ARTS The Michigan Daily Wednesday, September 25, 1985 Page 5 Folk flourishes in exile By Laura Bischoff BEEN LISTENING to too much head-banging heavy metal? Maybe you go for modern jazz or some funk? Well, how about some Latin American folk music to raise your political and cultural conciousness? If that's what you had in mind (or if it just soun- ds interesting) the Office of Major Events, in cooperation with the Latin American Culture Project, has just the thing for you: a concert at the Power Center with Inti-Illimani at 8 p.m. Thur- sday. Now, the average Joe College probably has never heard of this group and probably couldn't even pronounce the name unless he or she took the Residential College course entitled La Nueva Cancion. But anyone who knows anything about Latin American folk music knows about Inti- Illimani. Inti-Illimani is a folk group from Chile that has been living in exile in Italy since the bloody coup that ousted the socialist government and established a dictatorship in Chile in 1973. Inti-Illimani, founded in 1966, is not just a musical group, but a key part in a cultural movement in Chile and all of Latin America called the New Song Movement. The New Song Movement protests the social injustices occurring in Latin America and is a medium through which the Latin American people are searching for their own cultural identity. The musical movement began in the early '60s and still flourishes as Latin Americans continue to express themselves through their own art, poems, songs and struggle to control their own politics and economic resources. The music advocates a return to folklore and rejects the cultural in- vasions or influences from other countries. Inti-Illimani and other New Song groups play the instruments of el pueblo (the people) in the shanty towns and countryside villages. Their music is rooted to the folk music traditions of Chile. Politically, Inti-Illimani and other groups cry out for freedom in South and Central America. Their songs advocate the gaining and regaining of basic human rights and political freedom. Because of their role in the Chilean political struggle against the Pinochet dictatorship, the group's music is banned in Chile. They are prohibited from entering Chile too. A few years ago, Inti-Illimani were on their way to Peru for a concert and the plane stopped in Chile but the government would not allow them to set foot on Chilean soil. (They escaped the coup because they were sent to Europe in 1973 by the Allende socialist government as cultural am- bassadors.) None of the seven group members; have returned to Chile since the coup occurred. Before 1973 the group interpreted the folklore of the Andean region and performed other artists' compositions. During their 13 years in exile they have gained considerable popularity in Europe and composed new original pieces. As a group they now have more depth in new material to compliment the older songs from the beginning of the movement. In the late '70s they put out their first bilingual album titled Hacia la Libertad (Toward Freedom). And in 1983 they recorded Sing to Me the Dream with American folk artist Holly Near. Songs on this album include "Samba Lando," which is about the freedom of blacks throughout the world, and "Sing to Me the Dream," which is about living in exile. The message of the New Song Movement and In- ti-Illimani is clear: political, economic, and cultural freedom is vital to the people of all nations. Mime troupe fuses body, soul Green On Red played to an excited, and in some cases paisley-eyed, crowd at the Blind Pig. Tuscon transplants affirm rebel image 11, By Hobey Echlin RESH FROM the road, Green on . Red' brought their musical piece of Southwestern stagnance to the Blind Pig Monday night. The Tuc- son transplants, promoting their new No Free Lunch EP, combined coun- try, blues, '60s dirge, and lest we forget, a whole lotta energy in a two- hour set of revivalist potency and talent. Drawing heavily from their critically acclaimed Gas Food Lodging LP, Dan Stuart led the Sacramento-based quartet with a fer- vor and a harshed voice. A powerful version of "That's What Dreams" had Stuart leading an anthem of displacement while guitarist Chuck Prophet added the musical emphasis with a wrenching solo. Prophet proved to be the essential compliment to Stuart's songwriting through his many guitar exploits during the show. Dan Stuart once described him as "right out of a spaghetti Western," and from his per- formance, it's not hard to see why. Joining Green on Red with nothing but $60 and his guitar, he typified the guitar-renegade image, a sort of Billy the Kid with a Telecaster. A sort of omnipresent soloist, Prophet offered a running guitar commentary, always doing something, from an easy, drawn out churn during a ballad, to the blistering sporadics of the show-closing Stones' classic, "Sympathy for the Devil." John Cale and Jerry Garcia would've been proud. With Prophet leading the music, keyboardist Christ Cavacas left his dominant Manzarek-esque role, and toned his keyboards into a calm in- trinsity. His essential undercurrent provided just the touch to answer Stuart's love ballad vocals during "This I Know." Other show highlights include the stomping autobiography "No Free Lunch," inspired by Violent Femmes bassist Brian Ritchie, as well as Stuart's homage to Steve Wynn with a rousing Dream Syndicate cover, proving that too many cooks can only make the dish better, though a little spicier. For the first encore, Stuart led the band in his best Neil Young with a variety of ballads, again emphasizing Cavacas' subtle keyboard skill. . But for the second encore, Stuart acknowledged the energy of the largely freak crowd and went into a frenzied eclectic cover of "Sympathy for the Devil," giving drummer Alex MacNicol room to move, and spotlighting the guitar mania of Prophet. By Alan Paul t T LOOK UPON it as a molding of the expressiveness of acting and the complete body use of dancing, with much more room for im- provisation than either one alone," said Kristen VanderBerg of the art of pantomime. VanderBerg is a member of the University Mime Troupe. She has been in the troupe for two years and, like many other members, had no previous pantomime experience. "I got involved by chance," Van- derBerg recall. "I had done both theatre and dance in high school and. wanted to get back into the perfor- ming arts. I heard about the auditions so I gave it a try." The troupe was formed five years ago by former Artistic Director Perry Perrault. The group performs several times a year, working towards a spring show. They also do street mime at the summer art fair. The troupe is a non-profit organization; any money raised goes towards ren- ting an auditorium for the spring event. Perrault is resigning this year to pursue more individual work, but will remain with the group as an advising director and trainer, leaving the directorial responsibilities to be shared. The troupe is holding auditions at the Union, tonight and tomorrow night. "We are looking for people with creativity and the ability to express it through their bodies," explains mem- ber Beverly Sayed. "A lot of people are intimidated because they have no experience. That's not necessary. However, they need to be willing to make a time committment to learning the art of pantomime." Sayed adds, "One thing I like about the troupe is that it's a very suppor- tive group. Unlike theatre, which can be competitive, the people are very 'open to helping others learn the technique." HARRY'S ARMY SURPLUS OFF ALL 15/ MERCHANDISE except sale items coupon expires Oct. 1,1985 201 E. Washington I CORNER OF FOURTH AVE. I ~7 Open I days a I I 994-357 f'"A I 1 994-3572 week to better I serveyou. MD ------- --- Jeff Lubovitch, a junior in the mance." engineering school, joined the troupe This year, as the troupe becomes last 'year after taking a UAC pan- collective, there will be more em- tomime minicourse. This summer, phasis on people writing and directing Lubovitch studied with legendary their own pieces. French mime Marcel Marceau in a "Pantomime really encourages two week workshop. people to develop their own "It was an unbelievable, im- creativity," says Sayed, a School of measurable experience," Lubovitch Education senior. recalls. "He gave classes on VanderBerg agrees, and adds, "The techniques and the basic feeling you troupe is a great chance to perform in want to put into a pantomime perfor- an open forum, in front of different WE GET IT FREE, 13uilg! audiences." "We are looking for dedicated, creative people, who are willing to let themselves go and improvise." Sayed says that "pantomime is my salvation...a wonderful break from the academic world." Auditions are not limited to studen- ts; all interested community merr- bers are urged to come to the Union tonight or tomorrow night between 7:30 and 10:00 p.m. Asian American Association Records The Wild Seeds - Life Is Grand (Life in Soul City) (Aznut Music) Thankfully, the Wild Seeds are a whole lot more earnest about their endeavor than is Electric Peace. And thankfully they don't sound, as their name might suggest, like the Seeds- ps-in-Sky-Saxon. All six tunes on this EP amicably bounce around on the turntable, refreshingly devoid of af- fectations. "She Said" (not the Beatles song) chugs around with a great pop sen- sibility, sounding like embryonic dB's. "Freedom Train" is a country- calypso-spiritual jolly enough to sam- ba to. "Let's Walk" and the par- ticularly outstanding "Come Out and Play" both sound as if somebody left the door to the go-go cage open - these Seeds take '60s influences and make them into a great song, not just a great piece of recycling work. "Pink Cadillac" is a tale of Texas (intrigue in which, true to form, the hero rides away into the sunset -- although in his Caddy rather than on TIrigger. One hell of a leap from the atTexas plain is "Life is Grand (Life in true (they could start with better recording), but it looks like they've got the means to sprout some really fun stuff in the future. The address of Aznut Music is 406 West 55th Street, Austin, Texas 78705. -Julie Jurrjens The Office of Major Events and WIOB Welcome STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN AND DOUBLE TROUBLE GET A FREE PAINTER'S HAT. 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