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 it I Is now hiring display Account Executives for Spring/Summer Fall/Winter Terms ~ Sell advertising to local and national business Manage your own account territory es A' I interact with local business owners J,. II.I . t }.