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February 07, 1996 - Image 8

Resource type:
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Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 1996-02-07

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able frdwak

Boston Symphony visits Hill
Renowned the world over, legendary conductor Seiji 0zav
Boston Symphony Orchestra tonight, in its first Ann Arbo
years. The Hill Auditorium show will begin at 8 p.m. Tick
$20 to $55. Call 764-2538 for more details.

Alaska native Jewel finds solace through singing,

wa will lead the
r concert in 12
ets range from
Wednesday
February 7, 1996.
songwriting

By Karl Jones
Daily Weekend Editor
Maybe it's her name: "Jewel." Maybe
it's her face: wide, green eyes, pouty lips
and skin somehow stolen from a Noxema
commercial. Whatever the cause may be,
the 21-year-old acoustic angel's name
has hardly appeared in print without the
words "cutie," "sweetie" or "folky" next
to it. It's enough to make a struggling
JEWEL
Where: Blind Pig
When: Tonight. Doors 9:30 p.m.
The show is sold out.
musician sick.
Don't let singer/guitarist Jewel
Kilcher's gentle exterior fool you, how-
ever. This Homer, Alaska native has set
up camp on some of the roughest edges
of life and come through it with a level
of inner strength far beyond the "neo-
hippie" folksters she's perpetually
lumped together with.
"I never thought I'd get a record deal.
I just wanted to eat every day doing
something I liked," Kilcher said. Mod-
esty is not surprising coming from a
woman who spent her childhood on an
800-acre farm with no shower or indoor
bathroom and was only recently living
in a van in San Diego.
Although she left the Alaskan wil-
derness at the age of 16 to study music,
sculpture and other forms of art at
Michigan's Interlochen arts high school,
Kilcher swears she never pined away
for fame when she was growing up. In
fact, she didn't even learn to play the
guitar until she was 17.

"I didn't know what I would do (for
a career). I don't think many people do.
I mean, you're not asked what will
make you happy; you're asked, 'How
are you going to make a living?' So I
think mostly you're stuck with anxiety
about how you're goingto supportyour-
self," she said.
"I never dreamed of being famous or
something like that. I only ever wanted
to find things that made me feel at rest
because I've always felt so driven and
pushed."
. Kilcher's determination may have
been a road block when it came to
finding inner solace, but outwardly, it
pushed her toward the places where she
needed to go. After unhappily moving
through a string of odd jobs in San
Diego (where she was living with her
mother after high school), Kilcher fi-
nally hit what most people would con-
sider rock bottom. Money was tight.
Times were tough. Kilcher and her
mother eventually had to move into
their own respective vans.
To Kilcher, however, this was a time
of freedom and inspiration. "Joy. Pure
Joy. I am / What I always wanted to
grow up and be" the singer penned in
"Upon Moving Into My Van," a poem
that appears in the liner notes of her
debut CD. She spent this time perform-
ing in coffee shops to earn money, surf-
ing and writing poetry.
"I've always written a lot of poetry.
It's been sort of my own therapy,"
Kilcher said. "They're usually very
autobiographical. But my songs gener-
ally aren't."
Autobiographical or not, her story-
like songs conveyed enough genuine

emotion and eclectic wisdom to draw a
large following to her coffee house per-
formances. One day, that following in-
cluded a representative from Atlantic
records, and the rest, as they say, is the
stuff fairy tales are made of. Or at least
really good poetry.
Kilcher recorded her 14-song debut
"Pieces of You" at Neil Young's Red-
wood Digital studio with the help of
"I wanted to find
thins that made
me feel at rest
because I've
always felt driven
and pushed".n
- Jewel
producer Ben Kieth (Patsy Cline, Neil
Young). The recording is an earthy col-
lection of musical stories .that show an
amazing level of intensity for such a
young performer. One moment, she's
trilling on like a little girl, and the next
line is sung from somewhere so deep
and guttural, it takes the first-time lis-
tener by surprise.
"Pieces of You" quickly caught the
attention of some of the industry's big-
gest names, and "Jewel" (she dropped
Kilcher when she needed a stage name)
has spent the past year performing and/
or touring with the likes of Melissa
Etheridge, John Hiatt, Liz Phair, Bob
Dylan and a present tour with Edwin
McCain. Impressive stuff.

As if that weren't enough, however,
Kilcher also tried on her acting shoes in
the role of Dorothy in TNT's TV musi-
cal "The Wizard ofOz." Co-stars in this
endeavor included Roger Daltry, Debra
Winger, Natalie Cole, Jackson Browne,
Nathan Lane and Joel Gray.
"That was really a challenge --I
enjoyed it a lot," Kilcher said, although
she admitted she was slightly nervous
in the beginning. "At first I was a little
bit like 'what am I doing here?' but they
were all so supportive, especially Jack-
son.Browne."
Kilcher's sudden boost to a level of
"public recognition" hasn't separated
her from her small-town sensibility.
Don't even attempt to assert that she
might be ... famous.
"I'm totally not famous!" Kilcher
stressed. "It's an odd term. Everything
has changed for me - I mean, I have
purpose in my life now. I never thought
life would have a use for me. I've al-
ways felt very alone and very suffo-
cated, and to actually be so blessed as to
live a dream, I find to be an honor."
Kilcher's future plans include tour-
ing, recording new material in March,
and basically just continuing to exist in
an "extremely happy" state. In fact, the
time may have come for this intense,
young performer to settle down in the
first job that finally feels right.
"I hope to go my whole career doing
this, but I don't really get MTV play or
radio play. I just tour a lot, and I'm
happy because I think hardwood grows
slowly," Kilcher said earnestly. "I never
knew what in life would bring me a
sense of peace ... I think I've finally
found it."

CGarmina Burana:
Dance Extravaganza
It's about that time again for the
annual all-encompassing dance?
extravaganza performed by the
University Dance Department, who this-
year are presenting Carl Orif's
"Carmina Burana." This year's
production, opening Thursday night,F
will be enhanced by the collaborative
presence of the UMS Choral Union, the
Ann Arbor Youth Chorale Concert andL
the University Percussion Ensemble..
The premiere of two works by dance
faculty members Robin Wilson ("tree
mountain river") and Evelyn Velez
Aguayo ("Entradas y Salidas") will kick E
off the evening, with "Carmina Burana"
to follow. Co-choreographed by Bill
DeYoung and Sandra Torijano-DeYoung,
"Carmina Burana," is "... filled with
songs of love," according to Bill
DeYoung. A very timely piece for right
before Valentine's Day.
"Carmina Burana" will play Thursday
through Saturday at 8p.m., Sunday at
2 p.m. at the Power Center. Tickets
are $16, $12 and $6 for students with f
ID. For more information, call 764-0450.

Delightful'Word'keeps the faith

By Kristin Cleary
For the Daily
Hillel's Sunday night presentation of
the one-woman theater piece "Keeping
the Word" was a delightful surprise.
The skillful talent and endearing per-
sonality of Bess Welden made "Keep-
ing the Word" definitely worth the sac-
rifice of a chilling walk to Hillel.
When most people think of oral tra-
dition in Jewish culture, they think of
the Talmud. However, Welden's per-
formance illustrates that the history of
oral tradition in Jewish culture is in fact
very rich. The theater piece is based on
stories that date far back in history and
can be traced to diverse areas such as
Egypt, Afghanistan, Tunisia and Iraq.
According to Welden and her co-writer
Annette Jolles, the folk tales figured
prominently in their quest for a female
identity within theJewish faith. AsWelden
said in an interview last March with the
publication Jewish Week, "We didn't
feel like we had female role models from

REVIEW
Keeping
the Word
Hillel
Feb. 4. 1995
a textual point ofview. ... Where are the
women who can show me they've found
a place?" Welden and Jolles were able to
find these women in the oral tradition of
folk tales.
"Keepin'g the Word" is comprised of
six individual folk tales that range his-
torically and ethnically from
Shakespearean England to modern-day
Brooklyn.
Welden incorporates these tales into
her story by attributing them to her
grandmother's partners in a knitting
circle, similar to the storyline in the
recent movie "How to Make An Ameri-
can Quilt." The center ofthe cloth that

the women are working on is represen-
tative of the traditional foundations of
the Jewish faith: the Torah, the Mishnah,
et cetera. The border of the cloth, which
Welden helps create, is symbolic of the
impact of women on the face of Juda-
ism. As the women knit their individu
patterns and tell their stories, Welden
discovers her own pattern as well as her
role in her own religion.
The words and theatrics of the play
were extremely moving; the one-woman,
relatively propless production empha-
sized the importance ofthe spoken word.
Welden's only prop was a white scarf
which she used as she traveled from
story to story. As one of her tales says,
the storyteller carries the listene@
through a rich and captivating history
that opens up an entirely new dimension
of Judaism as well as religious interpre-
tation in general. "Keeping the Word" is
a powerful piece that enlightened one to
the strong role of folk tales (as well as
women) in Jewish tradition.

TIckets still available for

"Leaving Las Vegas"

This is your last chance to pick up a free pass to tonight's special
screening of the acclaimed film,
"Leaving Las Vegas,"
at the Michigan Theater.
The show begins at 7 p.m. sharp, and it will be presented by its
director, Mike Figgis, who is a favorite to receive a nomination
for a Best Director Academy Award this year.
Figgis will be on hand for a discussion
at an informal reception following the show.
To get your free ticket'to this exclusive and rare event,
just stop by the Daily Arts office on the second floor of
the Student Publications Building, 420 Maynard St.,
after noon today.
Don't miss this exciting opportunity to see
a famous Hollywood director
up close and personal.

Ministry
Filth Pig
Warner Bros
Ministry has gone through some
changes in their music. This is not sur-
prising considering that their new al-
bum was announced a year and a half
ago, was supposed to come out around
a year ago and has onlyjust been birthed
in stores.
"Filth Pig" is not a linear continua-
tion of the group's previous work. If
anything, it is a little regressive. The

music on this go round is less energetic
than on '92's "Psalm 69," although just
as layered. Instead, there's a high pro-
portion of riffs. That's right. Riffs. The
album actually bears some resemblance
to a traditional metal album. "Crumbs"
could easily be covered by Megadeth,
what with the torn-up vocals and hard-
driving guitar.
The expected samples and electronic

elements are still present, however.
"Lava" even sounds as if it's sampling
an older Ministry song, almost in def-
erence to older fans. But the sound is
very much of the present. "Deadguy"
has the staccato delivery, slightly un-.
realistic sounding guitars and mix of a
Pop Will Eat Itself tune. If marketed
properly, those NIN fans will eat this
up.

I1

I

The biggest advance on this album
probably the gain of some slinkimess
the songs. The title track moves smoothly
along, with great reverb and some won-
derfully atmospheric harmonica in ad-
dition to the heavy but slow guitar (note
that the harmonica might have been a
reason for rumors that this album'wo~uld
be country). "Useless" is made in the
same vein, but is more stripped down,
more of a capillary. Less layered, the
track uses some excessively high-voic
background vocals to add that speci
little something that makes the Ministry
sound.
The most troubling thing about this
album is that it ends with a fade out. A
bang would've been better than a whim-
per, especially for this album, which
could have used some bigger explo-
sions. The most shocking thing on "Filth
Pig" is the cover of Bob Dylan's "Lay
Lady Lay." Barely recognizable as itse'
and definitely a Ministry-executed mY
neuver, it's an entertaining "Folk you"
to rub in the face of its fans.
- Ted Watts
Gerald Levert & Eddie
Levert, Sr.
Father & Son,
EastWest Records
With increasing animosity shown to-
ward absent fathers and those dIelin-
quent on child-support payments over
the years, becoming a father has begun
to look less appealing than the, priest-
hood. The very term "fatherhood" can

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