Author: KEITH O'BRIEN

Open mic is a traditional live show at a coffeehouse, comedy club, strip club or pub in which audience members who are amateur performers or professionals who want to try out new material or plug an upcoming show are given the opportunity to perform onstage. Typically, the performer is provided a microphone which is plugged into a PA system, to make an individual’s performance loud enough for the audience to hear. These shows provide an opportunity for emerging artists to gain experience performing to a live audience without experience or a demo recording.

It’s a rainy Tuesday evening and I’m here at An Beal Bocht Cafe, a popular Irish pub in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, which holds the Boroughs longest-running open mic. As I walk into the pub I the huge whiff of beer and whiskey fills my nose, and lively bluegrass music fills the air. The crowd’s reaction is decidedly mixed. Some audience members are indifferent. Some are talking and laughing amongst their friends. A few are paying attention and nodding along. As I go to grab my seat I notice the next performer is coming on. I quickly grab my microphone to capture some of his performance. He is a local Manhattan college student who spends his free time practicing beatboxing.

After the show ends, I join Eric Sullivan, the show’s host for the past five years for a conversation in the pub’s back room. He explains to me why the open mic is the longest one in the borough.

“This Bar is special, things I can take credit for is that it’s inviting, its unique. The bartenders are special people who can deal with this. They don’t pour you shit pours, they buy you back and people want to come here. It’s not particularly easy to get to, it’s not easy to park, but it’s really the vibes.”

The open mic and bar itself host a large and colorful cast of regulars from all walks of life who often get into crazy shenanigans. The comedic antics and different personalities that make up An Beal Bocht isn’t lost upon Eric, who’s often thought of writing a screenplay for a TV show based upon open mic night.

“I just think that O-mic’s are a perfect sitcom waiting to happen, or like a cartoon would be good, an animated sitcom would be funny.  Where it’s just like recurring, ridiculous characters because I’ve seen it and I’ve talked often about writing it and how to see the humor in it. And the humanity in it of course.”

At one point in the evening, an amateur stand-up comic takes the stage and attempts to perform a set. The audience is not paying attention and talking and laughing amongst themselves, which angers the amateur comic. He then proceeds to go on a bitter tirade aimed at the audience mixed with revealing tidbits about his personal struggles with mental health. The air in the bar becomes increasingly uncomfortable as this progresses. It seems that while the open mic is a haven for artists to come and use their voice to express themselves, it does come at a cost.

“It’s like what happened tonight, this comedian, the townspeople are ready to burn him at the stake. They’re ready to ex-communicate him. And what’s interesting is I get to go up there and be like no, the whole point is to accept people. And that sucks”

Though performances may sometimes get rough, An Beal Bocht’s open mic offers artists the freedom of expression and vulnerability which allows them to truly connect with one another.

“People really talk to each other, sometimes too much, it’s annoying. But there’s like never any problems here either. It’s just a good place to be. That’s why people get attached to it when they come to open mic. They’re like this is like a living room and they want to be here cause it makes people make me feel good. Instead of being around seedy weirdos who are yelling at the game. Or any number of elements that can happen in a bar in this location. I mean this location is crap, but it’s like, you come in here and you’ll feel good, and you’ll make a lot of friends and that’s in no small part due to the staff. The staff is fucking cool people.”

For An Beal Bocht, the colorful, eccentric crew of characters and staff and its no-frills approach is what makes its open mic night such a special event. That and a hefty pour

 

Mott Haven, New York – In the small community of Mott Haven, located in the Southwest Bronx, often thought to be one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in the Bronx lies an anomaly: A Dog-day care center that might not be out of place in Williamsburg, but seems crazy to exist in a place like the South Bronx which was once synonymous with arson, violent crime, and decay. It is emblematic of the sweeping changes happening in the Bronx. With beer gardens,  hip-hop themed restaurants, the borough’s first and only independent book store it can be said that the Bronx is experiencing its own urban renaissance.

Borne out of a summer night in 2015, over a couple of beers, owners Renzo and Steven envisioned expanding their local dog walking/boarding service into an actual Brick-and-Mortar establishment. Renzo, originally from Peru, had an enduring passion for dogs; his best friend growing up was a rescue animal. Originally starting a dog walking service in Queens, after deciding college wasn’t for him, they moved back to Steven’s native hometown of the Bronx in 2016 where they quickly realized there weren’t any options for them to have their dogs taken care of. It was then they realized that they could make their dreams a reality. Since then they have built Bronx Barx to be the very first full-service dog business in the Bronx.

Bronx Barx is illustrative of the sweeping changes happening in the Bronx, where young creative entrepreneurs are investing in small businesses, helping to create opportunities for people in the communities, providing access to different resources and helping to make the Bronx more inclusive. In June 2019, Renzo and Steven held the Bronx LGBT Expo in Bronx Barx which consisted of black and white photographs and first-person narratives of people of the LGBT community from the Bronx who have struggled with mental health issues.

But Renzo is worried that with the new attention that the South Bronx has attracted, big businesses and real estate developers may start pouring in and induce more gentrification, making it hard for small businesses to survive.

“I get worried sometimes, we don’t want to see another gentrification happen, that we’ve seen in Brooklyn. We need to value those small businesses. There are people in the Bronx with great ideas, we see in the South Bronx so many restaurants, so many places to go. From a coffee shop in Hunts Point to the first Bookstore here in the Bronx. It’s exciting. This is why it’s so important to support the people who are trying to make it out here.”

With new businesses popping up and investments being made into the community, the South Bronx is definitely being revitalized. But will the residents who already live there be able to benefit from the economic upturn? Only time will tell.

 

https://keitho.exposure.co/liebmans-deli-last-of-a-dying-breed?source=share-keitho

Walking into Photoville, I wasn’t entirely sure what I would be in for. I’m rarely in Brooklyn and never go to DUMBO as it’s a pretty far trip from the Bronx. But as I walked in, I was greeted by friendly and welcoming staff who were more than eager to help me navigate the various booths and installations. And it was such a gorgeous day for it as well.  Walking through the event, there were so many interesting perspectives and stories being told I didn’t know where to begin.

The first set of photos’ that really caught my attention was Abbas Wiswall’s portraits of students in Bangladesh. As can be seen in the photos, the students are filled with such immense gratitude for being able to receive an education. The opportunities for education and social mobility is something people take for granted in richer countries and I thought it was really cool that he shed a spotlight on that. His use of the rule of thirds and layers really helped to make for some cool shots as well.

Covering a Crisis: Media Representation of Overdose in America featured some of the most personal, heart-wrenching and hopeful stories and photos at the event. Specifically, Monica’s story of being 2 years clean from a debilitating heroin dependency was particularly inspiring. In addition, Jordan Gales “It Is What It Is” journey from hard-partying to self-reflection and the portrayal of life in Cedar Rapids, Iowa was particularly poignant.  Something that impressed me is the photographers intent to not seem exploitative but come from a place of compassion. It’s important that they’re stories are told, so viewers can see that they’re real people behind the numbers and statistics shown in the media. They’re not just telling these stories but humanizing them as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Keith O’Brien

My photo proposal will focus on Liebmans Deli: an old school Jewish deli that is a cornerstone of the leafy enclave of Riverdale, NY located in the Bronx. It’s only one of two delis left in the Bronx and of the last few left in all of NYC. My piece will shine a spotlight on what was a cultural staple of NYC and why it is so hard for small, family owned businesses to survive in 2019. The photos will consist of a behind the scenes look into the deli life, testimonials from the long time patrons – some of which have been going since it’s inception in 1953!- and scenes from other delis across the 5 boroughs who have had to close and what they’ve become. A focus of the piece are the challenges faced by these businesses such as: rising rents, online and chain competitors, and other factors.