The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Friday, December 7, 2007 -'5 Youssou N'Dour, musical and socio-political touchstone, will perform Saturday at 8 p.m. at Hill Auditorium. Seriously vibrant, engaging * Afro-pop comes to Hill Auditorium By GABRIEL BAKER Daily Arts Writer In terms of bringing world- renown musicians and perform- ers toAnnArbor, it seems as if Youssou the University Musical Soci- N'DOur ety doesn't have Tomorrow a ceiling. This year has already at8p.m. witnessed At Hill incredible per- Auditorium formances $l0-$4g from Caetano Veloso and Yo- Yo Ma among many others, but perhaps none of the artists from this current season have had the same musical and socio-political impact as Youssou N'Dour. Hailing from Dakar, Senegal, N'Dour has steadily garnered iconic acclaim over the past 25 years, establishing himself as the unofficial ambassador of African roots music. It seems unfathom- able to designate an entire conti- nent around one musician, and in many ways it is, but if there's any- one at all qualified for that title, it's N'Dour. His music is a smooth blend of Senegalese pop with griot percus- sion flairs, occasionally drifting in and out of Afro-Cuban/Carib- bean territories. Mbalax, as it is known in Wolof, is more than just the eclectic music popularized by N'Dour. It reflects the rhythms and movements incorporated in the dance music. After all, you're supposed to dance to this. But what stands out most in the music is N'Dour's-piercing, emo- tive voice. Honestly, you don't need me to tell you. Critics every- where can't stop raving about how charismatic and transcen- dental it is. Whether in Wolof or English, he's capable of evoking global issues and cross-cultural differences in an engaging and immediate way. Just to note some of N'Dour's many politically conscious endeavors, he's an ambassador to UNICEF, the United Nations and the InternationalBureau of Work. Even if he's not officially entitled to African roots music's ambas- sadorship, three out of four's not bad. He has also organized con- certs under certain political and social themes, such as his 1985 concert for the liberation of Nel- son Mandela. N'Dour in fact performed in Ann Arbor just two years ago in support of his acclaimed album Egypt. But this year's perfor- mance is sure to be a completely different experience. N'Dour will be accompanied by the Super dtoile band, the ensemble he helped create and cultivate over the past 25 years. When he formed the original Star Band in the 1970s, its rather traditional music - incorporating roots dance rhythms, religious- like chants and spacious guitar patterns - was defiantly differ- ent from West African popular COURTE SY O F YOUSSOO N'DOUR music. At the time, Western soul and funk music was infiltrating most corners of the Bulge,,replac- ing traditional instruments (and languages for that matter) with James Brown mannerisms and Hendrix-esque guitar solos. This is not to say Youssou N'Dour and the Super Etoile don't incorpo- rate some of these funk elements in their music. Saturday's concert is sure to have several rising num- bers. It seems almost redundant to say this with UMS performances, but Youssou N'Dour's concert is an incredibly special occasion that should not be missed. It's as simple as choosing your desired reason for attending - to see an artist that has had a profound effect on African music and poli- ties, to sit in Hill Auditorium's luxurious and cozy seats (except for front row Mezzanine, where afterward your knees are going to be in a bit of pain) or simply to see one of the most important musi- cians of our time playing some seriously vibrant, engaging Afro- pop. I Anew genre in the 'dansical' By NORA FELHUSEN: DaiyArts Writer What do you 'call a play with dAncing, music and a little bit of singing? How about an experi- mental, organic. anid collabora- tive experience A GoodSoy for students' in the University's School of Musi- tomorrow cal Theater? at8 p. That's how those Sunday at. involved in this 2p-m. weekend's studio' Atthe Arthur production of "A 'Mller Theatre Good Boy" view its new piece. 9w/student As a studio .{16 production in the School of Musical Theater, "A Good Boy" is directed by faculty and cast with students in the school. Studio productions stand in contrast with University Productions like "J.B."runningthis weekend, which have significant fiancial backing by the school. Dubbeds-a "dansical" by students in the program, "A Good Boy" is deeply rooted in the Univer- sity. Written by University ahm Brian Spitulnik, directed by Linda Goodrich; associate professor of dance asd with musical composi- tion by Unisiversity kaun Sam Davis, the show debuts this teekend at the Arthur Miller Theatre on North Campus. "Dancical"maynotbe the appro- priate term f6r "A Good Boy," but as unprecedented as the piece is, students inevitably had to call it something. At mossft Amos Wolff, a Musical Theater senior, cast mem- ber and associate choreographer, put its "There is no 'Good-Boy' else- where." .. The show introduces a new style into musical theater. Traditional musicals usually present the feel- ings and thoiughts of characters: through song, but "A Good Boy" does this through dance. The story is about a 6-year-old named Scott and his family. Goodrich expressed initial fear of the show being too "esoteric" but has been pleasantly; surprised with its accessibility. She said audiences will "feel for the' characters" before the story ven- tures into the abstract. The music, composed by University alum Sam Davis, contains a specific motif for each character. All four sain characters are dancers --an unusual phenomenon in musical theater. Goodrich said the distinct training of everyone in the cast amplifies this anomaly. While one leid has a background in modern music, another has an athletic style and others are trained in the more traditional musical- theater style. Goodrich is also the choreographer, and her dance cre- ations are extremely collaborative. Before choreographing anything, she created a basic vocabulary by having the cast improvise while she picks out poignant phrases and movements. The work is based on a Hop- wqod-winning short story written by Spitulnik'in 2005. He adapted it into a play after a year or two of encouragement from Goodrich. Both creators are dancers and they saw the potential to try some- thing new with the story. Producer Randy Adams, founder of Juikyard Dog Productions, has taken on the production to foster both a new art- ist, Spitulnik, and a possible new genre. Prior to this weekend, "A Good Boy" has never had an audi- ence of more than a fe' friends for a reading in NewYork. "There's never been a dull moment. It's always complex and difficult but very rewarding," Wolff A musical, but with more dance than song. said, referring to the rehearsals and overall experience. Darren Biggart, a Musical The- ater senior and cast member, called it an "actor's dream," citing the cast's flexibility to shape their char- acters. To get into theiryeles, Big- gart - who plays a 6-year-old -did some insider research by trick-or- treating with the other cast mem- bers who play hisfamily. "A Good Boy" is very much a work injprogress. Biggart predicted Sunday's show might be notice- ably different from tomorrow's premiere. Last week, Spitulnik cut a page-long monologue down to three lines. What better place to debut such an experimental piece than in a school that offersthe opti- mism and malleability of youthful artists? Even the eager and excited participants don't know what to expect from a show that offers an innovative take on several tradi- tional forms. "We didn't set out to create a newgenre," Spitulnik said. But that seems to be exactly what they did. God the Devil and everything else By MARKEN GREENWOOD For the Daily This weekend at the Power Center, God and the Devil will fight an epic battle of wit and will. They will test human faith and endur- ance. They will drag one J.B. man from the zenith Tonight and of success to the pit of tomorrowat 8 destruction and back p.m., Sunday again. at 2p.m. And all this takes place within a traveling cir- At the Power cus populated by student Center actors and, believe it or $9-$24 not, football stars. The Department of Theater and Drama presents Pulitzer Prize-winning play "J.B.," a sweeping tale of morality and humanity based on the Book of Job. That's right, the biblical story of a virtuous man put to the test by com- bined efforts of a punishing God and Satan who tortures the believer with all manners of misfortune. The third Theatre Department produc- tion of the semester, "J.B." is faculty-direct- ed and student-performed. Music, Theater and Dance junior Dylan Saunders plays Job with seniors Pat Rourke as God and Alex Polcyn as Lucifer. However, in modernist Chad Henne and Jake Long as you've never seen them. ' poet Archibald MacLeish's world, God is Mr. Zuss, the Devil is Mr. Nickles, and Job is J.B. - all members of an ensemble of cir- cus performers. See J.B., Page 8 "Watch your mouthl' Matt Santos, singer-songwriter of the digital age, comes to AA By CAITLIN COWAN DailyArts Writer Singer-songwriter Matthew Santos is one of a growing number of young, talented, male singer-songwriters showcasing his music in what has become a newly standardized Matt Santos manner: by way ofiTunes, through MySpace, by Tonight at word of mouth and on 9 p.m. independent labels. He's a child of the digital age, At the Michigan and that isn't such a bad Union Ballroom thing. Free "It's a special experi- ence finding someone like Ray LaMontagne through word of mouth or through a friend," Santos said. "Times are definitely changing, and it's changed the music industry in ways that I think are great, but in some ways that are not." Santos,whowillperformtonight at9 p.m. in the Michigan Union Ballroom, released his first solo album, Matters of the Bitter- sweet, on CandyRat Records last month. His EP, As a Crow Flies, is now available on iTunes. Unfortunately, the song-by-song downloading habits of the masses do have their pitfalls. "The album is an experience," Santos said. "If you just take certain parts of an album, it's like just having an appetizer or some French fries. You've got to get the whole package if you really want to support an artist or get into what he's doing." Global exposure through the Internet and television has also given Santos a larger view of his audience. "I think it's great because anyone in the world can listen to your music. You don't have to be in the same place or the same area code," Santos said. "You could be in Nova Scotia and people from Glasgow can listen to your music. There are no borders or boundaries. Your ideal audience could be in the U.K. And it's good to test the waters. We've gotten an amazing response from people." For those searching for the whole pack- age in the form of a guitar-strumming rising star, Santos's free show tonight should help. He will also hold signing at the Motivation Boutique on South University Avenue before the show from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. With influences as diverse as Martin Sex- ton, Bjork, Jeff Buckley and Tamil violinist Lakshminarayanan Subramaniam, Santos culls from a mixed bag of talented vocal- ists and instrumentalists, and it shows. His voice can be husky like LaMontagne or sugary and soft like Patrick Watson. His intensely personal songs aren't the melan- cholic musings one comes to expect from these turbulent times, either His take is refreshingly proactive and opeimiptic. "I'm trying to write songs that aren't complaining or whining. I never feel like a victim, so I never write from the 'victim' standpoint, saying'Oh, she broke my heart,'. or 'Oh, she's the worst,' "'Santos said. It's.not about that. It's really about taking responsi-' bility for your actions and your choices and living with that choice." The past year has been quite a whirl- wind for Santos, He performed at the mtvU Woodie Awards and recorded a track with Lupe Fiasco for his lauded Food t Liquor album. Santos will also appear on three" songs on Fiasco's upconingalbum The Coal.. The duo is also set to perform "Superstar" on "Late Night with David Letterman" on Dec.19. "Lupe and I are actually long-lost broth- ers, and we finally found each other again in the Attic Studios through a mutual friend of ours,"'he said. Santos said his medium is linked not to current state of culture, but rather to the human condition as it stands. "There's a certain timeless aspect to (singer-songwriters). It's not a product of the times," Santos said. "I think people are gravitating toward what's real. You listen to some of James Taylor's stuff, and it's still banging today." So after his signing, head on over to his free show at themUnion - Santos has all the markings of a musician you can say that you saw way back when.