Full Disclosure: Kyle “El Guante” Mhyre and I both write for the local music blog www.culturebully.com. SPIT Master of Ceremonies Carl Atiya Swanson also writes for Howwastheshow. Neither of those guys ever buys me drinks though so I can honestly report on this show without personal bias.
I stepped into the Sound Gallery on Tuesday night to catch some of the SPIT performance series, a string of spoken word and comedy shows at the Warehouse District arthouse organized by the Lamb Lays with Lion theatre troupe. Though Master of Ceremonies Carl Atiya Swanson welcomed us all with obvious enthusiasm, there was no disguising the fact that beyond the artists, there weren’t many attendees in the gallery’s stark space. In fact, there were even some optimistic jokes made about us being the only ones to be there for the show “where it all began,” in probable reference to the Sex Pistol’s infamous Lesser Free Trade Hall show, a beacon of hope for artists whose shows are poorly attended. I was there, however, to see Minneapolis Slam Poetry champion El Guante, whose “where it all began” show already happened long ago.
Guante (Kyle Myhre) is a member of the Tru Ruts Collective, a group of local Hip Hop and spoken word artists who have achieved national prominence in the small circles of the American spoken word scene. He performs as a Hip Hop MC and producer, as well as a poet (Tuesday night's performance was exclusively slam poetry). While seeming a bit quiet at first, when Myhre launched into the persona “El Guante,” he became a different animal entirely. This new angry young man boasted himself the “best slam poet in the world,” and not one to make empty assertions, then proceeded to show us how and why. Spitting cadenced streams of bitter pathos into the startled audience with confidence and aggression, El Guante was definitely the Superman to Mhyre’s Clark Kent.
What was most striking about Guante’s work is its extreme candidness. I would hate to use the cliché of the “artist baring his soul to the world,” but when El Guante rants about cutting pieces off of himself with a straight razor and giving them to people, it’s not far from the truth. All of his material about friends, life, growing up, etc. is drawn from the well of his own experience (well, the one about zombies may not be from literal experience, but hey). Also, while Tuesday’s show wasn’t thoroughly political, I know that Myhre has one or two opinions on that subject as well. Overall, it was an extremely emotional performance, and luckily avoided the pits and pratfalls of conventional slam poetry structures and language. I left the gallery wanting more, but am heartened by the fact that in one place or another, El Guante performs just about every day.
Though we don’t normally cover a lot of comedy here at HWTS, I must say that I was also very impressed with Andy Erikson’s opening performance. The brunette 20-something did a short comedy routine that reminded me a bit of Sarah Silverman in that its over the top offensiveness comes off as hilarious rather than, well, offensive. Example: “Old people know too many secrets…I think that’s why god gives them Alzheimer’s.” Good stuff.
