ARTS
The Michigan Daily
Friday, January 28, 1983
Page 5
Madcat and others rally against nukes
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By Tom McDonald
ELED by the recent passage of Proposal
E, the struggle for nuclear disarmament is
I reaching a climax. The performing arts has
long been a vital supporter of this effort by
giving benefit concerts to supplement the cof-
fprs of various peace organizations.
Area music listeners and dance enthusiasts
will have the opportunity to contribute to this
cause by attending Saturday night's benefit,
IA Celebration of Life" at the Michigan Union
$allroom, which will feature one of the most
diverse and attractive lineups of local talent for
tie year.
t; "A Celebration of Life" will be divided into
three separate entities: the first third of the
program will emphasize performances and
talks relevant to the nuclear issue, the second
part will be all music, and the latter section will
consist of dance music.
The benefit is a highly recommended follow-
up to the successful Ann Arbor Folk Festival
two weeks ago, and will even include a few
veterans from that show. Harmonica wizard
Peter "Madcat" Ruth will highlight the second
part of the show in a solo appearance. A
musical legacy in the Ann Arbor area, Ruth has
built up a sizeable flock of fans who make the
pilgrimage to his every area appearance. Ruth
is on* of those performers who is a testament to
the ability of coagulating emotions and music.
The musical passions of the instrumental
sculptor are enrooted in "the blues," a style
which Ruth has attacked like an exposed nerve.
Cultivating his talents in such innovative
early '70 s bands as the New Heavenly Blues,
Sky King, and the Dave Brubeck Band, Ruth
has enlarged the breadth of his musical foun-
dation. His encompassing exploitation of the
genres of blues and jazz leave few dimensions
left to explore. The only thing that has
seemingly eluded Ruth is a successful recor-
ding career. But Ruth loves the Ann Arbor
area ana its people, and reserves many dates
on his extensive touring schedule for area per-
formances. In doing so Madcat has become one
of the most popular and recognized acts on
the Ann Arbor musical scene.
Expect a high-energy act from this one man
band. And don't let his disheveled appearance
fool you, for underneath the T-shirt and tat-
tered blue jeans is a man who represents the
quintessence of harmonica blues.
Also slated to appear is Ann Doyle, a local
singer-songwriter who was well-recieved at the
Folk Festival. Perhaps a bit intimidated by the
large crowd at the Michigan Theatre, Doyle
will undoubtedly feel more comfortable in the
intimate confines of the Union Ballroom where
she will play a short a set of original com-
positions on the guitar.
Next on the bill will be an appearance by
Trees, a local female duet with a scopious vocal
range, who will perform silken folk and rock
harmonies.
Opening the nuclear oriented portion of the
show will be University Dance Professor Vera
Embree, a dynamic artist noted for her
assiduous refinement of her craft. Miss Em-
bree is scheduled to perform a rousing Africali
dance routine.
Following Embree will be the U-M Mime
Troupe, a talented group of young artists whom
Jessie Richards, event organizer, says "will be
doing an interesting piece called 'Evolution' in
which man evolves up through higher and
higher levels 'until he explodes and reverts
back to stage one as the ape." Richards, also a
dance instructor for Artworlds, will exhibit her
dancing prowess in an appearance with her
group, the Afro-Jazz Jedi Dancers, who will
perform a routine on personal power and
celebration in hopes of initiating change in the
social structure.
Composing the last part of the show will be a
group of seven local drummers who will crank
out a conga rhythm jam session for those who
wish to get up and dance to their driving exotic
beats.
Rounding out the event will be the all-female
rock band, Herizon, a talented and versatile
outfit who will belt out popular dance songs.
Struggling for respect in the male-dominated
rock scene, Herizon has silenced any possible
critics with a polished and entertaining act.
The band has fared well, playing to responsive
audiences in the local bar circuit.
This unique, heterogenous blend of talent
promises to provide for an enlivening night of
entertainment. Funds generated for the affair
will go to the Interfaith Council for Peace, the
Michigan Nuclear Weapons Freeze, and the
Women's International League for Peace and
Freedom. Tickets are $5.00 and are available
at the door or can be purchased in advance at
the Herb David Guitar studio or Discount
Records.
Standing room only for Heaney
By Jim Boyd
R EMEMBER when poetry was fun?,
When all you cared about were the:
sounds of the words? Words with lots of
"S"s, words that rolled and jumped off
of your tongue; words that flowed or
marched; words that rhymed and rang.
Or what about the bawdy limericks?
There once was a lady from Nan-
tucket ...
Fear not! The sonorous, sanguine,
sustaining sounds of youth are not
forever lost to the ravages of time.
Refresh yourself; bask in the poetry of
Seamus Heaney.
Heaney is currently teaching at Har-
vard University, but students here had
the great privelege of hearing him
Wednesday night in Rackham
Auditorium. A resident of Dublin,
Heaney's poetry is one of the Irish
people and their land. His childhood
memories-much in thevein of Dylan
Thomas-pervade much of his poetry,
as do .the rich elements of his Irish
cultural upbringing.
The standng-room-only crowd in
Rachkam became revitalized by
Heaney's poetic skill,'humor, and gen-
sitivity. He is not just a poet of ideas;
he is a poet of the language. It is a
poetry rich in vocabulary that elicits
feelings of sensation: texture, color,
and warmth. ,
The audience were the lucky
recipients of the product of Heaney's
love affair with the English language.
His words are not independent of
feeling, but rather, inherent in it. In
describing the funeral for victims of a
Dublin bombing he reads: the coffins
from the cathedral moved/like
blossoms in slow water. This is, more
than anything else, poetry of feeling
brought forth through the skillful
wielding of language.
He was able to leave the audience
hushed with his powerful descriiptions
of the pain and confusion of the violence
in Northern Ireland, and the next
minute rally them into laughter with a
tale of grade school fantasy. He per-
ceives two functions of the artist; one
serves the cause in voicing what is right
and wrong, and the other serves the in-
dividual in detaching himself from such
questions.
Heaney performs both expertly. His
words ring powerfully in telling the
tales of war, and sweetly in the tales of
childhood. Inevitably his words defrost
feeling, leaving it as fresh and intact as
when it was first experienced.
Heaney also possesses the charming
quality of being able to laugh at him-
self. He told of one of his poems that
was described by a critic as being, "a
long, disappointing poem about frogs."
One is overcome with the desire to take
Heaney to a bar and talk about
whatever it is that Irishmen talk about
in bars. His reading did not at all
seperate the poet from the audience,
but rather brought the two together.
He reinstilled in the audience a faith
in the poetry of their childh'ood; a faith
that many would not admit to ever
having lost. In Rackham Auditorium
Wednesday night,300 people were born
again. Praise God!
Come to
SURVIVING AND THRIVING IN
GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL:
WOMEN AT THE UNIVERSITY
Saturday Workshop-February 5
9-2 with lunch
4th Floor-Rackham
Women and the University "fit"-FAculty and Student Views
SPEAKERS- PANELS - DISCUSSION
$6. Reservations by January 31
U-M Center for Continuing Education of Women
2nd Floor Comerica Bank. So. Thayer/No. University
764-6555
AMTRAK ANNOUNCES SOMETHINGTHAT
HASN'T HAPPENED IN OVER 90YEARS.
In 1886, the Michyigan Central Railroad Station opened in Ann Arbor. If
you weren't there, now's your chance to see history repeat itself.
This weekend we're dedicating Amtrak's brand-new Ann Arbor Station at
325 Depot Street.
Join in the festivities on Saturday between 11 AM and 1 PM. There'll be
a ribbon-cutting ceremony, refreshments and prizes. Including the chance
to win a Grand Prize weekend for two in Chicago, courtesy of Amtrak and
Great Places Travel.
So stop by and cheer loudly for
it may be awhile until we ;?
your new train station. After all
dedicate another one.
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