E ______ RTS ___ Th: Michigan Daily Thursday, October 25, 1984 Vollenweider brings harp to Page 6 Power E By Byron Bull. When Swiss electroharpist/composer Andeas Vollenweider and his small en- semble take to the Power Center stage tonight they'll be treading new musical turf, but very softly. Vollenweider, a talented young musician who has modified the harp mechanically and Read and Use Daily Classifieds electronically, creates pretty, dreamy music that has been mislabeled as everything from jazz to classical to pop, but really defies easy categorization. Vollenweider's work is closely akin to that of what is generally referred to as "new age music", in a style that puts him in between pianist George Winston and ambient experimenter Brian Eno. Vollenweider's music is comprised of melodic, rhythmic streams of semi- lyrical passages. It is gentle, and sub- tlely exotic, encompassing a wide variety of ethnic styles. At times it is very reminiscient of Japanese classical music, or Afro-Cuban and certainly Carribean, but it's always shifting, never immediately identifiable as one or the other. The styles that Vollenweider plays in, and the way he coaxes different sounds from his harp, are just as widely eclec- tic. Vollenweider tends to use the harp as either a bass or a percussion in- strument, and often it's nearly im- possible to tell his fake bass or quasisteel drums from the genuine thing. At other times Vollenweider can be heard deftly imitating the sound of a flamenco guitar, only to switch abrup- tly but smoothly to something that sounds very much like a Chinese cheng. Eccentric, but Vollenweider pulls it off. Some critics charge that Vollen- weider's music is too loosely struc- tured, and closer to muzak in charac- ter. Vollenweider himself, who learned to play the harp purely by experimen- ting with it, insist that he's merely more interested in striking a listeners emotions than in challenging them in- tellectually with aural mathematics. Vollenweider originally emerged in Europe as a cult figure, and rapidly grew in popularity to the point of selling millions of copies of his albums. Stateside he is just beginning to make an impression, though he has already attracted a solid following. Copies of his Behind The Gardens album sold an im- pressive 60,000 copies, purely on word- of-mouth advertising. Tonight's per- formance at the Power Center should provide an interesting glimpse at this new breed of musician whose art is still in the early stages of blooming. E Andreas Vollenweider brings his unique electric harp to the Power Center.this Thursday night at 8:00. Taj Mahal still singin the blues r By Andy Weine Boy, those blues can sure get to you and that's what happened to the two capacity audiences who heard Taj Mahal deliver what was probably the blusiest blues to roll through Ann Arbor in a long time at the Ark Tuesday night. Bob Brozman opened the concert with more fast-paced and rag-oriented blues than Mahal's. Brozman began painting the concert blue on metal acoustic guitars, which he proceeded to deftly pick, strum, slap, knock, spin, twirl, and-get this-play with out- stretched arms behind his head. Brozman sparked what was a first- rate show. Mahal moved onto stage with his powerful size that reminds you of the actual Taj Mahal in India. He sang with a breathy, hoarse voice that well suits his style of music. Most of the time, he used an amplified acoustic guitar that had an electric, tinny sound, but the tone wasn't so modern that it electrified the slow, rambling quality of the blues. That quality came across fully in all his songs, beginning with what is perhaps his best, "Dust My Broom," a sky-pitched blues .hat went, "Got the sunshine on my brow, gon' be my lucky day. . . "Another light tune that went, "Love you baby, love you like a schoolboy love blueberry pie," had him kissing his guitar and whistling happily like he was walking down a country road, feelin' groovy. More in the pitch of midnight blue was a wailing ditty that moaned, "Got the blues so bad. . . Put my face in' a permanent frown..." With his, warm nature and good humor, Mahal proved the blues to pe contagious. It wasn't long before the audience wa singing along, and then imitating Mahal by wailing, grunting, howling, croaking, and even barking, throughout a song mourning the death of a lazy rooster. y As Mahal said, "This music is for participation. If you want to walk outta here with the concert welded to your soul, sing it!" About half of the songs he played See TAJ, Page 7 4 U I U 6 PIEDMONT'S 50%OF'FC E FARE. Face it,your learning years are not your prime earning years. But don't let that stop you from moving off campus. Through February 28,1985, you can fly anywhere Piedmont flies for half fare.To LA and NewYork. And to all kinds of hot spots and hometowns in between. What's the catch?Well,you must be under26 and have