Space Is the Place at the Byrd

https://byrdtheatre.com/information/fundraising/



I was pleased to be asked to speak at a special screening of the Sun Ra film Space Is the Place last night at the Byrd Theatre (no relation!) here in RVA. I gave a brief five-minute introduction, babbling on about the film and its music, with special attention paid to my favorite scene (pictured above), Ra being driven around Oakland with that crazy, great 7/8 vamp playing (you can find it, titled "Jimmy Fey Interviews Ra," on the CD in the 40th anniversary edition of the movie). The version screened was a special Blu-Ray disc in 4K resolution, sent to the Byrd directly from Jim Newman, the film's producer, himself. It looked fantastic on the big screen, and sounded fantastic as well. I came away with an even deeper appreciation of how successful the film is at conveying Ra's messages to humanity, while also being a snappy rock-and-roll film hinging on the suspense of whether the big concert will take place (spoiler alert: it does--after which the earth explodes!). Not to worry--all is well on the Sun Ra Mothership. What a gas!