The ArtPrize Project 1 installation is hosting DJs, bands, poets and more this fall in a unique multi-level venue. Kyd Kane, J. Oscar Bittinger, Lady Ace Boogie and more take the stage this weekend.
Singular Venue: DiscoBrunch at a recent performance at Tanglefoot. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
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Grand Rapids DJ Todd Ernst of DiscoBrunch describes Site:Lab’s Tanglefoot installation on the city’s West Side as a performance space unlike any other.
“It’s extremely fun to play,” Ernst said of the stage and wooden, multi-level outdoor venue created within an old warehouse complex as part of ArtPrize’s Project 1 this fall.
“The layers of the architecture is what makes it extremely unique, in that you can sit, stand or dance wherever you happen to be. You don’t have to move to a dance floor, for instance.”
Multi-Layered, Multi-Tiered Outdoor Space: Site:Lab’s Tanglefoot venue. (Photo/Local Spins)
Starting the second week in September – and running through Oct. 27 – Site:Lab’s Tanglefoot space at 314 Straight Ave. SW (just down the street from Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill) has hosted a series of performance by DJs, bands, poets and others in the space produced by artists Paul Amenta and Ted Lott in collaboration with DisArts, Not Design, KBO Group and Brewery Vivant.
Those performances continue this weekend, with Kyd Kane Poetry presenting Friday Night Vibes at 8 p.m. Friday.
On Saturday, Grand Rapids singer-songwriter J. Oscar Bittinger hosts an “Open to the Sky” concert at 6:45 p.m. featuring performances by Bittinger, indie-folk’s The Far Shore, electronic artist FADE and hip hop’s Lady Ace Boogie.
Bittinger describes the Saturday evening show as “modern mood and groove songs” inspired by the space itself – an attempt “to create and explore new ways of perceiving the world, personally and collectively.”
Fun to Play: DJ Todd Ernst. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Site:Lab founder Amenta, of Grand Rapids, said the project “re-imagines the site by temporarily transforming a private space into an accessible public space for the duration of Project 1,” offering “dynamic programming and community engagement.”
In short, the space serves as “a platform for local artists and a social gathering space” in a non-traditional location that’s outside the usual and expected spots for these sorts of performances.
But it sparked some controversy early last month when building owner and congressional candidate Peter Meijer didn’t allow the U.K.-based Drag Syndrome to use Tanglefoot for an event. Read more about that in this Detroit Free Press story.
Performances at Tanglefoot continue Oct. 11 with Kyd Kane’s “Cadence, Rhythm and Rhymes,” Oct. 12 with Cabildo, Oct. 24 with Ritsu and lovesliescrushing, Oct. 25 with The Moon: In Orbit and Oct. 26 with an International Animation Day Celebration. Get more details online here.
PHOTO GALLERY: Site:Lab’s Tanglefoot/DiscoBrunch
Photos by Anthony Norkus and John Sinkevics
