Tonight at 8 p.m. at Nietzche's Nightclub, the Buffalo Song Project will present "Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream" - a chance for Buffalo folk, rock, and literary artists to come together and peacefully observe last year's tragedy.
"Strangest Dream" will feature over 25 artists, including playwright Manny Freid, veteran singer/songwriter Michael Meldrum, poet and educator Susan Peter and John Lombardo from 10,000 Maniacs.
The pool of talent is diverse; performers from all over the country and the world, including London, California and New York, will participate. The ages of the performers range from 14 to 80.
Meldrum, a veteran singer/songwriter, organized the event in just one week and will be performing in it as well. His independent spirit is unquestioned; Meldrum has worked with artists like Ani DiFranco and has turned down opportunities to work with MTV, VH1 and Rolling Stone Magazine out of his respect for individuality and original music. He also performs every Monday at open-mic night at Nietzche's.
The local musician explained his reasons for coordinating this event.
"I used to hate the twin towers because they symbolized corporate greed and the corporate octopus. But now my heart is broken, and I changed my mind after seeing all of the human loss from this tragedy," he said.
"I am a former New Yorker, having lived in Greenwich Village, and I am also a parent, and my heart has been broken for the past year. I was going to stay home with my family on this day, but when I realized how many artists were interested in sharing their voice, I changed my mind."
Meldrum said that the larger picture of the event is that there are people who are extremely passionate about peace and justice whose hearts were broken along with everyone else's that day.
"The point," he said, "is to get together and share music. Not to wave flags and promote killing Arabs. We decided to do something peaceful."
Freid hopes to read excerpts from a memoir he is currently writing. His performance, like many others, does not deal with Sept. 11 directly. But according to Fried, what matters is coming together and sharing their art in the name of peace, friendship and justice.
For example, local poet Celia White was living in San Francisco last year during the attacks. On her role tonight, White said, "This is a way to come together with my community and commemorate a day when I couldn't be in New York."
She will be reading some of her poetry and is thinking about presenting a new piece based on Ed McCurdy's 1970's song "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream," which is what the event is named after. She will also be reading some political poems and poetry written around the time of Sept. 11 last year, based on her pacifist beliefs.
"I am for peace and definitely against war, and I think these views should be aired," she said.
The genre of music for this low-key performance will differ from rock to folk to bluegrass, but the definite common theme of this event is peace. This is also an opportunity for students who are tired of the Main Street and Chippewa scene to take the initiative to explore the Allentown district of Buffalo.
The event is free, although donations will be accepted at the door. All benefits will go to the Western New York Peace Center, which has been an active, anti-war organization since the Vietnam War.
Nietzsche's is open to all ages and serves alcohol to those 21 and over. For more information, call 886-8539 or visit www.nietzsches.com.
