The Civilians Occupy Wall Street

The last time I saw The Civilians' Let Me Ascertain You at Joe's Pub, it was pretty filthy (baddum ching!). But seriously... it was about the porn industry and Andrew Kober sang a song that I had to wipe from my memory before seeing him in Crazy, Just Like Me. If you were there, you know the one. It was that good a night.

This Friday, The Civilians will be taking the (newly renovated) Joe's Pub stage to share interviews and songs about Occupy Wall Street. Whatever your feelings on OWS, Zuccotti Park and the other sites of protests have been fertile ground for art -- the human stories, the sense of community, the unwavering tension and frustration. I have to admit that while I am still learning about what it means to Occupy Wall Street, I have been fascinated and inspired by things that are going on down there, and the unrest that the protests represent isn't going to go away anytime soon.

I can't think of a better group to take on the complex themes of OWS in performance-form, and I've already been enjoying the posts on The Civilains' blog that has been giving snapshots of people that Civilians members have met/interviewed. Read them here; Michele's was particularly touching for me.

Even more exciting, even if you can't make it to the live show, Joe's Pub will be live-streaming the performance on Friday night. This way, whether your area is being occupied or not, you can still get insight into this movement and appreciate the stories and music of real people calling for social, economic, and political change.