Blow up the Stereotypes

The door opens to the coffee bar, the smell of cool rain mingling with the sounds of ‘Monday Night Revival’. A young man walks in, headphones wrapped around his neck, his unruly hair partially covering his glasses. There’s a bounce in his step and a content confidence as he strides to the bar. He takes his rain jacket off and un-straps his backpack, settling down on a lounge chair with his blazer, striped shirt and a coffee, pulling out a science magazine. Folk rock musicians and spoken word artists play on the open stage, locals coming together in front of mostly empty chairs for the preservation of their dream. He applauds and cheers for the first musician, then signs his name on the sign up list. A blind man walks up to the stage with his retractable pole, gets handed his guitar, and begins to stomp out tunes and pick and strum beyond the level of many seeing guitarists. A woman with tied back purple hair and a long black military jacket recites love poems to the reverberating sounds of a base guitar. The dim lounge is filled with the smells of coffee, tea and baking. The young man smiles as he listens and reads his magazine. The name ‘Ben’ is called. He looks up and strides to the stage. You imagine him pulling out a guitar, and playing an artistic rendition of a folk song, while his tall, lanky form produces a sweet voice with a slight rasp and unique pronunciations. He steps up to the mic stand.  And then there’s an explosion. Rap. Passionate, intense, rhythmically apt, and incredibly impressive. The Little Bean Coffee Bar – blow up the stereotypes.