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A Grammy-winner and former headliner for the Ann Arbor Folk
Festival, Nancy Griffith brings her tunes to the Power Center. This
time. Griffith brings her Blue Moon Orchestra to play music from her
latest CD, "Blue Roses from the Moons." The show begins at 7:30
t onight. Tickets are $22.50 or $25. Call 763-TKTS for more informa-
tion.
Wednesday
October 8, 1997
8
Hunter falls prey to wea ,
dead, disappointing show
By Curtis Zimmermann
Fr the Daily
Since the death of Jerry Garcia in
1995, there have been numerous
attempts to pacify the lost Deadheads
left with no band to follow. This has
inspired such events as the Further
Festival, as well as
Robert Hunter's
recent tour that
came to the Power R
Center on Monday
night.
For those who
don't know,
attempt to mimic the Dead's "Space,'
hurt his show. Although appealing to
the audience, Hunter's performance
made it impossible to focus on his
lyrics which is the reason he was
standing before the crowd in the first
place.
EVIEW
obert Hunter
Power Center
Monday, Oct. 6, 1997
In the second set,
Hunter devoted
most of the time to
his own songs and
not those associat-
ed with the Grateful
Dead. Still, he did
manage to play
have done. In it, Hunter performed
(acoustically free of gadgets) the classic
"Ripple."
While playing, Hunter displayed not
only his guitar savvy, but also his abili-
ties as a vocalist. If the rest of the show
been done with this much intensity and
vigor, then Hunter's performance would
have made for a truly memorable
evening.
Overall, Hunter's performance was
disappointing. It was a feeble attempt to
hold onto the musical tradition that will
always belong to the Dead.
As Hunter proclaimed to the audi-
Hunter was the lyrical genius behind "Cumberland Blues." ence, "Mama don't let your babies
the Grateful Dead. He penned such Once again, Hunter's sound and grow up to be songwriters." Perhaps
legendary tracks as "Truckin," voice were stunted by his overuse of there is some truth to his words, con-
"Ripple" and "Touch of Gray." He the distortion. His songs were mostly sidering his name is often left off or
was also inducted into the Rock 'n' about love, the road and the blues - forgotten in so many references to his
Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the basically more of the same type of music.
band. songs that made him the legend that It is admirable that Hunter would
First and foremost, Hunter is a he is. take the stage again to put a face with
poet, not a true showman, and this Both sets, though, paled in compari- the music. While he is a true industry
was evident from the beginning of son to Hunter's encore. It was by far the legend, Hunter proved to everyone
his performance. He tried to capital- high point of the evening, and it gave why he was the voice behind the
ize on this image by not only per- the audience of a taste of what he could band.
forming solo but by standing on a
Persian rug with coffee tables in the
background.
One of the problems with his show
was that he couldn't create a San
Francisco coffee house feel in a large
concert hall. Because of this atmos-
phere problem, Hunter seemed out his *
element.
Hunter's show, at the very least, was
a spirited one. Many Deadheads
seemed alive again as they danced in
the aisles and cheered him on, much
like they once applauded his writing
partner.
Constant shrills of "We love you!"
seemed to rule the evening. Despite
this overwhelming enthusiasm toward
his show - which consisted of mate-
rial made famous by the Dead, as well
as some of his solo work - it, musi-
cally speaking, left something to be
desired.
To the delight of his crowd,
Hunter opened the show 'with the
perennial Dead classic "Box of
Rain." Throughout the first set, he
kept the Grateful Dead feel alive by
also performing, "Doin' The Rag"
and "Terrapin Station," which was
one of his better tunes of the
evening.
Throughout the first set, problems in
Hunter's performance style were evi-
dent. Although it was an acoustic show,
it was, by no means, "Unplugged At
Hunter's feet were multitudes of distor-
tion equipment.
Throughouit the show Hunter
employed these foot pedals, taking
away from the acoustic sound and alter-
irng what should have been a more'
grassroots performance.
.Hunter is more of a lyrical poet HvtA N CLELLAN/OaiIy
than a guitar player, and his weak Hunter gave a disappointing performance on Monday night at the Power Center.
The Moscow Conservatory is considered to be the most prestigious school of musical performance In the Russian Federatlon
Moscow Conservator to pa U
By Anitha Chalam
Daily Arts Writer
With the end of the cold war and the fall of Communism
almost 10 years ago, Moscow has become a forgotten town
for the more politically apathetic among us. Tonight, howev-
er, the Museum of Art gives us reason to once again speak of
the city, as it welcomes from Russia,
with love, the Moscow Conservatory PR
Chamber Ensemble. PR
The Moscow Conservatory was 4oscoV
founded in 1866, and is considered to Cha
be the most prestigious school of
musical performance and composition u-M Museuma
in the Russian Federation. Its list of
w
ImI
of
pianist who has won many national competitions and tours
extensively throughout the world. He is the laureate of nation-
al competitions and of the Finale-Ligoure International
Competition in Italy.
Olga Pusheshnikova, a pianist in her second year at the
Conservatory of Tchaikovsy, is a graduate of the Centr9
Music School at the Conservatory. Ii-
1993, she won first prize at the First
E V I E W International Competition named after
Conservatory Rachmaninoff.
ber Ensemble Nadezhda Serdiuk, a mezzo-soprano
Tonight at 8 singer, is a post-graduate student at the
Art -- call 764-2538 Moscow Conservatory who has per-
formed internationally with stellar
alumni and teachers include some of Russia's finest com- reviews. Her recent accomplishments include having sung
posers, such as Rachmaninov, Shostakovich and the title role in Gluck's "Orfeo" and the role of Olga in
Tchaikovsky. Today, the Conservatory stands at the center Tchaikovsy's "Eugene Onegin."
of Russian musical culture as well as at the forefront of Dennis Shapovalov, a cellist, is a fourth-year student at thc
newer musical traditions, as it grows and expands, even to Conservatory, who has an extensive repertoire both as a
this day. soloist and as a member of chamber
Because of this dedication to both ensembles.
past and present Russian tradition, stu- Aleksander Trostyansky, a violinist
dents from throughout the world are who began his professional career at the
attracted to study at the Conservatory; age of 12, is currently a soloist with the
current enrollment at the school Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra.
includes students from more than 70 Planned for the evening are
different countries. Rachmaninov's "Four Romances,"
Conservatory training is an intense Prokofiev's "Scherzo" Sonata a#
five-year program, which focuses on Polina's Romance from Tchaikovsy s
classical traditions as well as new trends "Queen of Spades," among other works
in music. Students can focus in one of by Schedrin and Arensky.
four disciplines: orchestral perfor- Within the setting of the
mance, piano performance, University's prized art collection; the
theory/composition, or vocal perfor- Moscow Conservatory Chamber
mance. ensemble will present excellent inter-
One of Moscow Conservatory's - pretations of chamber music classics.
most distinctive elements, which sets The intimate setting of the art-museum
it apart from other music schools, is defines a more powerful perflmance
its close association between teacher space than a typical orchestrigaill.
and student. When the Conservatory Aleksander Trostyansky is not often that the museum pens its
began, it was an experimental pro- doors for such an occasion, ami-hould
gram, where students were given the opportunity to per- not be missed. ss
form in public alongside their teachers. In addition, the Moscow has come a long way in recent times-'ttnd so
more advanced students are given the opportunity to teach has its Conservatory. Tonight's performance- promi1ses. to
other students. be memorable, featuring works by some~ the
Five students from the Conservatory will be performing Conservatory's former students who are noW "highly
tonight at the University Museum of Art. Igor Poltavtsev is a regarded as masters of their art.
CheerS! 'Dharma offerS '90s Sam, Diane
By Sangeetha George
For the Daily
Kismet, fate, destiny or whatever you
call it, Dharma and Greg were meant to
be together. The
opening sequence
of the show proved -
this in great '70s m DI
period detail, by
showing both the
main characters V
fleetingly meeting
each other as children on the subway,
and looking deeply into each other's
eyes.
From the very first moments, the pre-
'E
cha
dictability of the formula is set in stone.
The daughter of hippie parents is
attracted to the son of upper middle-
class snobs: a rehash of the ancient but
reliable 'opposites
attract' theory.
V I E W~I Then cut to present
rma and Greg day, and the two
pass on the train,
ABC but he fails to do
dnesdays at 8:30 p.m. anything about it,
until she finds him,
and within 24 hours they are married.
The speed with which everything
took place in the two lead's lives illus-
trated the time constraint of the 30-
minute pilot.
As soon as Dharma and Greg meet
and hold hands, they are married in a
chapel, accompanied by baseball organ
music, (the primary reason why
Dharma goes to baseball games).
The show is predictable in that its
stereotypes are so clearly defined for
the viewers that there is no subtlety
the characterization of either 6f the twd
leads. Dharma, (Jenna Elfman), is a
kooky yoga instructor whose parents
wander around her apartment naked
while actively encouraging her sponta-
neous marriage.
On the other hand, GregThomas
Gibson), is a straight-laced, clean-cut,
somewhat anal, legal executive, with
snobby judgmental parents.
She likes to shout out namvnse-
baseball games and fly halfwa aciros
the country for some pie. Greg's likes
and dislikes are not even tilehtioed,
suffice to say that they aren't, the gme
as Dharma's.
Obviously, there is bound to _Be qpo-
sition from one or both sets Tor parents
when their own personal ideals a affect-
ed, as seen in the very first episede.
The characters, in fact, could reind
viewers of Sam and Diane on "heers"
Although this premise may seem tiied
there is a certain chemistry between
Elfman and Gibson that coud-ift-the
show beyond its basic idea. As-tte char-
acters have now been establistvd,:per-
haps there will be space for ttrate iitri-
cate issues to be developed agthe cou-
ple begins to face reality.
Mt