brand Nubia and one part UK hoody culture. On Brooklyn Anthem, Team Shadetek managed to harness some of the Burrough’s most cantankerous beas and vocals for an explosive celebration of hybrid Black music. Featured on the tune is none other than Gize Burrows, aka 77Klash. Most famous for penning the unstoppable Skallawa riddim - Turbulence’s “Notorious” was the nearly ubiquitous hit of a couple summer’s ago that made the infectious, bass heavy backing track famous - 77Klash (pronounced Double-Seven Klash) is known for his unwillingness to play by Dancehall’s genre conventions. On Brooklyn Anthem, Klash and Noble Society’s Jahdan tear through a heavy, badman riddim replete with squelchy acid bass and spooky synthetic strings. 77Klash performs with Mighty Mystic, Paul Michael, Mardon Famous and Redbeard at Black Rep on Tuesday, July 8th as part of Providence Sound Session 2008. For ticketing and more information go to Arttixri.com or providencesoundsession.com