The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, September 19, 1978-Page 7 Bluegrass at the Ark By RICK ARGAS Sunday night was my first time at the Ark, that warm nest of folk music on Hill St. Jay Ungar and Lyn Hardy, a husband-wife team of bluegrass musicians, had attracted a g66d-sized crowd. We settled comfortably into our seats and waited for the first set to begin., "At nine, the couple strolled up to the front and began to play. Jay plays fiddle and mandolin, and Lyn plays guitar aid sings. Time flew by as the music quickly established their ability and compatibility. 'FROM A "Turkey in the straw" rendition to a "Johnson Boys" sing-along to a bluegrass instrumental medley, they were clearly in command of some fine, honest music. They displayed some of the customary tricks of the trade, including playing as fast as they could, at times, and ad- fibing some of the musical introductions. the crowd responded appreciatively, especially on funny iimbers such as "Heart Big Enough For Two." Lyn (the one with the "taller" voice) dioa couple of tunes in her "helium- sucking voice,"and explained later that her favorite hobby is dong back-up vocals. Jay and Lyn have been playing their instruments - for about ten years each, the last six as a team. They live in New York (Lyn was born in Ann Arbor), but are frequently off touring the country with their two-and-a-half year old daughter. They've toured England and Scotland, and now include English and Scottish ballads in their repertoire. "They really love American music," Jay said of English audiences, "especially bluegrass." Actually, according to Jay, the couple plays "country and eastern music." IT WAS GOOD to see people who knew how to sing and play well. Their style of repartee was not forced, but very relaxed. One could appreciate the .profuse sweat these talented and earnest musicians put into their performance. Thoroughly enjoying themselves on stage, their enthusiasm spread to the crowd. This Friday and Saturday, Ken Whiteley, a performer of songs from the jazz age, will come to the Ark. Future weeks will bring Maragret Christl, a singer of ballads from Canada and the British Isles, Bryan Bowers, an autoharp virtuoso, and the frequently-performing team of Norman and Nancy Blake. RECORDS oto A night at the Opry Waylon Jennings, left, recently made his first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry in 10 years. Appearing with him was his close friend Johnny Cash. BY KEITH TOSOLT Robin Trower has always had his mellower side, manifesting itself in a drug-induced euphoric haze of distor- tion that evokes images of Jimi Hen- drix. But more essential to his sound is a hard-edged heavy-metal attack that made recordings like Bridge of Sighs classics. Now, Trower has chosen to virtually abandon the idiom which was his trademark, in favor of a sweeter, more melodic approach. Caravan to Midnight has much more substance than his previous album, In City Dreams. The songwriting of Trower and vocalist James Dewar is extremely solid this time around, indicating that they have realized the artistic inten- tions of their change in musical direc- tion. Of the nine cuts here only one is a Caravan To Midnight Robin Trower Chrysalis CHR 1189 r X pppp-- - --qqq ' , k A '4 r A I qv4 V Fi ,. I I i E I real loser, and it suffers more from inane lyrics than a poor arrangement. ALTHOUGH this album is relatively mellow, the sound is still unmistakenly Trower. The guitars are either phase- shifted or played through the wah-wah (sometimes both effects are used in unison) and the heavily overdubbed arrangements are built around his usual melodic riffs. The only change is that these riffs are now played over the funky bass lines of Rustee Allen, who made his debut with Trower on In City Dreams. My choice for the strongest track is "My Love (Burning Love)," because it stands out as the tune that shows that Trower can still rock. The lead laying is hot, and he uses all his favorite techniques on this track, from sustained high notes and wah-wah solo to a nasty bit of feedback for the per- fect climax. The rhythm and melody are a bit on the funky side, but played heavily so the tune hits hard. "Fool" begins innocently enough with a simple chord pattern, until Trower begins to add layers: first a catchy medium tempo riff and then a completely unaltered rhythm guitar (an amazing surprise) which really starts the song to cool. "King of the Dance" opens with an inspiring riff, as Trower manipulates his wah-wah pedal for maximum funkiness and then set- tles down into a heavy backbeat. THE MOST interesting song on Caravan is the title track, because it is as fine and significant an instrumental as the first one Trower recorded. The piece begins and ends with an haunting echo. Trower plays a slow, melodic guitar line, gliding gracefully from one note to the next, over a rich texture of bell and triangle sounds added by jazz percussionist Paulhino Dacosta. The rest of the compositions, mostly love ballads, range from a lilting "Lost in Love" to the Soul-like arrangement and vocal phrasings of "It's For You." Dewar actually sings in the higher registers (somewhat difficult givenhis deep voice and limited range), using a high falsetto on two cuts and bringing it off fairly well. While old Trower fans may be hoping he returns to heavy metal, I'll be waiting to catch him repeating himself in one of his riffs. If Caravan to Mid- night is any indication of his creative reserve, that time may not come for awhile. 1- looking for mote? Advertise in the Personals Calls 764-0557 AUDITIONS Soloists * Chorus * Orchestra Johann Strauss' GYPSY BARON Sign up Wednesday, Sept. 20, 7:30 pm Conference Room, New Fire Station Corner Huron and Fifth THE COMIC OPERA GUILD For further info: 665-6074 0 '"IjIII' I 1:4~1 1:1 I SE SE I SE NOTE Ct - - - - She Stoops to Conquer Richard 11 Oct. 18-22 Nov. 29-Dec. 3 The Inspector General Feb. 14-18 The River Niger April 11-15 -- SERIES ERIES ERIES C: (FRI. EVE.) Oct. 20, Dec. 1, Feb. 16, Apr. 13 D: (SAT. EVE.) Oct. 21, Dec. 2, Feb. 17, Apr. 14 E: (SUN. MAT.) Oct. 22, Dec. 3, Feb. 18, Apr. 15 0 1 r 1 I f r A - -- --- -- --- -- --- --- -- ----- - - THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN IP PROFESSIONAL THEATRE PROGRAM 1978-79 BEST OF BROADWAY SERIES I USHER APPLICATION I I Name1I I Address Zip Code I Telephone _U of M ID. No. RULES I I 1. You must be a U of M student. I 2. You must choose your series in order of preference. I 3. Married students may send applications together. I 4. 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Oct. 19, Nov. 30, Feb. 15, Apr. 12 URTAIN TIMES: All Evenings at 8:00 p.m. Matinees at 2:00 p.m. ~ ~- (714 E £kibigtwn :;3 UIIQl -.Oda I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 I I1 .1 -4 I :I P Student Newspaper at The University of Michigan r - - - mm - - - - - mu I WRITE YOUR AD HERE! ------ - lr I, t I - -----------CLIP AND MAIL TODAY!=------------J USE THIS HANDY CHART TO QUICKLY ARRIVE AT AD COST Words_ 2 3 4 5 add. 0-14 1.70 3.40 4.60 5.80 7.00 1.00 Please indicate 15-21 2.55 5.10 6.90 8.70 10.50 1.50 wherethisad is to run: 22-28 3.40 6.80 9.20 11.60 14.00 2.00 for rent 29-35 4.25 8.50 11.50 14.50 17.50 2.50 orhelpned 29-5 .2 8.0 1.0 4.5 1.5 250 help wanted 36-42 5.10 10.20 13.80 17.40 21.00 3.00 r"oaes 43-49 6.80 11.90 16.10 20.30 24.50 3.50 etc. Seven words per line. Each group of characters counts as one word. Hyphenated words over 5 characters count as two words--This includes telephone numbers.