Tuesday, February 11, 1975

THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Five

Siebel's music

shows

true country flavor

By JOAN BORUS Day Woma
With his slicked-back hair and dark blue by Bonnie
polka-dot shirt, Paul Siebel looks more like a the jocksa
racketeer than a country singer. But Siebel's A certain
performance at the Ark last weekend left no to pervade
doubt as to his true identity. great resis
In an era that has seen country music elec- music whe
trified, prettied-up and commercialized beyond years ago
recognition, Siebel has managed to retain coun- lony achie
try's distinctive qualities. His plaintive voice long strug
often wails and causes microphone distortion compromis
on the high notes, capturing the essence of the tion thatc
Jimmy Rogers and Hank Williams songs he fa- Siebel we
vors. His Ark performance included such estab- cellent bac
lished Rogers and Williams tunes as "Weary der Teleca
Blues," "Women Make a Fool Out of Me", and edly gives
"I'm in the Jailhouse Now", complete with In fact, M
what Siebel termed a "sarcastic yodel." detract ra
In addition to faithfully reproducing old fa- formance.
vorites, Siebel also displayed his sensitivity as Despite
a songwriter. His songs about hard times, card there was
)iy Photo by PAULINE LUBENS cheats, and lonely losers have a pathos inher- bel's style:
ent to the idiom, which, under Siebel's direc- dressed to
tion, is never allowed to meander into anything ostensible
maudlin or sloppily sentimental. ence. Sinc
Moreover, Siebel seems to have a great deal the duratio
of unusual compassion and sympathy for wo- created lar
men. There are no glamorous wonder creatures
with whom most of America have nothing to destroy
in common in Siebel's music; rather, his sub- tertaining,
j ject is the ordinary woman whose very foibles more as a
* make her admirable. When he performed "Any occasionall
American Symphony lacks

D
Paul Siebel

an", a song originally made famous
Raitt, he dedicated the tune to "all
and studs in the audience."
n understandable cynicism also seems
e Siebel's music. Siebel encountered
stance to his more traditional kind of
n he first began to perform some ten
in Greenwich Village. He has fin-
ved sime success, but not without a
gle. He is continually faced with the
es in life style and musical presenta-
commercial success demands.
as assisted by Peter Mekeel, an ex-
ckup guitarist. Mekell played a Fen-
ast guitar, which almost singlehand-
country music its distinctive flavor.
ekeel was so good that he seemed to
ther than compliment Siebel's per-
a generally satisfying performance,
one rather annoying element in Sie-
his long, rambling monologues ad-
no subject in particular that had the
intention of entertaining the audi-
ce such monologues lasted beyond
on of the standard tuning jokes, they
rge gaps in his performance, tending
its continuity. Rather than being en-
these interludes seemed to serve
smokescreen behind which he could
y take refuge.
Have a flair for
If you are interest-
poetry, ardr music
or writing feature
stories a b o u t the
hich drama, dance, film
orld arts: Contact Arts
cap- Michigan Daily.
'ork
m.

Travel-Seminar t Washington, D.C.
MARCH 1-8, 1975
* For Foreign students and scholars and limited number of
American students
0 Meetings with oovernment and civic leaders, newspaper
and media people
® Visits to historical monuments and sites, governme.nt
buildings
* Cost: $90 (round trip bus transportation, two meals a
dav, accommodations, entrance fees)
CONTACT: Ecumenical Campus Center, 662-5529
Registration and deposit due by Feb. 20
WILLIAM WELLMAN'S
WINGS
(at 7)
This exciting silent was the first to ever win an Oscar for
best picture. It's a story of air and sex battles during
World War 1. Starrinq Gory Cooper.
FRED NIBLOS'
BEN HUR
(at 9:05)
This amnbitious silent has had a rocky and rough history
but it's now a legend It's better than the color remake-
with a chariot race worthy of Nero.
Cinema Guild both films Old Arch.
for $1.50 Aud.
PRESENTS
THE RULING CLASS
Dir. Peter Medak, 1972
Starring PETER O'TOOLE
Orignal Uncut Version
TONIGHT! Tues., Feb. 11
Aud. A, Angell Hall
7:00 & 9:45 51.25
TOMORROW: MARAT SADE- -7 & 9
THURS.: NORTH BY NORTHWEST--7 & 9:30

tkis week
Ragtime piano lies on
at the Unitarian church
By DAVID WEINBERG
Next Saturday night at, of all places, the First Unitarian
Church, Ragtime Orgy No. 2 will bring together six of the hottest
hands in town-those of Bill Bolcom, Jim Dapogny and Bill Al-
bright.
The trio, members of the Music School Faculty, are all well-
known jazz musicians and enthusiastic proponents of the ragtime
revival which has been sweeping this country since The Sting.
The proceed for the concert will go towards payment for the
First Unitarian Church's pipe organ, purchased by Bill Al-
bright a few years ago. Albright is musical director at the
church and has taken on responsibility for paying off the $30,000
debt incurred by the organ.
That might be a long process. In the meantime, Albright and
company will go on playing what they like best-rag.
"The best ragtime is sexy music-it gets you moving, gets
your baser instincts going," says Albright. He explains that
rag has two elements: the time-keeper, or steady rhythm which
is the foundation of the music, and the off-accents which gave the
melody and syncopation to the tune.
"But, the beat must be absolutely steady," he affirms, "or
the whole song will have a tendency to drift rhythmically."
- "Ragtime grew out of folk idioms," Albright continues. "You
can 'rag' anything. It. has a great potential for sophisticated
music making."
An unusual twist to this year's orgy will be the introduction
of Percy Danforth, a 77 year old performer on the "bones".
"Bones" are pieces of wood held in each hand and used to pro-
mote complex rhythmic effects. Danforth is best remembered
for his recent performance in Donald Hall's Bread and Roses,
where he functioned as part of the rhythm section in the show's
four-man orchestra.
Asked about the audience that attends these concerts Albright
says "They just go wild. You could play "Mary Had a Little
Lamb" for them and they'd go wild over it." Then he giggles,
"providing it's in rag!" He adds that 800 people got into the
concert last time and about 400 others had to be turned away.
Saturday's performance will include works by Scott Joplin,
Eubie Blake, Jelly-Roll Morton and George Gershwin, in addi-
tion to some original works composed by the group.
Albright mentioned "Brass Knuckles" as one such work
written by him and Bill Bolcom, which was performed in the
last ragtime orgy.
"It was as you might guess, a brutal assault on the piano
in rag. I was in Europe at the time, and sent Bolcom the be-
ginning of it through the mail, and he answered me, finishing
the first section, and that's how "Brass Knuckles" was born."
"Move Right" is a six-handed piano piece in rag. "It's not
a political piece," jokes Albright. "Everybody rotates at the
parts, and that way we can get a crack at all the registers."
"Our interest are such that we're always looking into new
things," says Albright. "and especially music we don't know
much about. And when you do it in the stele of the times, it
can really bring it alive."

polish, but displays vigor

0


By SARAH POLAREK
The American Symphony's
concert at Hill Auditorium Sun-
day afternoon was richly varied'
and generally well executed.
The orchestra arrived late,
but the audience was treated to
an unscheduled piano solo by
Gvorgy Sandor: L iszt's "Funer-
ailles". Sandor's performance.
was a wonderful introduction to
the concert which was to fol-
low.
The American Symphony be-
gan with a lively rendering of
Leonard Bernstein's overture to
"Candide". In the tivo pieces
which followed, Strauss' tone
poem "Macbeth" and Gould'sI
"Declaration Suite", the orches-
tra displayed its rather inform-a
al but enthusiastic approach to
the pieces performed.
The group is generally quite
young - and though their per-
formance seemed a bit less pol-
ished than those of the London
or Detroit Symphony Orches-!
tras presented by the Musicals
Society earlier this year, thei
enthusiasm was exteremely re-
fresh ing.l
Conductor-composer Morton
Gould's direction of his own
"Declaration Suite" was the?
highlight of the first half of the!
program. Gould's suite com-i
memorates the signing of ther
Declaration of Independence,1
and it is a delightful slice of1
Americana indeed.
After a brief intermission, thet

orchestra performed Ives' Or-
chestral Set No. 2. This piece
once again emphasized the
American Symphony's affinity
for the work of American com-
posers.
Ives' Set begins with a serene
movement ("An Elegy to our
Forefathers") composed of va-
riations on two Stephen Foster
tunes. The second movement,
called "The Rockstrewn Hills
Join in the People's Outdoor
Meeting" is rustically Ameri-
can and exuberantly peaceful.
But the third movement, en-
titled "From Hanover Square
North at the End of a Tragic
Day, 1915, the Voice of the Peo-
ple Again Arose", returns to the
quietpess of the first movement.
This movement concerns the
NEXT N Y CITY
OPERA SEASON
NEW YORK (A') - The
New York City Opera will pre-
sent four new productions here
in the spring: Puccini's "Tur-
andot," Richard Strauss's "Sa-
lome," Mozart's "Idomeneo"
and Erich Wolfgang Korngold's
"Die Tote Stadt" (The Dead
City).
"Turandot" will be seen first
in Los Angeles, Nov. 29. Title
role will be sung by Edith
Mathes of Birmingham, who
has sung at the Metropolitan
Opera, making her debut with
the company.

sinking of the Lusitania, wi
brought America into We
War I. Ives attempted to c
ture the mood in New Y
City on that fateful afternoot
The orchestra's performa
of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at
Exhibition" is another atte:
at capturing a mood. Mussc
sky wrote a piano suite wh
commemorated the work of
tist Victor Hartmann. Mau
Ravel later arranged the pi
for orchestra, and it hasr
become extremely beloved a
concert piece. Mussorg
sought to translate each1
tures into a brief musi
sketch, and ties the entire w
together with a promenade r
resentative of the compose
stroll through the Hartm,
gallery,
The orchestra, followed
regular program with an
core - Gould's arrangement
the popular Civil War si
"When Johnny Comes Mar
ing Home."

nce
ian
rmpt
org-
hich
ar-
rice
ece
now
as a
sky
pic-
ical
ork
rep-
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ann
the
en-
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ong
rch-

Every Monday and
Tuesday Nite
BEER NITE
Pitcher Beer-2 price
No cover for Students
WED.-FREE PINBALL NITE
THURS.-TEQUILA NITE
341 S. MAIN


_M_ ___ ___

'STANLE Y BAiCKcS

Bunuel said it is the
only film about what the
modern world really means.
A great film
whose time has come.

DEBUSSY'S "THE PRODIGAL SON"
A Night at the Opera
Two contrasting operas will provide an exhilarating evening of
musical theater this week, as the GOLDOVSKY GRAND OPERA
THEATER performs a unique double bill-"The Interrupted Wedding
Night," a comic opera of disguises set in 18th century Naples, and
Debussy's setting of "The Prodigal Son," depicting the Biblical story
of Lia and Simon welcoming home their son, Azael.
These two fully staged productions, in English, in the POWER CENTER on
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, at 8:00; tickets available from $3 to $6.50.

A Stanley KubickProduction "A CLOCKWORK ORANGE Slarring Malcolm McDowell". Patick Magee-" AdrienneCorr.
and MriamnKarlin .Screenplay by Stanley Kubnck-"Based on,the novel by Anthony Burgess - Produced and
Directed by Stanley Kubrck " -.e#,tn Poden r M. L. 2 az6 S6 d tiof ..Og,inal tondtrack avmi .6 Wre, She[. ecords