Sunday, 02 November 2008
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30th October Norfolk Virginia
This entry was originally published at Billy Bragg's Blog
The Attucks Theatre was opened in 1919 and is notable as the oldest remaining theatre in the USA that was entirely financed, designed, constructed and operated by African Americans. It seems entirely fitting that I should be appearing here as the country is alive with the possibility of electing its first African American president. The man himself seems everywhere, on tv, on the front pages, on lawn-posters, t-shirts and buttons. It’s physical too. He was in Norfolk so recently, his uniformed secret servicemen are still checking out of the hotel as we leave for the show, where the promoter shows me a picture on his phone of Obama and himself taken just the day before.
The sense of excitement has been palpable at the gigs too, from rural Pennsylvania to metropolitan midtown Manhattan, from New Hampshire in the north to down below the Mason-Dixon Line in Virginia. The relatively low voter turn-out at American presidential elections has served to undermined their claim to be the worlds greatest democracy. This time feels different. People are energised by the possibility of change. Both candidates have used the phrase to promote their campaigns, but the Republicans pitch is tarnished by the record of George W Bush, who has been the invisible man of this campaign season. How much genuine change can you expect from a candidate who time and time again voted with his president?
The Attucks, which takes its name from Crispus Attucks, an African American who was the first US citizen killed by crown forces in the War of Independence, is an old style theatre. Built before the use of amplification, the auditorium is taller than it is longer, ensuring an intimate gig. Sam Cooke features among the names of great artists who performed here in the past. Could it be that the change he yearned for is finally going to come?
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