On Tuesday, January 31, the DC GPI and the Rhythm Workers Union provided the sonic backbone for a rally organized by the World Can’t Wait by the reflecting pool of the U.S. Capitol.  The rally drew a few thousand people on a bitterly cold night, chanting and singing in unison to “drown out the President’s lies” during his ridiculous State of the Union address.

Capitol Police hasseled the RWU as they carried the Mother Drumship up a flight of steps, displaying the same bravado that unfortunately afflicts so many 5^th grade boys.  The drummers hung tough, though, and the belligerent cops ultimately calmed down after the WCW’s permit bearer reminded them that we were, in fact, allowed to be precise where we were…as though a bunch of hippies with drums on a cart with somehow a greater public menace the treasonous dim wit speaking inside . . . .

A few speakers tried revving up the crowd, including Rev. Lennox Yearwood from the Hip Hop Caucus, before the RWU turned up the dial.  With the crowd in a frenzy, the rally organizers opted to turn the mic over a folk duo, which killed the energy a little bit.  The crowd filtered away for a few minutes, before your friendly neighborhood guerrilla poets rocked a 15 minute set featuring Gustav and Spencer – whose whole-body chants were a highlight of the night – and then taunted the President’s motorcade as it passed the Drumship on Pennsylvania Avenue.