Page Si~ IC THE MICHIGAN DAILY fhursdoy, September4, 1915
Page Six
X
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Thursday, September 4, 1975
usIc
in
0
Something
to
please
Local blues:
So much music
for so little
Until City Council Republicans'
rose up in arms two summers
ago against what they called
"undesirables from all over the
country," Ann Arbor was the
home of the Blues and Jazz
Festival, a three day extrava-
ganza that brought the biggest
names in blues and jazz to the
city. .
That summer, Council banned
the Festival from its traditional
[DER site at the Otis Spann field be-
cause of inadequate clean-up
procedures the previous year
and because of supposed in-
creases in drug traffiking. For-
mr -mavolr James Stephensn
B.B. King at Hill Auditorium
UAC: Bringing the hot act
l
(Continued from Page 3)
Beginning in the fall of 1972,
Young employed a large, well-
trained usher crew to deal with
the problems plaguing clean-up
personnel and fire;i wardens.
Concert-goers were (and con-
tinue to be) searched at the
doors for alcohol, food and
smoking paraphenalia and con-
sequently, the root of the prob-
lem has b e e n considerably
weeded out.
QUESTIONED as to whether
such an improvement in audi-
ence behavior has brightened
the possibility of renewed ad-
ministrative leniency, Thomas
Easthope, assistant vice presi-
dent for student services re-,
sponded, "We - always like to
think that those years where#
there was a high incidence of
booze and drugs are over but
they (the University executives)
can also say, 'hey we gave you
your chance.',
"Whether or not they'll give
them another chance," East-
hope added, "well, your guess
is as good as mine."
Meanwhile, m a n y students:
have complained not only of the{
limited type of music brought i
UAC's program during the
year.
YOUNG attributes the re
degradation in attractionst
number of factors first st
ing that in the 1973-74 sea
"it was amazing that the M
Blues, Bob Dylan and the B
Joni Mitchell and Judy Co
all did big tours and fell
gether on our calendar in
same year."
"Any ninth grader can
you who the hot acts are,'
continued, "and hot acts
that just weren't around
Ssaid then that the festival "has
stoA2
s~to tarnished the city's image."
FOR ALL intents and purposes
last prove crippling to the schedul- theFestival was dead at that
ing procedure even with the point, only to be revived "in
act resources available. For ex- exile." St. Clair College in Wind-
cent ample, no University facility is sor, Ontario offered the pro-
to a reserved exclusively for con- moters, Rainbow Multimedia,
ress- cert use and therefore, coordi- their facilities for the concert.
ason, nating performers' date offer- Thus, the concert went ahead
oody ings while they are in this part as planned-featuring such mu-
and, of the country with an open sicians as James Brown, Luther
)llins night at Hill, Power Center or Allison, Hound Dog Taylor and
to- Crisler Arena (depending on the Ann Arbor's own, Shakin' Jake.
the act) is often impossible. But the perils of the boarder
and the long distances from Ann
tell IN ADDITION, show cost is a Arbor to the concert site spelled
she major concern among the co- doom to the Fesival. The pro-
like operative members who are re-
last quired to underwrite their de-
moters went heavily into debt
and it is unlikely that another
festival will be held this fall.
With the demise of the series,
few outlets remain for the blues
and jazz devote-the Blind Pig
located at 208 S. First St. being
one. With its cozy atmosphere,
the bar still manages to book
some of the tap local blues per-
formers along with an occa-
sional national act. They also
feature jazz.
BOOGIE Woogie Red appears
every Monday night while jazz.
groups-like Reunion, Melodioso
and Small Change - appear
throughout the week. Cover;
charges range depending on the!
notoriety of the band, but usual-
ly stay at about $1.00.
For weekend jazz buffs, the
Del Rio Bar, 122 W. Washington,I
is an excellent place to take a'
study break. There is no cover
charge and if you can stand the
long lines, some good, cheap:
jazz can be had here.
Mr. Flood's Party, located at
120 W. Liberty, features just
about every type of music popu-
lar among student types except
for hard rock and roll. Depend-
ing on the night in question,
blues, jazz, country western or;
folk rock can be heard at this
bar. Oftentimes more than one
band will be featured on a given
night. Cover charges are usually
less than $1.00 and admission is
sometimes free.
IF BLUEGRASS music is
more to your liking, visit the
Pretzel Bell at 120 E. Liberty.
Regularly featuredare the RFD
Boys, a local band that has
been playing at the bar and
restaurant for the past three
years. They have been describ-
ed as "good"by some and "fan-
tastic" by others.
Cover charges are usually
$1.50 on weekends and $1.00 on
weekdays.
If you own a car or havel
access to one, it would be worth1
your while to drive to Detroit
and visit Baker's Keyboard
Lounge, 20510 Livernois.
THIS IS truly the finest place
to go to hear the best jazz,. if,
not in the midwest,bat least in
Michigan. Featured musicians
usually do a three or four day
stand, sometimes coming to
Ann Arbor afterwards.- .
But even this isn't necessarily
true anymore since the Primo
Showbar closed its doors a'
couple of years ago. Now the
big namesplay Detroit and
move on, usually to Chicago.
everybAhody
Daly Photo by PAULINE LUBENS
A BURTON TOWER carilloneur does his thing, as it is
done every day throughout the year. The bells, the
heaviest in the country, can often be heard in a 20 mile
radius of the city.
Ding, dong deli:* Music
from Burton bell tower
By ANN MARIE LIPINSKI
Every day at noon, and each evening at 5:00, stop.
And listen.
Amid the shriek and the intruding blare of automobile
horns, blending in with the Diag buzz and complementing
the soft fall winds, filters the commanding strains of the
carillon bells.
HOUSED ATOP the 212 foot Burton Tower near central
campus, the 53 bell carillon - the nation's heaviest -
towers silently in' lonely solitude, until the practice worn
hands of a University carillonneur bring the bronze bells
to life.
Then, almost mystically, the rag time chords from "The
Entertainer," or the formal, staid strains of Handel's "War
termusic Suite" seep from the campanile and find retreve
in the ears of most any outdoor soul. In fact, if the weather
wills, the distinctive sound of a carillon melody can be
enjoyed as far as 20 miles north of here in Whitmore
Lake.
Burton Tower, tucked behind Hill Auditorium and ascent-
ing above the Modern Languages Building, has been a
chapter in the campus story since 1936 - the same year
the bells arrived from the John Taylor and Sons Belfoundry
in Loughborough, England.
SINCE THAT time, the carillon has undergone several
changes and improvements, the most recent being the addi-
tion of 26 new bells-last summer which replaced the upper
two octaves and raised the overall carillon range by one
octave.
Assistant University Carillonneur William DeTurk reports
hopes for additional amendment which include tearing out
the streets in the immediate vicinity of the Tower because
"there's so much noise with those damn sirens screaming
up and down them every day.
See HEAR, Page 7
to Ann Arbor, b
decline in qualit
of performers
Classical still-
By DAVID BLOMQUIST
It is a familiar moment, yet one always
heavy with tense anticipation. The broad white
door at the side of the stage in Hill Auditorium
suddenly swings open. The guest conductor
broadly strides up to the podium, nods methodi-
cally to the audience, and picks up his baton.
Then, with one simple motion, 100 of the
world's finest musical talents blend into a
majestic ensemble.
Perhaps it is this rare union of so many
individual talents into one artistic group effort
that makes classical music so exciting. And
thanks to the aggressive efforts of several local
organizations, the v i b r a n t yet unrestrained
sound of classical performance can be heard
almost any evening somewhere in Ann Arbor.
CLASSICAL concerts may well rank among
the city's top social occasions. Smartly dressed,
middle-aged professional p e o p 1 e regularly
crowd the main floor of Hill Auditorium, habit-
ut also of the year and -won't be again next termined share of the expenses.
y and quantity year either." Young said, "When we go in-
scheduled in ; However, o t h e r obstacles to it we have to have a better I
than 50 per cent chance of{
" " ebreaking even. If' we make
lo ved Ci money n it, there's flexibility
built into the co-op because the
profit percentage can be shifted
ually arriving a few minutes early to exchange among groups" to fit their im-
mediate needs.
a few snatches of conversation before perform-
ance timeBut now and then, even ticket
ance time. sales can't guarantee the odds
Up in the second balcony, several hundred when groups like Loggins and
blue jean-clad students settle expectantly into Messina and the Beach Boys
more moderately priced seats (generally about show, or 60 per cent of ticket
$3) and patiently await the concerts' opening sales. "Sometimes they just
downbeat. Some silently study library copies of won't come down and we just
the evening's music, while others converse can't go up," Young said.
quietly about new recordings by Previn or Ft
Bernstein.3 FURTHERMORE, the cost ofI
A major classical concert can, in all, easily
attract over 3,000 patrons and interested on-
lookers. That doesn't begin to statistically rival
the thrones that pack rock or blues sessions at
Crisler Arena, but classical musicians used to
playing in sparse houses to apathetic audiences
find it more than sufficient. Most
THAT favorable reputation enables the city's
See CLASSICAL, Page 7
putting on a show at the 1,400-
seat Power Center is approxi-
mately $2,500 while Hill Audi-
torium runs $4,000 a night for
4,000 seats. And if a show is
considerably promising, the co-
op can gamble on the 8,000
front-of-the-stage seats at Cris-
ler Arena for double the cost of
either of the other two options
at nearly $12,000.
According to Stuart, "Gener-
ally (the) Power (Center) is
too small and too expensive to
make it worth the effort."
Young contends that University
organizations should not have
to pay for campus facilities.
"What we need is another
See UAC, Page 7
Er'
Cover charges range,
Luther Allison stiff with drinks being
expensive.
but are
equally
KoCkI
I
n roll limited in Ann Arbor
Until last fall, Ann Arbor had its definite short-
comings as far as rock and roll music and dancing
was concerned, and, to some extent, it still does.
The Scene, 341 S. State, was really the only place
in town one could go and dance-and even it was
done to tapes and an occasional offbeat drummer.
Its discotheque type atmosphere attracted many,
but the long walk from campus turned just as many
would-be rockers away.
To put it simply, there was no place near campus
to hear live, quality rock and roll-that is, until
Chances Are, 516 E. Liberty, was opened.
ITS PLUSHLY carpeted, modernly decorated in-
terior provided an alternative-the only alternative
-for those seeking to hear live music played at loud
volumes. Its daily discounts for students with
identification provided an incentive, and thus,
Chances Are was instantly popular.
And rightly so. The bar manages to book some
of the best local, if not national, rock and roll
bands-Steven Stills, Weather Report, Bob Seeger,,
Sky King, Luther Allison, Orleans and the like, all
playing to virtual sell-out crowds.
The acoustics in the bar are good, but then it
doesn't matter much at the volumes at which some
of the bands play. The wood interior with the car-
peted floors absorb much of the -echo that is pain-
fully apparent in other bars of its type.
DANCING in the bar can sometimes be a strain,
as the dance floor in front of the stage is extremely
limited. On crowded nights, dancers find themselves
shoulder-to-shoulder-as one student termed it, "It
could only be described as a human pinball game."
If you have a car or access to one, Ypsilanti has
a so-so dance bar, The Suds Factory, 737 N. Huron.
It also has some nationally-known bands, as well
as local ones, playing there. The size of the dance
floor is slightly larger, and the prices are often
cheaper than Chances Are.
They also serve pizza, submarines, peanuts, pop-
corn, notwithstanding of course, intoxicants. Unlike
Chances Are, they have mechanical pinball ma-
chines and a few pool tables.
Daily Photo by KEN FINK
Vladimir Horowitz
The Ark: Fo/k music center in A
By PAULINE LUBENS
On a Saturday night when electric
guitars scream inside cavernous basket-
ball arenas jammed with foot stomping
rock fans clutching eight dollar tickets,
there are more mellow places to be. As
the music world accelerates itself into
a hard to breathe beat the Ark remains
as the core of Ann Arbor's dwindling
folk scene.
Linda Sigland, who manages the Ark
with her husband David, accurately de-
scribes it as "a family type atmosphere
that most people can relate to". Both
the Ark and the Siglands make their
home at 1421 Hill Street in a white split
level wooden house. The Siglands live
upstairs and the performances are in
the living room under dim yellow and
redrl ihts.
These performers bring fiddles, gui- tional songs to hits by contemporary big
tars, banjos, dulcimers and a whole va- names such as Bob Dylan or Joni Mit-
riety of music to the living room of chell
These Hoots, a feature of the Ark for
the Ark - all of which make the walls over six years, provide good evidence
hum and the audience smile, for the idea that much of the real tal-
The doors open at 8:30 p.m. and the ent has not been scooped up by the
eager audience pours into the warmly record companies. According to Linda,
lit living room and its two side wings. the Hoots give the local talent a chance
The decor is modest and on the brown to gain stage experience and many of
wooden walls and mantels are works by the performers move on to play in local
local artists who have contributed their bars.
creations to the Ark as a token of appre-
ciation for many evenings of entertain- THURSDAY evenings features spe-
ment. cial concerts by local talent or surprise
I enough to seem cozy, but not enough to
be cramping. Occasionally long lines fill
the porch and the front yard as fans
await a big name such as David Brom-
berg or another popular Ark performer.
BUT usually the bulk of the audience
consists of numerous regulars who show
up again and again to hear repeat per-
formances. Many of these regulars are
Hoot performers who come to soak up
new styles and songs.
On Sundays the Ark features Sacred
Harp Music - four part early -American
AFTER THE audience has filled the
cushions and chairs, the lights are dim-
med and the shows opens with a warm
introduction from Linda or David. In-
visitsbybgrhymns sung in four part harmonies -
dollars collected from each patron goes classical guitar concerts about once a
dollheseroeerm amonth, meetings of the Friends of Folk
to the performer., Music, community ptukdnes n
The five day run is rounded off by vlsbl, m ty potluck d ners, and
weekend concerts given by the stars if the weather permits.
rn ~