Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday; September 13, 1970 00 Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, September 13, 1970 music A cry, a whisper... Van Ronk By DANIEL ZWERDLING Reviewing Dave Van Ronk's show at Canterbury House Fri- day night is as woefully inade- quate as applauding after some of his songs; and not everyone who surrendered himself to Van Ronk for two hours ap- lauded. When he rasps or coos his way through songs, some- times caressing or sometimes angrily ripping the strings from his guitar, your gut moves, your pulse quickens, maybe your eyes tear a little. Somehow, slapping your hands together seems a hell of a way to say "Thank' you, David, for making me feel some fine emotions." Writing about Van , Ronk's concert comes to an absurdity such as this: trying to transl'ate in two dimensions a performer, an audience, the performer's music, his moods, the audience's moods, and all that passes be- tween them in two hours of 5pe- cial communication. Canterbury House bills Van Ronk as "simply the best there is." Van Ronk performs unlike any there is. Most people who have heard about Van Ronk casually known him for dirty songs, and he has a reputation for sometimes getting so drunk that he is terrible. But Van Ronk's incredible genius lies in his voice: it is the hardest, meanest voice in folk music but which breaks apart into the most beautiful,' painful, gemntle tones I've ever heard. Almost every one of his songs Friday night showed Van Ronk's tender crying side, but probably the best was "Clouds" (Joni Mitchell says Van Ronk sings it better than anyone else-I think that includes Joni Mitchell) andone of Van Ronk's own, "Money Hair." Van Ronk's v oi c e rasps, wheezes, it cries in a half-crack- ed falsetto, he looks and sounds pained, he must be " pained, choking his huge violent voice so much to let out only a whis- per which catches and cracks on the way. The chips in his voice are what make the songs so tender, much like the wrinkles in a face etch all the sadness, happiness and griefs of a beau- tiful, full life. Van Ronk exerts astounding control over every note, as when he sharpens a long, lingering half-whisper in- to a ragged, furious shout, or when an angry Van Ronk sud- denly cracks open his hardness like a coconut and hushes into his beautiful whisper. He 'exerts the same control over his listeners on a good night. He starts out with a malleable audience and turns it into something quite different by the end of the evening. "It's up to me to decide what they (the listeners) are emotionally," says Van Ronk. "There's a ques- tion of who is in charge. I'm on the stage. Under the circum- stances, it means I lead. Other- wise, let someone else get on the stage and lead." Unlike a class of coffeehouse performers who get on stage with a whole repertoire to choose from, and grope their way through random songs as they go, Van Ronk plans his show to a great extent-selecting numbers which pull the audience down, lifting them up, set them on an even keel, bring them down, up, medium again. But then, he takes chances, "some- times I do a whole show of fun- ny songs, sometimes a whole show of obscene songs," Van Ronk says. "I told the audience (Friday) I didn't feel like tic- kling their genitalia." Van Ronk is a nard man to see. He hasn't played Canter- bury for two years, and doesn't like to travel much. He spent January through March in New York as one of the leads in the Kurt Weill, Bertold Brecht opera Mahagonny; one of his most gripping pieces from the show, translated by Van Ronk (who did his first translation when he was 18, Kahlil Gibran's the Prophet, using a Persian- English dictionary). No one seemed disappointed when Van Ronk left Friday after only two short sets, the shortest evening at Canterbury that I can remember, even though they had paid $3, the most at Canterbury House that I can remember. They didn't get donuts or tootsie rolls like in. the old days. No one cared. That's the feeling you get when a performer has given you his utmost, pouring into his s'ings as much of himself and what he has to feel and say as he possibly can. Van Ronk's few songs said all he had to say Fri- day-which was a lot. DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN Daily Official Bulletin The Daily Official Bulletin is an official publication of the Univer- sity of Michigan. Notices should be sent in TYPEWRITTEN 0 or m to IRoom 3528 L. S. A. Bldg., before 2 p.m., of the day preceding pub- lication and by 2 p.m. Friday for Saturday and Sunday. Items ap- pear once only. Student organiza- tion notices are not -accepted for publication. For more information, phone 764-9270. SUNDAY. SEPTEMBER 13 Day Calendar Museum of Art Lecture: Prof. Ed- iwards, "Learning and Creativity: Wang Hui and 17th Century Chinese Paint- ing": (in conjunction with exhibit at Museum of Art): Aud. B, Angell Hall, 3 p.m. General Notices Computing Center films: "Basic Use of 29 Card Punch," 5, 5:30, 7, 8 p.m., "Advanced Use of 29 Card Punch," 6. }6:30, 7:30, 8:30 p.m:, Sept. 14-18, Rm. 1011 Computing Center. Direct ques- tions to B. aller, 764-4143. * , , , NLSA JUNIOR-SENIOR COUNSELING OFFICE ADVANCED CLASSIFICATION APPOINTMENTS-WINTER TERM. 1971 Counseling Office in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts has initiated a procedure for making ap- pointments. Find your field of con- G J L OS centration in the lists below and de- termine your group number, and select 802 Monroe - appropriate dates to make your ap- pointment. MONDAY, SEPT. 14 Group I: Anthropology, Astronomy, Biophysics, Cellular Biology. (Srs.. in dept.), Chemistry, Classical Archaeology, NOON LUNCHEQN 35c Far Eastern 'Lang. and Lit., Classical Studies, Far Eastern Studies, Georgra- phy, Geology, History of Art, Linguis-NALD HALL, P et tics, Microbiology, Near Eastern Lang. and Lit., Physics, Psych-Speech-Hear- "Woking Up the Inside" ing, Romance Linguistics, Russian & East European, Slavic Lang. and Lit ,____ Social Anthropology, Studies in Re-_____ ligion, Zoology, y) ®0 Group II: American Culture, Com- munication Sci., munication eScince, English, English TCMathematics Philosophy. Social Group III: Biology, Botany, Econ- omics, History, History T.C., Jdurnalism, I Political Science. Group IV: French, French T.C., Ger- CN o a Ta o" man. Music Lit., Psychology P-Z, Pre- lZez Y g., Tarot Dent., Pre-Legal, Pre-Med., Pre-Pro- AlJA fetsional, Psychology A-O, Cellular Biol. Alchem, Astrology T heosoph y (Jrs. only), Sociology, Spanish, Span- ish T.C., Speech, Speech Correction. All Seniors may appear on the dates , A,.~lC below to make appointments: Tarot, ragic, Parapsycolog, Group I: September 15-17 in: appro- priate dept. Group II: Sept. 15: appointments Macrobiotics and Health Food Books made at 1223 Angell Hall. Group III: Sept. 16: appointments y made at 1223 Angell Hall. Group IV: Sept. 17: appointhents v 215 S.:STATE ... 2nd Floor made at 1223 Angell Hall. Second semester sophomores and jun- 10 A.M.-8:30 P.M. 769-1583 iors appear on dates below to make ap- pointments: (Continued on Page 8) t)C-yt<--yt":|) '|:| Ot) b- - yo>U 10E k Rosalie Sorrels -vocal cowgirl By LUKE BALDWIN Rosalie Sorrels made 4 lot of friends at the Ark Friday night. She was warm, and cordial, and sang like only Rosalie can sing. The receptive audience brought her back for five encores (in- cluding a standing ovation.. . to my memory, a first at the Ark). She was incredible. Rosalie and I had become friends this summer, so I was a bit reluctant to review her. But I can say now that I have no reservations about it. Her per- formance was fine by anyone's standards. / When Rosalie first played at the Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, New York, she was bill- ed as "A housewife from Idaho w h o: sings Mormon songs." That's true, but as the people there found out, she has much more to offer than that. Those who have h e a r d her at the Mariposa Folk Fox Hollow, and Philadelphia Folk festivals have learned the same. Yes, she's a 3 year old moth- er of five kids, but she'll take her 1950 rodeo queen shirt and a bottle of bourbon over apron strings and warm milk any day. She is gentle, and sensitive; but she has a lot of energy and a lot of .guts. I suppose all this rambling on about Rosalie is just my way of reflecting what her songs are like, and how they effect me. There are a lot of traits I look for in a 'good singer, and. for some reason I don't often find them in women. Someone like Jack Elliott has the capacity to be as raw as sheep manure, and still very sensitive at t i m e s. Rosalie is a woman who can do much the same. But for that matter, I have yet to hear Jack Elliott sing in a soothing vibra- to. Rosalie sure can. It's always tempting to be metaphorical in describing the way someone sings. The New York Times said she sang like a bird. I might agree with that, but it certainly isn't precise. A bird has neither the capacity to' sing with a gentle nasal twang or bend its voice to the sound of a steel guitar.,. Aside from her ability as a singer, she is also a fine song writer. er versatility as a writ- er can e heard in songs rang- ing from "Up is a Nice Place to Be" to a children's song "I'm Gonna Tell on You." And as Rosalie , said Friday "All my songs are true. W h e n I see something happen that strikes me right, I write a song about it.". "I'm Gonna Tell on You" was taken almost verbatem from a conversation between her kids. Rosalie isn't a great guitarist. She is very capable of playing by herself, but a s i d e guitar seems to add extra fullness and dimension. So this weekend she was backed by Christopher de Loach and Steve Newhouse on pedal steel. Friday was the first they had played together (with- out a practice session), so in spots, particularly on the end- ings, the guitar w o r k wasn't quite together. Both are fine guitarists, so I'm s u r e things fell together beatter Saturday night. That brings me to the second pitfall of this review. Having caught the first set and a half of Dave Van Ronk. I only heard about half of Rosalie's perform- ance. As fine as it was, I prom- ised myself I would hear anoth- er set Saturday before writing the review. I didn't want to miss my deadline by staying the whole show Saturday. But I sure wasn't going to miss two sets either. So . . . ignoring any kind of journalistic, deceptive garbage, let me say that I'm on my way to hear her now. It's just an hour before the Saturday night show starts, and I sure h o p e you were there. If you weren't you might pick up her album If I Could Be The Rain (Folk Legacy) and discover that I'm not lying when I say "she's the best best damned cowgirl sing- er you'll ever hear." National General Theatres FOH VILLGE 375No.MAPLE RD.-769.1300 Mon.-Fri. 7:25-9:45 Sat. 5:10-7:25-9:45 Sun. 1:00-3:00- 5:10-7:25-9:45 COLUMBIAPICTURES - ., ELLIOTT CANDICE GOULD-"BERGEN GETV9N KIMPlG f The Michigan Daily, edited and man- aget. by students at the University of Michigan. News phone: 764-0552. Second Class postage paid at Ann Arbor, Mich- igan, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104. Published daily Tues- day through Sunday morningUniver- pity year. Subscription rates: $10 by carrier, $10 by mail. thSummer Session pubg4shed Tuesday through Saturday morning. Subscrip- tion rates: $5. by carrier*_$5 by mall. Corner State & Liberty Sts. DIAL 662-6264 Box Office Opens 12:45 NOW SHOWING! 3-SHOWS AT: 1-3-5-7:05 and 9:10 P.M. I I OPENING TUESDAY First Appearance in Ann Arbor EXCITING DUO WILLIAM and JOYCE 2800 Jackson Rd. 769-0700 I = I t 3 ANN ARBOR (IVI THARE proudly presents its 41st season "CACTUS FLOWER" Oct. 14-17 "MAN OF LA MANCKA" Dec. 16-20 "SUBJECT WAS ROSES" March 3-6 "BLITHE SPIRIT" March 31-April 3 "IN WHITE AMERICA" April 21-24 "THE BRASS AND GRASS FOREVER" May 5-9 (an original musical) DON'T DELAY-ORDER YOUR SEASON TICKETS TODAY (Use This Coupon) NAME__9HONE ADDRESS I I CITY. e ~1P ,r- ir Please reserve sets of season tickets, as indicated below, I have enclosed $ I understand the tickets will be mailed to me in the fall. I have enclosed a self-addressed, Tues. Night, Sept. 15 9-10 P.M. ALL BEER 25c TODAY Doors, Open 12:45 DIAL 8-6416 { TODAY Shows at 1,3,5, 7, 9 P.M. Metro-Goldwyn Mayer presens A Dan Curtis Production Come see how thevampires do it. ssri"g Also starring JONATHAN FRID GRAYSON HALL and JOAN BENNETT" "Elizabeth JOANo B CoIl;EnsStS~odard" Metrocolor [GP W MGM stamped envelope. Wed. balcony Wed. orchestra Thurs. balcony Thurs. orchestra Fri. balcony Fri. orchestra Sat. balcony Sat. orchestra 6 SHOWS $ 8.50 10.50 8.50f 10.50 11.50 13.50 11.50 13.50 5 SHOWS $ 7.00' 9.06 7.00 9.00 10.00 12.00 10.00 12.00 "EXTRAVAGANTLY F U N N Y performances by Wilder, Griffith, and especially Sutherland!" TIME MAGAZINE "WHAT A PLEASURE TO LAUGH! The acting to a man is wildly funny!" OPTION: If you prefer tickets for only 5 shows, please indicate which show you wish to omit. MAIL to P.O. BOX 1993, ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN A106 I nww NEW IN ANN ARBOR "JUMBO" STEAK HOAGIE 1139 Broadway 769-3524 TV RENTALS $10.50 per-month NO DEPOSIT FREE DELIVERY AND SERVICE CALL: NEJAC TV RENTALS 662-5671 11 I CH "JUST FUNNY! JUST GREAT!" CHIC "VERY FUNNY ... lush and lavish!" 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F r fr, .:F v .:.r rr" ' :Jf "f rr.;G.vr f '::?fj :.%5:; :?.; :.r ?: ............... 1, ~J f 3 f;'. ?f/ - r }rr !"r "r 'W '£ f ' i;:{"' :.rr;,;''y :y{'::;",,"l: fk:.%' ..}....:. :irir l:f'ri ::"..6'"r:'"i'":::. iiiii:4ii: ': i. i: F::-:. " :.1 1 r.": " :'t:;.rrr; f':t;rr.;'f, r,.. ;r.,, r., Consider Fraternities RUSH ALPHA TAU OMEGA 1415 Cambridge 761-1345 i I A new album from Te Lettermen. Contains generous helpings of past, present, future; well mixed and gently stirring. Ingredients: Reflections My Girl Close To You Touch Me Up on the Roof A Natural Man Since You've Been Gone Make It WithYou The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Any More Hey, Girl love, joy happiness. ,I THE' CHA-RCOA-L RESTAURANT Your favorite place for SUNDAY DINNER t THE LETTERMEN REFLECTiONS W7~.