Mighty4 Detroit < Russell Bazaar

This weekend I was supposed to document the bboy event: Mighty 4: Detroit. For better or worse I'll try and keep from saying to much about the event seeing as I left early because it was so dirty and dusty my lungs and camera were at risk of suffering some sort of short-term and/or long-term damage.

Various Bootlegs & MixtapesWhat I will talk about, is how great the Russell Bazaar is and how my little Columbus, OH should make strides of having a flea market/bazaar of this caliber.

In regards to Mighty 4: Detroit, I have to show a little bit of leniancy for Detroit [but not that much]. I'd be happy if Detroit had another bboy jam and more than willing to go to ANY jam in Detroit that isn't DEMF [Detroit Electronic Music Festival]. I know how difficult it is to get a venue to do something like this and to have it guaranteed and locked down. But to not tell dancers/customers that the venue you have is old/abandoned/filthy and possibly hazardous to children...big fail.

Mighty 4 had a great turnout [i think] especially seeing as how few jams Detroit throws on this level. The music was on, thanks to DJ Franco De Leon and DJ Lil Lean. I really hope Paulskee of Mighty4 and Detroit continue to throw jams like this just in a better spot.

Now...let's get to the grand photos of the Russell Bazaar...

Below you will so photos that can only be described as hood and awesome...Hawesome.

A Painter's Life's Work

 The most difficult thing to capture is this indoor "I'm stuck in a sweatshop back alley" feeling.  While walking around this 50-something year-old man pulled me aside and told me he was an artist. 

He tells me he is a painter and for the last 20 years he's been painting these nails.  If you look close enough you should see a Santa Claus.

There is a great deal of heart and something so specific to this particular neighborhood of Detroit.  To my eye and many others a lot of it is gaudy and quite garish.

An Assortment of Belt Buckles Literally from A to Z

Take this photo to the right of a table of belts and an impressive array of belt buckles.  Where are you going to find this in Columbus, OH? Livingston & Lane? Maybe. There is something about buying a 4 pound belt buckle that has Walt Disney Tweety Bird character on it.  Only this Tweety Bird has gold fronts with platinum lining.

It really is a relatibility thing...looking at these tables of gumbo culture [one table would have a theme inspired by Marcus Garvey's "Back to Africa" movement then across the way would be a lady selling 13-inch computer monitors that were clearly made around the '96 Atlanta Olympic Games as well as Super Nintendo games].

This Guy Will Mail You Hopes & Dreams

This weekend's Bazaar was clearly Obama themed.  Everywhere you looked there was a rhinestoned obama tee [large ones too...so just incase you want a gown shirt...there you are].  There were Obama family hoodies, oddly enough nothing pertaining to McCain or Palin...even Biden was missing unless on a sticker that had him in a smaller font.

The guy to our left was siked to be in front of my camera.  I thought I'd be booted for going from booth to both with my camera snapping away, but most people were pretty forthcoming and willing to show off their stuff or share what their store is about.  Back to the young man though, apparently there is a little notepad in front of this ominous Obama poster.  What you the 'hopeful voter' does is write a positive letter to yourself in regards to this years election.  You give it to this young man or his lovely significant other and they mail it to you a couple weeks after the election.  According to the notepad scribings, something 'spiritual is bound to happen' as a result of receiving this note that you wrote...to yourself.

Prior to writing this up it was tough for me to NOT be you know...a douche. There were things at this Bazaar that I could not photograph, because I felt it would have just been mean.  These people, for the most part, are here every week busting their collective asses in a warehouse that looks like it could be deemed condemned at any moment.  What would it look like if some kid who was raised in a similiar neighborhood that most of these people come from...now a college graduate post up pictures on the internet saying 'ha ha...look at what these people find cool' etc.? It also doesn't help that I type these brogs under the pretense that my mom in some way shape or form is going to find out or already knows.

Russell Street BandWith all this being said this was probably [in hindsight] one of the better trips I've ever had to Detroit.  Thanks to Mapquest.com and good ole Detroit construction, I was temporarily in Canada [and had to go through customs too!] after being misled by that sites awful directions [seriously Mapquest...F-you].

To our left is the Russell Street Band they were awesome.  Not the best cover band I've heard in my life, but given the situation and how unexpected it was to see a band play funk and disco to a crowd around the food court area of the Bazaar...it was fairly awesome. They also had the feel that they have 'normal people' jobs and that this was the thing they tell their coworkers prior to clocking out. They really are pretty sweet.

I can't let it go. I've discussed so much about the richness of this trip, but I can't let it go.  Seriously...who knits a wedding dress?!

This one vendor stole the show by not only having a far amount of knitted undergarments, but by also having a full flowing knitted wedding dress. Is it meant of the winter? If so what else is worn with it? Is It Worn By Itself or Over Something?

If it is meant for the summer then we have a full-fledged see-through wedding dress.  I'd like to think that even people in the hood know better than to wear something as confusing and all out unreasonable as a knitted wedding dress, but I can't help but think...is this a one of a kind?  Is there a high demand in Detroit for knitted wedding wears? If I looked hard enough would I have found a knitted hugo boss suit?

Maybe this could be the next thing that catches on and I'm severely on the outside of what could surely be the next hit on American's Next Top Model? Only time will tell. In the mean time...just stare at it and wonder who the lucky customer could possibly be.

* Edit: This Just In The SquareSpace people have informed me that my image sizes are too gangster...you may have to click on the image and right click and save them in order to see the whole photo.