Page 6-Thursday, October 5, 1978-The Michigan Daily
Ark 'home' for Blakes
By LILY PRIGIONIERO
and ERIC ZORN
Just as William F. Buckley's
Viewpoint Lecture on "The problems of
Freedom" was ending on a cold, rainy
Tuesday night, Norman and Nancy
B13ke with Fiddler James Bryan
k kied off their concert at the Ark. The
dhft-picking Norman Blake led the trio
teough a clean and energetic couple of
which left little doubt as to why he
hovers at the top of the folk music
s ne.
it's true, there are a lot of interesting
activities scheduled at the University,,
butit would be a shame for the student
to mdiiss heading over to the Ark and
hearing one of the consistently high
quality acts which perform there. The
PRESENTS
MUGSY
Thursday thru Saturday
327E. Michigan, Ypsilanti
482-7130 *
Blakes generally play in front of much
larger audiences but they love the Ark
because of the intimacy and hospitality.
When Norman was asked when he
thought he might return, he answered,
"As soon as these kind folks ask us
back;. we're willing to come back
anytime."
PURISTS MIGHT feel threatened by
the cello Nancy carries on stage to ac-
company the fiddle and Norman's Mar-
tin guitar. The rich tones she brings out
while bowing lend the right touch of
melancholy to slow numbers like
"Lonesome Jenny", which Norman
wrote himself. "I wrote it in the back of
an old guitar shop picking on this used
guitar. The song just seemed tocome
out of the sound of the guitar . . ."
Norman also commented that just as
Ron Carter plays his picallo bass, Nan-
cy's cello is used as the bass instrument
when she plays it pitzicatto.-
Norman's gymnastics with both flat
and finger picks were astounding and
as clean as you'll hear anywhere. He
used the same sort of scales concept
found in jazz, with fifty per cent of in-
credibly intricate improvising.
James Bryan, the bashful fiddler sat
quietly stage right and sawed away sof-
The Ann Arbor Film COOerative presents at Aud A
THURSDAY,CTOBER 5
REET, PETITE AND GONE
(William Forest Crouch, 1947) 8:30 only-AUD A
LOUIS JORDAN must find a perfect girl to be eligible for his father's will. But Louis' jammin' steals the
show. Lots of music and funky sets in this feature musical with JUNE RICHMOND, MILTON WOODS, and
'.. SEA GRIFFITH.
ROCK AND ROLL REVUE
(Joseph Kohn, 1955) 7& 10=-AUD A
An awesome star-studded jazz extravaganza featuring DUKE ELLINGTON, DINAH WASHINGTON,
LARRY DARNELL, NAT "KING" COLE, COLE and ATKINS, LIONEL HAMPTON, THE CLOVERS, LITTLE BUCK,
THE DELTA RHYTHM BOYS, NIPSEY RUSSEL, RUTH BROWN and MANTAN MORELAND. Plus Short: ST.
LOUIS BLUES.
Tomorrow: COOLEY HIGH d A PIECE OF THE ACTION
tly and smoothly, even on the jumping
fiddle features like "Arkansas
Traveller" and "Forked Deer". James'
effortless and innovative breaks were
of the sort we don't hear very often up
north where the new breed of fiddlers
seem to want to attack their instrumen-
ts.
OF THE BLAKE concerts in Ann Ar-
bor over the last couple of years, this
was the most outstanding. Norman was
relaxed and smiling in the first set, on-
ce mugging at the generously sized
crowd in the middle of some fancy
triplets he added to the great "Black-
berry Blossom." In the second set,
however, he was positively ebuliient,
twinkling at the people seated in front
of him and shooting friendly barbs at
Nancy and James.
Norm dedicated an early song to
Bryan Bowers, the autoharp virtuoso
who visited the Ark for a concert on
Friday. The exciting Bowers was to
have played a Saturday concert, but ten
minutes before the show he severely
sliced his left hand and he'll be out of
commission for six weeks. In-
defatigable, Bowers watched the con-
cert from the back, with one arm
around a pretty woman and the other
bound in a sling. "Right before the
show," sighed Linda Siglin, co-operator
of the Ark. "It's never happened
before,"~
Norman grew up in Sulphur Springs,
Georgia, in a rural community. Many
of his songs are influenced by his
background where he was brought up
with railroads and coal mines.
"FIRST OFF it takes the musician to
build up his name - and all depending
on how desirous he is," he said "If he
keeps on honkin' and stays before the
public, his name'll grow. But you can
never know exactly how many people
your music influences, unless of course,
you're talkin' about the Beatles or Elvis
Presley."
Many times during the second set,
Nancy and James set aside their in-
struments and watched as Norman
danced his pick on the strings, im-
provising long runs and even a boogie
woogie vamp. As an added treat Nor-
man played both the mandolin and fid-
dle, while Nancy kept everything
together by stroking the cello evenly.
The multi-talented Blake stroked a fine,
long bowing style on the fiddle which
contrasted with James's short yet
clear, demure bowing. Putting the
threestringed instruments together
made a lush, woody musical harmony
that could almost be considered as
classical with a down-home beat.
Rhythmic applause seduced the
Blakes into an encore after they had
retired to their upstairs dressing room.
A fiddle tune called "Lafayette" ended
the concert on a pleasant note.
Norman Blake's ingredients for his
fine music include "combining all the
elements of folk music, love, and coal
mining", which he baked into a luscious
all-American dessert, and served warm
to his guests at the Ark.
NANCY AND NORMAN BLAKE and their fiddler James Bryan on the front porch of the Ark.
'LooneyFriday in stor
lar
-ALSO
NOON LUNCHEON
Soup and Sandwich-50C
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6
MARGARET RAN DALL, author
"THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST
SEXISM IN CUBA"
A T 2PM . .
H.L. MITCHELL
co-founder of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union (CIO):
"RADICALISM IN THE SQUTH
FROM POPULISM TO SOCIALISM".
By KEN PARSIGIAN
It was not so many years ago that
Saturday morning was the most impor-
tant time of the week for the majority of
us. Because Saturday was cartoon day,
and any kid who could still show his or
her age on his or her fingers would
dutifully arise at 7:00 a.m. for a few
hours of Bugs, Daffy, Foghorn Leghorn
and the rest of the"Looney Tunes gang.
This Friday evening we ,can relive
those lighthearted days when Cinema II
presents three hours of Looney Tunes
from the late 40s and the 50s, by the
greatest cartoon directors - Bob
Clampett, Fritz Freleng, Robert
McKimson and most important, Chuck
Jones..
LOONEY TUNES are unique since
they appeal to adults perhaps r even
more than to children. Al Heindryckx,
an Education School senior who is run-
ning Friday's show, explains what sets
Looney Tunes apart from the rest of the
cartoon world:
"You'have to remember that Warner
Brothers' (the producers of Looney
Tunes) originally made them for adults
to be shown before feature-length films.
They gave their directors - (Tex)
Avery, (Chuck) Jones, and the rest -
plenty of money, and complete artistic
control over the production," he says.
"Other cartoon makers, say Disney for
GUILD HOUSE, 802 MONROE
*11
example, kept a tight rein over the
directors, which stifled their creativity,
although the animation itself was ex-
cellent."
Like most of us, Heindryckx went
through a period in his teens where he
forgot about cartoons - an easy thing
to do when one considers the depths to
which they had sunk by the middle to
late 60s. His interest was rekindled,
however, when he began working in a
day care center, and started watching.
Looney Tune reruns with the children.
"I'd have flashbacks to when I was
six or seven," he says, "and it seemed I
could enjoy and appreciate these car-
toons even more now than I did then.
Kids like them because they are so full,
and the facial expressions are so real
(unlike the robot-like movement of
modern cartoons), but adults like them
becauseF-they are satirical and just
plain funny."
IN RECENT YEARS there have been
several cartoon festivals billed as
"Looney Tunes", but some have been
disappointing. Heindryckx, however,
has always produced a fine show. His
four earlier shows concentrated mainly
on the late 30s and early 40s - cartoons
most of us had never seen, but Friday's
program, which is primarily a tribute
to Chuck Jones, should jog a few
memories.
The two 90-minute shows include
some classics such as "Rabbit of
Seville", in which Bugs leads Elmer
Fudd through a dizzying, hilarious
chase, all to the strains of the familiar
opera. The scene in which Bugs por-
trays the barber, while Elmer is his
unwitting customer is a classic.
Another memorable Jones feature,
"Hair-raising Hare", in which Bugs
gives a monster a manicure, complete
with a witty imitation of the typical
manicurist will also be on hand. Hein-
dryckx is also trying to obtain what is
probably the most innovative as well as
the funniest cartoon ever -."Duck
Amuck". Daffy actually battles with
the illustrator, and if you have never
seen it, or even if you have, you'll fall
out of your seat laughing.
What makes these cartoons so ap-
pealing, Heindryckx contends, is that
"Warner's was basically interested in
making people laugh, like W.C. Fields
or the Marx Brothers. Disney was
always concerned with makinlg some
specific, moralistic statement, but it is
the amorality of Looney Tunes that
makes them so enjoyable. Each
character is a caricature of human
foibles; Daffy is like the id, totally
devoted to fulfilling his desires."
HOW TRUE. Who could resist
laughing at Daffy at the end of the
Tasmanian devil cartoon, in which Daf-
fy has brought the vicious devil in for
the reward, even though his life was
endangered every step of the way. As
Daffy is leaving the zoo, his avaricious
eyes agog, he passes the Devil's cage,
and the monster snatches some of the
booty from Daffy's hand. Our favorite
duck leaps into the cage, and pounds
the Devil senseless while retrieving the
money.
"I may be a coward," Daffy says to
the audience, "but I'm a ga-reeeee-dee
(greedy) coward."
Heindryckx explains that modern
cartoons are deadening. The charac-
ters aren't real, and we can't identify
with them. They are mass produced for
television, and it shows.
But don't despair, there is still hope.
The master himself, Chuck Jones, has
recently signed with a film studio to
make several new cartoons of the 50s
ilk, and he has been given free rein. The
studio plans to return them to the
theater to be shown before feature
movies. So, if 'we are lucky, Friday
night's show will just be a preview of
what is to come.
Abba dee, abba dee, abba dee - ah,
that's all folks!
VITTORIA DE SICA'S 1971
THE GARDEN OF FINZI-CONTINIS
Set in Italy in 1938, this story of a Jewish aristocratic family that refuses to
recognize or accept their vulnerability to the anti-semitism of the Mussolini
government stars Dominique Sanda and Helmut Berger. A beautiful and touch-
ing work by the Italian master that also touches on issues of wealth and class.
In color, Italian, and with subtitles.
Fri: Chaplin's CITY LIGHT
TONIGHT at OLD ARCH. A UD.
CINEMA GU ILD 7:..a.9:05 $1.50
Is There
Something
You've6
Got To Say?
SAY IT IN THE
CLASSIFIEDS
CALL 764-0557
Looking for the intellectual side of life?
I
I -I