He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
Had a wonderful weekend getting out and enjoying all the events that were going on. "Women: A Night of Art & Culture" was a lot of fun and I see some pictures have been posted already on the blog. For a mere $5, a got to feast on Hershey kisses, see some nice art, got to see some comedians of which I found Heather Kozlakowski very funny and some great local bands. If Lightning Love doesn't go national sometime in the near future, it would be a shame since they have a really pleasant sounding style and just rocks whatever venue they play in. Also, Sisters Lucas were as wonderful as always as well as Misty Lynn, Toronto native Kate Stelmanis, Lettercamp and Jessica Hernandez (the later should be appearing live on my radio show next week so tune in and check her out - WXOU 88.3FM or online at www.wxou.org).
Also of note was the wonderful performance of "The Movement Revisited", a jazz opus by Christian McBride, dedicated to four icons of the Civil Rights Movement: Rosa Parks, Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X and Dr Martin Luther King Jr. The performance featured the Christian McBride Band, the Detroit Jazz Festival Orchestra, the Second Ebenezer Majestic Voices, and special guest narrators Dion Graham (Ali) who has been in numerous movies and TV series including "NYPD Blue" and "The Wire", jazz/opera performer Dr Willis Patterson (Malcolm X) who had the distinction of being the first African-American professor at the University of Michigan School of Music, poet Sonia Sanchez (Parks) and Bishop Edgar L Vann (King). JD Steele was a special guest vocalist at the show who got his start working with the likes of Prince, George Clinton, Mavis Staples, Kim Carnes, Fine Young Cannibals and Soul Asylum. The piece which combines live narration and music to magnificent effect was recorded live for Mack Records and should be available next year so if you missed it, look for it next year. This free event represented the first time the piece had been played in Detroit and turned out to be one of the best musical events I have had the pleasure of being in the audience for. Sorry if you missed it!
Speaking of jazz, the Jazzfest is accepting applications for artists who would like to perform at the 2010 festival. Artists must submit electronically by February 26. For details, go to the FAQ section of http://www.detroitjazzfest.com .
Just found out that Doug Fieger, leader of the power pop band The Knack, best known for the 1979 hit "My Sharona," died Sunday at the age of 57. Fieger was a Detroit-area native who died at his home in Woodland Hills near Los Angeles after battling cancer. I saw them a number of years ago at Pine Knob and was impressed by the live show, esp considering they are a band that typically gets known for their big hit and the rest of their catalog tends to get forgotten such as this gem I picked up off of youtube for your listening pleasure. A truly underrated song. He is survived by a sister, Beth Falkenstein, and a brother, attorney Geoffrey Fieger of Southfield, Mich., who is best known for representing assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian.
I went to a few plays this past week starting with the new Meadowbrok production, "Mindgames" which is adapted from the thriller by Anthony Horowitz. The play is about three characters. Mark Styler (Loren Bass) is a writer of true crime stories who has comes to Fairfields with the hope of interviewing the serial killer Easterman for a new book. He meets Doctor Farquar (Mark Rademacher), the director of the hospital who doesn't remember Styler's request and seems anxious for him to leave without his interview though he eventually gives in. Nurse Plimpton (Inga R Wilson) is Farquhar's nurse who seems fearful of Styler's and tries to pass him a message to leave. It is hard to say too much else about this play without potentially ruining for some patrons though the story can mean different things to different people. Not everyone or everything is exactly what it seems. The title says it all. Mindgames! The characters real identities seem to be everchanging along with the scenery. That is by design where different people may have different interpretations of the ending and that to me is exciting. The plays only issue is that there doesn't always seem to be enough going on to keep the audience interested. There are times when one's thoughts can wander or boredom can set in. That is unusual for Meadowbrook shows but if you can remain focused, there might just be enough to keep you thinking and guessing on what is going on. My grade is an B-.
Then, I had the pleasure of seeing Robert Dubac's "The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron" at the Century Theatre (the show is alternating with Defending The Caveman). The one man show seeks to answer the question "what women want?". Are show starts off with Bobby who is very confused by his current relationship. Having found the girl of his dreams and having asked her to marry him, she gently dumps him. He wants to know "why" and goes on a search for that answer. She has given him a timeframe in which she will call and he needs the answer before hse does. Unable to answer this question he recalls some not-so-wise, but nonetheless hilarious advice, he received growing up with five chauvinistic mentors. Each mentor, each portrayed by Dubac, gives him a piece of the puzzle but will that be enough? The play a offers a nice compliment to Caveman as both pieces really take a look at the differences between men and women in a comic, yet thoughful way. The audience was packed the night I was down there and really seemed to love the performance. This production has a large number of laughs which should make for an entertaining evening. Dubac is a fan of all three productions and says this is a great way to try and get more people downtown enjoying what is Detroit and I agree. I highly recommend all three productions playing down at the GEM/Century Theatre. This production gets an A from me. Go to http://www.gemtheatre.com for more information on showtimes and pricing.
I was also invited to check out three current productions down at the Go! Comedy Club in Ferndale. I've been meaning to get over there for a bit but until now have been busy until this past week. The club itself is small yet very clean with a small bar area up front. I'm guessing capacity is around 100 people which means there isn't a bad seat in the house. The Thursday I was there had three shows going, one each hour starting at 8PM. The night started with "The Opal Show" by local Michigan playwright Kim Carney and is about a girl, Opal, who lives life through television. When a random event brings her to a bar instead of home as usual for her favorite TV shows, she meets Vito Funzi, a stranger in “waste management” that she mistakes for a Sopranos type hitman. They start a relationship where Vito has to work with Opal's unique view of life but when the cops show up a strange story unfolds. Next was "Hobo" which tells the legend of Mike Walsh, an office worker who becomes fascinated with the hobo lifestyle and thinks about joining it. Lastly was "Dial R For Radio Drama" which looks at an experimental improvised radio show that follows the adventures of a detective. Each week is a different adventure but it is the misadventures of the cast which brings forth the comedy. Of the three shows, I though Dial R was the funniest as the cast dealt with an alcoholic cast member and a love triangle during the broadcast which quickly got out of hand. It was a great show to end the night and had me in stitches. The week point for me was Hobo which pains me to say since I know some of the cast form various Ringwald productions but I thought it was a bit too serious at times which is what you don't want at a comedy show. Opal was in between with some really great moments as Opal relates to various shows ranging from The Simpsons to Charlie's Angels. The only other thing which annoyed me was service. I hate being bothered during a show by a waitress but with the short turnaround time, the waitress was usually cashing out people during intermissions so I had to go out to the bar to get a drink on my terms. Other than that, I had a good time and wouldn't mind going back. The venue seems to have some really nice talent if they can just get the right shows around them. My grades are Opal Show: B-, Hobo: D, Dial R For Radio: A.
I had the pleasure of seeing 2 movies today which were based on amazing literary talents. First is "The Last Station" which is is a German biographical film about the famed Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (most famous for writing "War And Peace") and explores the turbulent final year in the life of the Russian writer and philosopher (Christopher Plummer) and his troubled marriage to the Countess Sofya (Dame Helen Mirren). In the midst of the Tolstoyan Movement (which is devoted to goodness, purity and equality) Tolstoy is given a new young secretary Valentin (James McAvoy), who greatly admires Tolstoy, by the fanatically devious disciple Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) who wants the great man to sign away the rights to his work to the Russian People. Valentin finds himself in the middle of Sofya who wants help preventing Tolstoy from signing this new will and Chertkov who wants to get this will signed as soon as possible. He is also finding that Tolstoy is not a very dedicated Tolstoyian and through his love of his wife finds himself falling for a young girl despite taking a vow of celebacy. The cast for this production is wonderful as Mirren and Plummer give amazingly complex and beautiful performances as two lovers who have different views on life but still have passion for each other than is inspiring to watch. I never would have thought I would be so interested in the writer of such realist fiction about the bleakness of Russian life, but I was captivated by the whole film from start to finish. A great film to support at the theatre. My grade is an A.
The second movie was based on the life of Charles Darwin simply called "Creation". The movie is a partly biographical, partly fictionalised account of Charles Darwin's relationship with his eldest daughter, Annie, as he struggles to write "On the Origin of Species". At the start of the film, Darwin is ill and his relationship with his family is strained. He is haunted by the ghost of his dead daughter Annie who is shown through flashbacks and hallucinations who goads her father to address his fears and finish his masterwork. The movie sees him coming to terms with her death and in a way 'God' as he writes the book that many though would end our belief in God showing that evolution exists. The book did change the world, but not always as it was thought it would. The movie is not what I expected since it really doesn't focus much on his theories as or the bigger picture as I thought it would. The film remains very personal between Darwin and his wife (played wonderfully by the sexy Jennifer Connolly) and stays very close to home. There are some side stories which reflect his views on life, but this is a film about a family man who has been ripped away and must find his way back in a very personal story. While I would have liked more science, I can't say I didn't like this take of the material which is highly personal. Not for everyone, but I recommend it giving it a grade of B+.
Here are some concerts I would recommend this week.
Tuesday (2/16) Title Tracks @ Pike Room, wonderful blues rocker JoAnne Shaw Taylor opens for Eric Sardinas @ Callahan's, BB King w/Buddy Guy @ Fox Theatre, Sick Puppies open for Chevelle @ Royal Oak Music Theatre, Polish Muslims perform at Paczki Day Palooza @ New Dodge Bar (Hamtramck)
Wednesday (2/17) Dr John and Neville Brothers @ Michigan Theatre, Snoop Dogg @ Royal Oak Music Theatre, Gretchen Wilson @ Ford Theatre, an early noon show featuring Thornetta Davis @ Detroit Public Library Skillman Branch (FDowntown Detroit)
Thursday (2/18) Evan Dando (ex-Lemonheads) @ Majestic cafe, Martina McBride w/Trace Adkins @ The Palace Of Auburn Hills, The Reefermen @ Memphis Smoke (Royal Oak)
Friday (2/19) rocker Patti Smith @ St Andrews Hall, Koffin Kats @ Machine Shop, Kenny Rogers @ Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort (Mt Pleasant)
Saturday (2/20) Killswitch Engage @ Royal Oak Music Theatre, Yes @ MotorCity Casino's Sound Board Theater, Eddie Money @ Andiamo Celebrity Showroom, Copper Thieves @ Berkley Front (Berkley), March Of Dimes benefit @ Hard Rock Cafe featuring Robin Horlock and Stellar Drive among others
Sunday (2/21) Cyril Neville (of Neville Brothers) plays solo @ Callahans
Monday (2/22) zydeco great Buckwheat Zydeco @ the Ark
A free event that sounded interesting but didn't make my list is DJ Dinosaur George who returns to the Crofoot Cafe on Thursday 18th for a rare ultra small venue performance as he pays tribute to the king of the monsters, GODZILLA! Also for free on the 18th at the Charles Wright Museum between 6PM-8PM is the Afro Jazz Extravaganza who present an evening of classical jazz fused with traditional African drumming and dancing.
Band of the week: In honor of this past weekend's tribute to women at the Crofoot, I was feeling inspired to write about one of my favorite groups and besides Cyndi Lauper, the only other group I ever worked a vacation around. That band is the Mediæval Bæbes who are an English ensemble of female musicians founded by Katharine Blake in the 1990s. The band's line-up is ever evolving between 6-12 members who share her love of medieval music. Each album features traditional medieval songs and poetry set to music, mostly arranged by Blake specifically for the ensemble, alongside varying numbers of original compositions. What I love the most is that while some compositions are backed by traditional instruments such as the recorder and cittern, they do sometimes have a more modern influence and they sing in a variety of languages, including Latin, Middle English, French, Italian, Russian, Swedish, Cadenet, Scottish English, German, Manx Gaelic, Spanish, Welsh, Bavarian, Provençal, Irish Gaelic, modern English and Cornish. There's is a truly international flair and their harmonies are incredibly beautiful. They usually play unique setings when they tour including churches, museums and Renaissance Festivals. They usually only play around 6 US dates a year so if you hear they are coming to town, make sure you get right on buying tickets.
I hope everyone has a good week and check out my show on Saturday morning as I talk to the great band The Wedding Present.
