He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
Happy to announce that WXOU 88.3FM (www.wxou.org will be celebrating its 43rd annual Birthday Bash this Wednesday night. We have some great featuring some great local music by some area favorites such as Manna & Quail, Oscillating Fan Club, Citizen Smile & Tripple Crown. The show starts at 6PM and is free to the public.
It will be held in the Gold Rooms at the Oakland Center so come on out to support some great local bands and get some free swag courtesy of the station.
Just saw a wonderful production a Meadowbrook Theatre of “The Trip To Bountiful” and while sad Joanna Cassidy was unable to make it out for the production due to surgery (and she is doing well), this production is just wonderful. Just recently in my life I have been getting nostalgic after numerous college friends have found me on Facebook and for me, this translates big time to the main theme of this show. As much as I wish I can return to the seemingly better days of my life at college, the lead character, Mrs Watts (wonderfully portrayed by Mary Benson), wants to return home to the town of Bountiful. She has been in the big city for 20 years with her son Ludie (Jim Porterfield) and his wife Jessie Mae (Barbara Coven). For the past five years Mrs Watts has been trying to leave home to return home before she dies but is always stopped by her family. The past years in a small 2 room apartment and the constant nagging by Jessie May who leads a more modern life (going to movies, drinking Coco-cola and weekly visits to the beauty parlor) have caused Mrs Watts yearning for the pleasures of the small town life to increasingly grow (washing hair by the well, singing hymns, digging in the dirt).
In the play, Mrs Watts gets away by bus and through her talking with fellow passengers, bus station employees and a local policeman, we learn to indentify with her desire and hope she finds what she is looking for in Bountiful. The play contains a lot of hope and also shows the contrast of different types of lives. The key player for me is Ludie who seemingly loves both the modern and the nostalgic world and tries to find a balance with the two most important women in his life. Make a trip to Meadowbrook to experience this pleasurable play.
My grade is an A-. Go to www.mbtheatre.com for info
You can also check out their schedule for next year which includes “The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow”, the serial killer thriller “Mindgame”, “Enchanted April” and the musical “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” (with music by Neil Sedaka). Please stop by at the gallery next door to the theatre for “Art In Cities, Art Of Cities” for a look by various artist at their interpretations of what city life is about.
Also had the pleasure of attending “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street” at the Fisher. This production differs from the traditional format by having all the actors playing their own instruments. This does distract a bit from the story and some purists I talked to hate this version. I am a bit more open minded towards adaption’s and allowed myself to be drawn to the music though I do agree some that it draws some of the strength from the main story. For those not familiar, Sweeney is based on the story of Benjamin Barker who finds himself sent to prison in Australia when the local Judge decides he wants his wife. He manages to escape 15 years later and gets back to London where he meets Mrs Lovett (my favorite cast member in this production – Carrie Cimma has a powerful voice and a lovely way about the stage even with the tuba) who runs a meat pie shop. She tells Benjamin (who now goes by the alias of Sweeney Todd) that his wife is dead and his daughter is held by the judge. Sweeney vows revenge and people get made into meat pies. Overall, the songs are beautiful but the main issue is that the actors are not all that strong as they could be since casting is also for the ability to play an instrument. This allows lesser actors, though talented musicians, to play the parts and this then can cause some characters to become forgettable. Besides Carrie, I did enjoy Bob Bohan as the Beadle and Merritt David James as Sweeney but they needed a stronger Judge. So what this all comes down to is we have a unique production that might turn away fans of the original play but is worth it for those who like to experience something different. Wow!
Grade: B-. Go to www.nederlanderdetroit.com for more info.
Haven’t got to watch a lot of the NCAA tournament but I was excited to see that #12 Ball St upset #5 Tennessee in women’s NCAA in the first round which is the first time Tennessee has lost in the first round. Go MAC!!
Saw a couple of films which I didn’t have much hope for but which ended up surprising me. The one I can talk about this week is “Duplicity” starring Clive Owen and Julia Roberts as two corporate spies that decide to team up in order to manipulate a corporate race to corner the market on a medical innovation that will reap huge profits and enable them to lead an extravagant lifestyle together. The film was written and directed by Tony Gilroy who brought us the Bourne movies and such fare as “Michael Clayton” and “Dolores Claiborne”. I wasn’t sure about the film until the scene with rival corporate execs played by Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti have a funny fistfight on an airline tarmac and the movie just gets better from their. At times it might try to throw too many twists at us but Owen and Roberts ground the film enough to make it thoroughly enjoyable. The movie works as both a romantic comedy and spy-thriller which should make it a nice date movie. My grade is a B+.
For those near Macomb Community College, check out the new exhibit at the Cultural Center entitled “The Sixties: A Decade That Defined A Generation”. Despite being the decade I was born in (which is surprisingly missing from the exhibit itself), a lot of major social and cultural events took place which are showcased by the exhibit. You can find everything from memorials about the Vietnam War to Pebbles and Bam-Bam dolls, Man on the Moon to a 1965 Mustang or Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” to local rock posters. Go online to www.macombcenter.com for an update of 60’s themed concerts and lectures from such icons as Gloria Steinem, Richie Havens and the Smothers Brothers.
They have local historians talking about the significance of everything from the JFK assassination to the music of Motown so don’t waste anytime and check it out now.
I also saw a wonderful Eagles concert this past week so here is some Eagles trivia. Their album “One Of These Nights” contains the futuristic sounding instrumental "Journey of the Sorcerer," which is known to many as the theme to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Rothbury tickets go on sale March 30th and they have a pretty decent line-up including Bob Dylan, Sam Roberts Band, The Dead, Willie Nelson, Flogging Molly, Ani DiFranco and more.
Go to www.rothburyfestival.com for the complete lineup.
The Detroit Movement Festival also announced it’s line-up including Afrika Bambaata, Derrick May, Carl Cox, Z-Trip and 31 others so far including an special opening night party at the Fillmore with Prodigy. Get more info at www.paxahau.com
It is a light week for music with Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire playing the Caesar’s Windsor both Fri and Sat night.
Wed 25th has the sold out Lady GaGa show (congrats to the WXOU winners). Fri, 27th sees Katy Perry @ Clutch Cargoes while Sat 28th has the Von Bondies @ St Andrew’s Hall.
On Sun 29th, you have the choices of seeing Detroit’s newest supergroup Gorevette @ Necto’s in Ann Arbor or punk rockers The Queers @ The Magic Stick.
Have a good day and go Duke!!
