On The DL

The New PhilaLive Experience Celebrates Women's History Month

by Tiffany Jackson

Thu., March 5, 8 p.m., $10, Patterson's Palace, 1621 Cecil B. Moore Ave., 215-236-3902, myspace.com/philalivenow

Queen Sheba has a strange gift. At the precise moment that the spoken word poet is speaking about upsetting subjects like 9/11, poverty and social injustice, she's also forcing a smile to creep across your face. It's not a matter of being macabre; quite the opposite, she finds the bright spots in dark places. For instance, in the poem "We are the Women," Queen Sheba first likens females to riots and the lower class, only to then say that woman is "that blue thing on X-Men that changes to whatever the fuck she wants to."

The founder of the Word Up! international spoken word festival, Queen Sheba is the featured guest at March's PhilaLive, a monthly art and music event. In the past, PhilaLive has highlighted musicians like Amanda Diva and Sock the Rapper, but the founders switched gears this month and decided to focus on women instead. "The idea to celebrate Women's History Month came from the fact that most of our PhilaLive audience is female," says Dominique Wilkins, CEO of Konnoisseur Creative Group. "We felt that we should use this month to appreciate our faithful followers."

Jamila Captiman will also perform an adaptation of Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, a '70s play made up of 20 poems about abortion, love and autonomy. Despite the serious topics, Queen Sheba is optimistic. "I hope the audience leaves with a feeling of empowerment," she says. "I like them to leave feeling like they can do whatever they want to do."

Just like Mystique.