Friday October 21, 2005 arts. michigandaily. com artspage@michigandaily.com c be A Iiti gun tiI RTS 5 ALEAMNUER UIMUUS/Uaiy Joan Baez performed politically charged folk songs at The Ark on Tuesday. Baez brings folk charm to A2's Ark By Caitlin Cowan Daily Arts Writer C Ann Arborites love art: The numerous galleries, half dozen musical venues, Uni- versity of Michigan Museum of Art and Joan Baez Ann Arbor Art Fair The Ark on campus and down- town all attest to that. It is this love of art in all its forms that makes Joan Baez a perfect match for the city's music-lovers. Baez's mastery of the art of folk music, together with her liberal politics and anti- Bush witticisms, won over a sold-out crowd at The Ark on Tuesday night. This comes as no surprise; Ann Arbor is often correctly labeled as a liberal haven. Baez, a lifelong political activist, continues to cling to her beliefs more than 30 years after Woodstock, and she pleased the crowd with her barbed jokes and huge smile. The one-time princess of folk made casual conversation with the audience throughout her show; her devoted fans in the audience blithely referred to her sim- ply as "Joan." Baez is ready for the day of reckoning. "I've been seeing this bumper sticker that I want to get my hands on," she confessed into her microphone. "It says, 'After the Rapture, can I have your stuff?' " In addition to lamentations about the treat- ment of Southerners caught in Hurricane Katrina, Baez also told a hillbilly joke that got more than a few laughs. It is precisely this kind of magical mix of art and scathing liberal politics that Puppet theater comes to campus By Jessica Koch Daily Arts Writer make Baez a perfect fit for Ann Arbor. Had Joni Mitchell, Baez's vocal and stylis- tic doppelganger, taken the stage, the reac- tion from the crowd would have differed. Whereas Mitchell is given to singing songs about personal trials and revelations, Baez, incorporates folk classics by other artists into her performances along with her own songs. Her set on Tuesday night included Johnny Cash's "Long Black Veil," Woody Guthrie's poignant "Deportees (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)" and Elvis Costello's "Scarlet Tide." The aging baby boomers that made up nearly all of Tuesday's crowd didn't want to hear too much about individual pain and suffering. They wanted music, art in its purest form. And Joan, the master painter of folk's musical landscape, gave them exactly what they wanted. Standing between two younger male instrumentalists and back-up singers, Baez looked the part of the dignified and revered grandmother of folk. Her voice lilted and soared amazingly from the sweet strain of the youthful girl she once was into a sonorous, resonant alto indica- tive of her age and wisdom. Familiar tunes such as The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," Bob Dylan's "Farwell Angelina" and a stunning a cappella version of the gospel staple "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" were interspersed with her humbling asides and hilarious commentaries. Without leaving the stage, Baez bowed before the encore, which she prefaced by stating a wry tru- ism very close to her heart: "For me, it was never about the money. It was always about the adulation." Courtesy of Warner Bros. "We're like Lisa Loeb if she grew up in a Texas burlesque house." BOU 'TIL YOU DROP EXPERIMENTAL-COUNTRY DwvTY BOPS OPEN FOR NICKEL CREEK By Kat Bawdon Daily Arts Writer SONCeiRT PREVIEW Since their self-titled album was released last year, The Ditty Bops, who are playing at the Pease Audi- torium in Ypsilanti this Sat- urday. Buzz about the band has grown, thanks to their fervent fanbase. Though it's hard to classify, their music is often considered "retro-swing" with its quick, playful melodies augmented1 The Ditty Bops Tomorrow at 8 p.m. Pease Auditorium at Eastern Michigan University by beautiful vocal har- themselves. "Oh, well, we don't really. (Our music has) been categorized many different ways. But the easiest way is just that it's Ditty Bops," Barrett explained. An ex-teen model, she received her first dulci- mer when she was three years old (her mother is a professional dulcimer player). The Bops' have also drawn influences from a well of other incon- gruous sources. "We're influenced by types of art and life expe- rience besides just bands that we've heard," Barrett explained. "Western swing and early jazz music is probably the closest to what we play. We like musi- cal theater, rock, classical music, all kinds of things. We're not exactly trying to do a certain style, just what works with the two of us - what sounds right." The band's live shows are noted for playful the- atrics, whimsical outfits and even puppet shows. "Before we started playing with the band, (Abby and I) thought, 'Wouldn't it be fun to have a show that was a combination of cabaret and dress up and music all together?' In L.A., we play with different friends of ours who are actors or puppeteers or clowns or jug- glers, and we see what we can come up with and keep it fun and interesting," Barrett said. After an extended tour with Tori Amos, The Bops are currently playing shows with neo-bluegrass pio- neers Nickel Creek. "We're really, really excited about it. It's been really fun, really great, enthusias- tic crowds. The Nickel Creek folks are always very generous and complimentary and welcoming to us," Barrett gushed. Currently, The Bops are working on a new album to be released in the spring of next year. They have plans to "keep writing things that are interesting to (us). And we hope to entertain people, of course, by keeping things interesting for us in our live shows and keeping the energy fresh. A part of the way we do this is by bringing in different influences, try- ing out different line-ups. We always have to revisit the way we approach the music," Barrett said. "We played a fashion show for the (fashion design) com- pany Petrozillia. While the girls were walking, we were playing their runway music. We also had one of our songs, 'Broken Dolls,' used in a puppeteer production. Hopefully, we'll find more weird ways to use music." monies, country Western-style twangy guitars and earthy percussion. At times they sound like the deli- cate tunes of a music box, at others they're romping and danceable. The California duo is Abby DeWald (vocals/guitar) and Amanda Barrett (vocals/mando- lin/dulcimer). Barrett and DeWald even have trouble classifying Michigan director Binder discusses screenwriting, film with 'U' students By Kristin MacDonald Daily Arts Writer This weekend the University Musi- cal Society will captivate audiences at the Power Cen- ter with three performances of Tall Horse, a the- atrical blend of puppets, dancers, music and more. "Tall Horse" is based on the real life events of one very influ- Tall Horse Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets $10-$40 At the Power Center ential giraffe. Taken from her home in Sudan, the giraffe was given as a gift to King Charles X of France from the Viceroy of Egypt in order to ensure an alliance between the two nations. Upon arriving in Mar- seilles, the French are enamored with the graceful creature; her pres- ence alone causes a national commo- tion for all things African. Audience members follow the giraffe and her handler, Atir, en route to Paris while they discover the chic culture of France together. Created through a collaboration of South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company and the Sologon Puppet Troupe of Mali, the production incor- porates two distinctly different styles of puppet theater, Handspring's con- temporary storytelling and sinuous puppets combined with the Sologon's Bambara puppetry of Mali. Handspring's master puppet Ap:a.. nnA -,-nkp A A.;i 1rl Writer-director-actor Mike Binder has had the oppor- tunity to wear many hats in his Hollywood career, but when pressed to choose his favorite, he answered without hesitation. "Writing," he said. "No question." Especially in a collaborative medium like film - "everything else is a compromise." Binder, who wrote, directed and starred in "The Upside of Anger," spoke Wednesday night to an audi- torium of screenwriting students at the MLB, offering several insights from his own career. He touched spe- cifically on the special difficulties screenwriters face. "If you're looking for respect," he said wearily, "don't become a screenwriter." Shaking his head, Binder men- tioned one middle-aged screenwriter who was forced to take notes from a studio head's eight-year-old son. Even the most admired scripts get the Hollywood treatment: "It's a great writer, it's a great script ... Who else can we bring on?" It was, in part, an unwillingness to make such con- cessions that led to Binder becoming a director - he wanted to protect what he wrote. His ability to make movies on a low budget allowed him the rare chance of getting behind the camera, and Binder has kept at it ever since. His talk followed a screening of his latest film, "Man About Town," which is slated for a February release. With a dapper yellow hat and relaxed style, Binder infor- mally took the stage to accept questions and critiques, acknowledging that, although he was already at work on another project and the film was largely complete, "I've never met a director who's done." One of the first issues addressed was the movie's style - someone pointed out, justly, that "Man About Town" swung rather wildly from family drama to almost slapstick comedy, freely mixing a wide assortment of genres. Binder nodded as if anticipating the critique. "Man About Town," he explained, was his opportunity to try a bunch of different things, to really play with film form and create a collage sort of movie. Binder was unapologetic about taking those risks. "In film," he said, "you have to swing for the fences." A question about casting moved the discussion's focus to "Man About Town" 's main star, the unfortu- nate Ben Affleck, still weathering a notoriously dead stretch of his career. Binder briefly addressed the prob- lem of reputation, noting America's particular eager- ness to brand an actor hot or cold - but spoke more authoritativelv on his own annroach to actors. Having Courtesy of UMS 'Tall Horse' comes alive in dance, music and puppetry tonight and Saturday. courtesy of Sunlight Binder spoke about his career at the MLB on Wednesday. acted himself, Binder compared casting to a painter selecting a color palette, as each actor brings their own shade to a project. As a writer particularly, Binder has great respect for the idiosyncrasies an actor can catch in a script - whether a character would say or do a certain thing. "Actors put that character on like a coat, and they'll tell me where it doesn't fit," Binder said. At the end of the day, Binder considers himself first and foremost a writer, comparing a good morning of writing to the satisfaction after a good workout. Though he writes four or more hours a day, Binder confessed that writing is basically a full-time job - in the shower, out on a run, or in the car, somehow he is always writ- ing. It's a craft of design. "The harder you work," he said, "the better you get." Binder's attitude about Hollywood is similarly upbeat. Despite "Man About Town" 's Hollywood-shark plot, Binder claims to have no negative statement to make about the industry. An admitted movie-making opti- mist, Binder preached patience and perseverance for Hollywood hopefuls, as well as a little bit of pushiness - especially for screenwriters. Even after he sold his first script, Binder still had to beg to get to be allowed on set. How'd he finally get on? He recalled it with a laugh: "I promised to be good." The Sogolon Puppet Troupe's figures are more traditional in appearance. Some forms of puppets are completely unique to the Bam- bara tradition: One is the Mailian castelet, which are antelope crea- tures made from flexible wood and covered in beautiful bright fabrics and grass skirts. They are dancing figures, given life by the perform- er inside. Another unique figure, the meren habitable, is, as Kohler exnlaint-.d"inhnhited nnnnets .. wasn't sure whether I was going to kill the people inside because they were strapped together. If one stum- bled and needed to correct, would that pull the other person down with them?" The giraffe's neck has an amazing range of motion; when Atir gives the command, it actually swings. "The movement of the neck was the next big hurdle because any head on the end of a two-meter neck becomes very heavy. So the person in the front has to he verv good at