The Tooth of Crime

I caught the opening night of the Tooth of Crime at Straw Dog tonight, missed the first 20 because I was parking and with the Cubs playing, parking spaces just weren't happening. This edition of TofC is a bit different from the one I drummed for in college. Sam Shepard has deep roots in Illinois even though he's identified so much as a Californian. He was also a drummer, which makes sense if you know about the scene that's all about rhythm and British Invasion drummers in the play. Tooth was written while Shepard was living in London in 1972. But evidently, he revised the text at some point. Now, it contains references to hip-hop and seems to be more concerned with authenticity, relevance and the way the dialogue about music in the culture dances around those questions. I swear the TofC that I knew was a bit more about being an outlaw, driving fast and how being on top of the charts only makes one alienated from one's self as well as an easy target for the next generation. I remember it being a bit more Death Race 2000, but maybe it's just me.



I must suggest that anyone with Sundance (or BBC 4 in the UK) lock on to City of Men. Tivo, tape or just cancel your plans to see this. I screened the first four episodes and it just gets better and better. The first episode provides a challenging political theory backdrop for the situation in the favelas in which the stories are set, comparing the gangsters to England and France in the days of Napolean and trade wars. As for point of view, imagine an American television program that portrays kids in the slums not so much as victims, but as fully formed people who can be both creative and wonderful and selfish and stupid. The gangsters themselves are also well-drawn. There's a bit of baile funk in the soundtrack and some stuff that sounds like its from a Brazilian Morrissey.

More here in Portugese.