Baroque Boyz

February 01, 2009
GLC warms up for T-Pain
T-Pain's Three Ring Circus presented by Vibe Magazine started picking up at about midnight, when actor Jeffrey Wright, who played Muddy Waters in the movie "Cadillac Records," and New Orleans Saints right guard Jahri Evans rubbed elbows with Kenny Burns, founder of Studio 43 in Atlanta, in the VIP area of the GLC Entertainment Complex on Seventh Avenue at 19th Street in Ybor City.

Burns wore a t-shirt with Barack Obama's head superimposed over Lincoln's at the Lincoln Memorial on the front and the Gettsyburg Address on the back.

"It's dope, isn't it?" Burns said.

Earlier in the night, teen-age locals entertained the crowds earlier in the night First, a relatively wholesome-looking dance crew from Clearwater, dressed in black, white, purple and neon green, performed on the red carpet.

"I know I can't move like that anymore," said one woman while a young girl in a black tutu shook her rump.

Near 10 p.m., the Baroque Boyz, a viola/violin duo -- yes you read that right -- jammed on the third-story balcony to a string of hip hop hits that included "Low" by Flo-Rida and "Got Money" by T-Pain and Lil Wayne while a crowd -- mostly Steeler's fans -- gathered on the street below. The Tampa Police Department closed Ybor's main drag at around 8:30 p.m., about half-hour earlier than last night, to accommodate crowds. They filled Seventh Avenue, while rickshaw drivers cycled along the main drag, looking for customers with already-tired feet.

The Baroque Boyz are 16-year-olds Colby Artalona, a sophomore at Bloomingdale High School, and A.J. Vaughan, a junior at Newsome High School. Both boys, who say they love hip hop and rock, play in their high school orchestras and the orchestra at St. Stephen Church in Valrico.

"We're making classical instruments cool," Vaughan said of their concept.
"We're changing the way people think about them," Artalona said.

After the show on the balcony, they moved inside to the VIP area of the club, where T-Pain is scheduled to play later. T-Pain will play the Super Bowl pre-game show with John Legend tomorrow.

Posted by Janet Zink at 3:22:00 AM on February 1, 2009
in Parties | Permalink
- Janet Zink