"the spark*! -o-matic ignites sf"

"from the minute we walked into the externally nondescript flat in SoMa, our senses met with the unexpected. this was to continue. first, it was cold. cold inside, colder than it ought have been, really. it also kind of went on forever, room after room after hallway. next, it was...empty. we'd gotten there a good hour and a half before most revelers. but we adapted. we found among the many rooms, one that was wall-to-wall stuffed animals. i'm talking on the floor, on the walls, the ceiling, and doubling as cushions and chairs, too. so, with a nice cold one from the nearby in-house bar, we lounged among the critters and chatted about things like cartoons, animated films, and the odd passerby who'd stick their head or body into our private lair. and we speculated on what it was that todd would be engaging the party guests with.

after a good 45 minutes, we decided to re-scope the digs. and boy howdy it was jumpin. gaggles of enthusiastically dressed folks were bumping into one another in the halls--and on the dance floor. our inquiries about the appearance of this performance artist know as 'spark' continued, and we were again reassured: "he'll be here."

and so he would.

tad and todd showed up soon after, mounting the stairs with bags full of gear and smiles ear-to-ear.

when 11:00 came along, so did this lanky, skirt-sporting stud with a flashy aluminum-tape * symbol on his chest, catching the lights and pretty much screaming I'M ALIVE long before his audience could ever entertain any doubt about it. garb-wise that night, it was tough to outdo anyone.

todd took the stage, rising through the bawdy celebration of music and bodies and beats.

as if the he and the dj had choreographed it way back, todd started to groove. first with the music and the crowd, and then with a coil of what looked like electric white licorice. he wove its strands all about himself, then in front of himself so the audience could observe his quest, his task, his nemesis; his reframing of the interpretive debate if you will.

next was an even longer coil of copper tubing or really thick wire. and with this prop, he really drew me in. the light playing off the coils, the crowd spectating a little more now, he seemed at times incredibly focused on his heavy-metal issue, and other times removed from its bother. at times i caught myself not dancing anymore, then not breathing regularly, then stopped, watching others watch todd....

on and on he went, wrapping it, balancing it, moving with it, throwing it down. making statements with a piece of wire. in many ways it was the perfect prop and medium. the crowd definitely got off on todd's work. quite a party it was.

and it was a spectacle all right. one i'm glad i got the chance to witness. it made me think about constraints and confusion and chaos, getting caught up in control (or the illusion of it)....and letting go of all that. that was the best part: that spark."

John Lentz
Singer / Songwriter
Oakland, California