8 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 17, 2000

ARTS

The Deep funk to
Blackout the Blind Pig,

:

Big Easy quintet
plays birds farewell

By Chris Kula
Daily Arts Editor
Should you stroll into the Blind
Pig on St. Patrick's Night, be fore-

warned: The funk
Deep Banana
Blackout
Blind Pig
Tonight at 9:30 p.m.
successful tours

sounds of Deep
Banana Black-
out will hit you
harder than a
drunken lep-
rechaun on a
green beer ben-
der.
DBB, a hard-
driving eight-
piece outfit
from Connecti-
cut, is currently
the hottest funk
band on the
East coast and,
after several
of the western

our strongest fan base, our real
headquarters," said bassist Benj
Lefevre. "But now we're getting out
more into other parts of the country,
and (this current trip) will be our
first time in Ohio, Indiana and
Michigan.
"Hey, how cold is it up there right
now?" LeFevre then asked with a
laugh. "We were just down south for
a couple of weeks, and it's been
kind of hard getting used to this
cold stuff again."
Regardless of the weather, clubs
and theater at DBB shows are con-
sistently overheated by the enthusi-
astic dancing of the band's steadily
growing fan base. In the five years
since its inception, DBB has wit-
nessed exponential leaps in popular-
ity, from a local club favorite in its
native Hartford to selling out
venues like New York's Irving Plaza
and San Francisco's Fillmore Audi-
torium.
Funk lovers the nation over have

>-8
v

By John Uhi
Daily Music Fditor
This Friday and Saturday the New
Orleans-based jazz quintet Astral Project
will play host to the final shows at The
Bird of Paradise's Ashley Street location.
The Bird, Ann Arbor's preeminent jazz
club, will be moving around the corner
to a basement Main Street site. So, if for
any reason you're nostalgic for the Bird's
current configuration, this your last
chance to revel.
I, for one, like the Bird as it is: tacky

--.'--
.nf r h j b n e e B n c r s f C' r-ag eme.n t
Funky fresh Jamband Deep Banana Blackout slides .to the Blind Pig tonight.

been drawn to DBB's blistering
brand of jam-oriented grooves, with
the band balancing horn-driven soul
songs (featuring the sultry sounds
of vixen vocalist Jen Durkin) and
outright guitar rockers with reggae-
style breakdowns and Latin
nuances. Admirers of DU3B also
include some musical luminaries.
"In the past year, we've jammed
onstage with guys like John Scofield,
Michael Ray, Fred Wesley and Clyde
Stubblefield," LeFevre said. "And
those guys are some of our heroes. At

this one festival, we played right after
Taj Malahai and right before P-Funk,
so that was a pretty nice slot."
As a hand that has played until
dawn on certain occasions, LeFevre
believes that the crowd's energy is
the ultimate key to a DBB show.
"Sometimes you Just lose track of
the time, sand then you look at your
watch and it's already four in the
morning," LcFevre. "But if the peo-
ple are still dancing and going
strong, we're kind of 'hell, let's just
keep Jamming,' you know?~

interior design that
Astral
Project
Bird of arais
Tonight and Tomorrow
at 9 and 11:30 pm.

states, is now making its first ven-
ture into the Midwest.
"The New York area is definitely

must be lingering
from at least the
'70s; a poor floor
plan that confines
a (relatively) large
number of tables
into an awkward
corner; horrible
lighting that leads
to a deluge of this
really weird dull
brownish yellow
color; I still have
no idea where the
bathrooms are, if
there even are
some (I'm pretty

melodies are often sickly sweet, espe-
cially when Tony Dagradi whips out his
soprano saxophone.
As some local New Orleans ordinance
must mandate, Astral Project is notrm
tent to stick to one style: they inco
rate bits of funk, mainstream jazz and
some of the international music flavors
that season the Crescent City. Yet the
element missing from the band's playing
should be evident to anyone who
remembers the last time the group was
in town: accompanying Bobby MeFerrin
last July for the Summer Festival. Ed
Enright wrote about the concert in
November's issue of "Down Beat,"
"McFerrin proceeds to play every b4
role imaginable, singing lyrics, scatt
horn lines ... loading up the van after the
gig, the members of Astral Project readi-
ly admit that it's Bobby's show."
What Astral Project lacks is a leading
voice. The melodies are often split
between saxophone and guitar, which is
becoming a popular instrumental team
for dentist office radio stations, and the
way Dagradi's breathy horn in particuI r
over-dramatizes them borders on ins
(I'll refrain from invoking names like
David Sanbourn and Kenny G - damn,
too late for that). Thus, due to the com-
mingling of its various influences, the
band members tend to simply mingle
amongst themselves without any true
sense of direction that a dominant musi-
cian might provide.
Of course, Astral Project still hails
from perhaps the country's most musi-
cally heterogeneous city and has comr
be regarded as New Orleans' primeJ,
act, garnering praise like venerated jazz
publication Down Beat description of
the band as "one of the most distinctive
and cohesive quintets in jazz of the
'90s."

The Daughter of
the Regiment
A spirited comic opera by
Gactano Donizetti
Sung in French with
English dialogue and supertitiles.
Directed by Ned Canty
Conducted by Martin Katz
March 16 -18 at 8 pm
March 19 at 2pm
Mendelssohn Theatre
x:
Tickets are $18 and $14
9ME=
Students are $7 with ID
f7 League Ticket Office
. 734-764-0450

1

YOUR OPINION COUNTS.
VOTE FOR THE BEST OF N ARBOR
ON LINE AT
WWW.MICHIGANtJY.COM.
RESULTS WILL BE PUBLISHED LATE IN
THE SEMESTER IN AN ISSUE OF
WEEKEND, ETC, MAGAZINE.

sure there are). The whole place exudes
this vaguely dirty aura of a secluded
niche the stumbling upon of which leads
to the surprise of some good music.
Hopefully when Astral Project takes
the stage they'll pick up on the club's
atmosphere, because, from the sound of
their latest recording "Voodoo Bop, the
band could use a little filth in its soul.
The album suggests that each member
of the ensemble, which consists of saxo-
phone, guitar, piano, bass and drums, is
capable of some fine blowing and that
they work well as a unit. But the tunes'

I How do you say"I Love You"

for the

first time, thirty years late?
1 1
S'lichot
(Forgiveness)
A new play by Kim Yaged about the ties
that bind when a family falls apart.
Mar.23 - 25, Mar. 30 -Apr. 1 at 8pm
Mar.26 & Apr. 2 at 2pm
Trueblood Theatre
Tickets are $14 * Students $7 with ID
League Ticket Office 734-764-0450

Local band makes
'good' at the Pig

By Andrew Eder
Daily Arts Writer.
"We're a break from the typical
Ann Arbor reggae band," said Frank
Muscat about his band, Levagood -
and their music backs up his words.

- liIC..h001of Music
[it Opcra Theatrc

Levagood
Blind Pig
Tomorrow at 9:30 p.m.

The local band's
blend of hard-
core punk and
indie-rock eclec-
ticism is a burst
of energy in a
laid-back music
scene. Levagood
storms into the
Blind Pig Satur-
day night on the
heels of their
independently-
released first
album.
At the heart

"ghetto," the demo strengthened the
duo's desire to form a band.
As a result, they searched for
musicians to fill out their sound.
After shopping around for a drum-
mer, they found Rob MacKenzie,
whose rock-solid beats and rapid-
fire fills provide a firm anchor -
Levagood's songs. In Decembe _ J
last year, they recruited guitarist
Storm Ross for the final piece of
the puzzle. They played a few
shows as The Habs before changing
their name to Levagood. The name
comes from a park in Dearborn.
The band recorded their debut,
"Never Trust the Experts," over a
frenzied three day recording session
in Ann Arbor's own 40 Oz. Studi*
The result is dynamic indie-rock
marked by a propulsive rhythm sec-
tion, dueling, distortion-laden gui-
tars and Marko's anguished,
high-strung vocals. Muscat cites
indie legends like Sugar, Frank
Black and Fugazi as influences on
the band's sound.
As for their live shows, Muscat
calls them "energetic and crazy.
Everyone really gets into their perfor-
mance on stage."

I

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN4
SCHOOL OF Music
OPERA THEATRE:
The Daughter of the Regiment, by Gaetano Donizetti
Thursday-Sunday, March 16-19
Mendelssohn Theatre, Michigan League
Discovered as a child on the battlefield, Marie is adopted by the regiment
who become her parents. All goes well for seventeen years until she falls in
love with a member of the regiment, and her reai parentage is identified.
An enthralling comic gem sung in French with English dialogue and super-
titles. For further info. & tickets, call the League Ticket Ofc. at 764-0450.
JAZZ COMBOS
Thursday, March 16, 8:00 PM
Rackham Auditorium
FACULTY RECITAL: Ellwood Derr, composer
Sunday, March 19, 8:00 PM
Britton Recital Hall
(Works for Saxophones and Voices) Donal [,saxophone; Elizabeth
Major, soprano; Logan Skelton, piano.
MICHIGAN CHAMBER PL ERS
Wednesday, March 22, 8:00 PM
Rackham Auditorium
Edward Parmentier, Amy Porter, Anthony Elliot izhak Schotten, Cathrin
Lynn, Stuart Sankey, Andrew Jennings,:PaulKantor, Stephen Lusmann,
Nicholas Phan, Elizabeth Major perforn'ti t w s by Bach
(Commemorating the 250th anniversary ts death). Selected arias, Suite
No. 2 in B-minor, Coffee Cantata WV
SALLY FLEMING MASTERCLASS SERIES:

UM School of Music Department ofTheatre and Drama j
NQI
NEW ORLEANS PREMIERE J Z ENSEMBLE
FRISAT MARCH 17118 " BIRD OF PARADISE " DOORS 8:30111

of Levagood is vocalist and guitarist
Nick Marko and bassist Muscat,
who have been friends since ele-
mentary school. After a lifetime of
jamming in basements, the duo
recorded a three song demo last
year at a studio in Detroit. Although
Muscat describes the experience as


STLA@ IR FPRDOSWEL RUDURT
MAR 31 & APRIL 1 " BIRD OF PARADISE " DOORS 8:30111

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AF Abw fts


Don Greene, sporty vhol!ist


NEW YORK CITY GROOVE SPECIALISTS
WEDNESDAY APRIL 5 " BLIND PIG - DOORS 9:30

Vote fo B t Of nn Ar.or Online
www.michigandai lycom
lotswill b oni e ONLY from:
44 March 10 - March 26
f 1f F F
I1j ! Y s " .

Thursday, March 23, d AM .
Britton Recital Hall
Opening Lecture-Don Geene,P Is n Oypic Sports Psychologist
and wrote the book "Aution Success" on how peorming artists can use
his techniques to win at;audition Discver th same winning strategies
used by Olympic champ tns. Hf| techn ues ar a revolutionary approach
to the audition process.
FACULTY/GUEST R M:TAL:Ft Kaenzig, tuba;
Mark Fisher, euphonium & trombone;
Jim Wilhelmsen, piano
Thursday, March 23, 8$,Q M
Britton Recital Hall
Mark Fisher, principal trorbngtn the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and Lyric
Opera of Chicago Orchestta.ncust1 I for Solo Tuba, Kraft; 3
Miniatures for Tuba and Piano, Afthony Plog; Sonata, Eric Ewazen;
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