The common denominator of the vastly different stylings was a love and respect for the work of a true American treasure.

Adding yet further evidence to the notion that the extreme always leaves an impression, on Saturday, March 8, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee played host to “A Milwaukee Tribute to the Cosmic Spirit of Allen Ginsberg.”

In a nostalgic echoing of the legendary “Howl” penman’s notorious visit to the UWM Union Ballroom in March of 1982, an all-star cast of local poets and musicians turned out to pay their own unique respects to Ginsberg’s life, work and his subsequent inspiration and influence.

Representing UWM were poets and resident Ginsberg enthusiasts Susan Firer, James Liddy and Jeff Poniewaz, as well as Dr. Martin Jack Rosenblum. Other local poets headlining the tribute included Antler, Eliet Brookes, John Jeske and the ever-eclectic Bob Watt.

The soundtrack to the evening was provided by local band The Blackholes, who originally backed Ginsberg during the 2nd half of the infamous ‘82 reading. Then a punk band, lead singer/guitarist Mark Shurilla and The Blackholes met and collaborated musically with Ginsberg in a chance performance during a party in his honor at Shurilla’s house in Riverwest. At the last minute, Ginsberg, who had previously worked with The Clash on their album "Combat Rock," requested The Blackholes join him on stage during his reading at UWM the following night.

Ginsberg’s '82 reading to an over-capacity crowd (he refused to go on stage until everyone was admitted) is considered by many as one of the greatest events in the history of the UWM Union, a fact which Shurilla claims to have spurred interest in producing a tribute show.

Shurilla, 56, who was on hand to MC Saturday’s tribute, fondly remembered Ginsberg’s desire to incorporate music into his poetry. “He was jumping around like a 12-year-old kid at his first band practice,” said Shurilla. At the time, Ginsberg had been named as “America’s Greatest Living Poet.” His enthusiasm to moonlight as a rock star came as surprise to some of the older beats in attendance at the ’82 reading, while a younger generation flocked in droves.

Although Saturday’s crowd of nearly 200 was noticeably smaller, there was still no shortage of Ginsberg fans both young and old. Young student hipsters mixed freely with aged, bearded flower children, as well as a few former UWM students with various hazy recollections of the ’82 visit.

With the event staff prepped beforehand to be especially vigilant for drug use in the crowd, beginning the evening was Ginsberg himself reading his poem “Who Be Kind To,” via recording of his first visit to UWM in 1967. Jeff Poniewaz emphasized the timeliness of the poem’s anti-war commentary, as well as recollected his own Ginsberg tales and anecdotes. In Poniewaz’s somber poem “Last Phone Call from Allen,” written about Ginsberg’s final days, the poet’s appeal appeared both personally inspiring as well as universally relevant.

“He carried a torch for his old friend, humanity,” said Poniewaz.

Poniewaz wasn’t the only one with a unique Ginsberg-ism to share. Susan Firer took the opportunity to retell the poet’s surreal visit to her home in “Under the Influence,” a poem from her acclaimed 2007 collection, "Milwaukee Does Strange Things to People."

83-year-old UWM artist in residence Bob Watt gave one of the more unusual readings of the evening. At one point, he was ironically forced to vaguely summarize a poem about poetry after misplacing his own copy.

Joining in Ginsberg-esque spontaneity was UWM lecturer and former Harley Davidson historian Dr. Martin Jack Rosenblum. In a last minute decision, Dr. Rosenblum scrapped his own reading for a chaotic folk duet. True to Ginsberg’s own forays into music, Dr. Rosenblum interjected his poetry among bluesy guitar licks and the frantic strumming of an accompanying violinist.

Representing Ginsberg’s gentler side were the soft spoken Eliet Brookes reading her poem “Madness,” as well as former UWM student and a favorite poet of Ginsberg’s, Antler. Fittingly enough, Antler’s segment of the tribute began with a brief prayer to the man himself for the safety of the planet. Antler then promptly launched into his homage poem “Draft Dodgers vs. Poetry Dodgers,” and closed with the bizarre and euphoric “Lucky Trees,” to the delight and bewilderment of the audience.

To treat the eyes as well as the ears was the “Paka Paka Lightshow”, a rather modest two-screen visual throwback to the psychedelic acid visuals of the 60s, spliced with an assorted mash-up of pop culture images relevant to the particular poems. It provided an entertaining, albeit subdued accompaniment to the verbal collage.

The Blackholes were the last to take the stage, playing a number of Ginsberg’s jam songs and poems such as “The Vomit Express,” “The Ballad of the Skeletons (co-written with Paul McCartney),” as well as an occasionally awkward cover of The Clash’s “Ghetto Defendant.”

The common denominator of the vastly different stylings was a love and respect for the work of a true American treasure. Despite a few stutters and missteps, the show was fitting praise for the true icon of the Beat Generation: bizarre, erratic and thoroughly pertinent to modern life.

> Comments