2006-11 Vital Source Mag – November 2006
Memory House
By Russ Bickerstaff There are only two people in the cast: mother and daughter. Mother and daughter have an extended dialogue. The mother is baking a pie. The daughter is working on an essay for a college application. The play carries along for just over an hour. There is no intermission. This probably doesn’t sound all that engaging. It is. Renaissance Theaterworks proves that something as simple as a conversation between two people can be solidly entertaining theatre with its production of Kathleen Tolan’s contemporary drama Memory House. The stage is set as a modest apartment. There’s just enough evidence of life to suggest a cozy domestic space, pictures and books adorn a small bookcase in the living room. Cristina Panfilio rests on a couch in front of a laptop. She’s playing Katia, a girl on the verge of adulthood trying to figure out who she is before she leaves home for college. Linda Stephens plays her mother Maggie, a clever, educated woman on the verge of being the sole parent in an empty nest. She’s divorced. Her daughter feels as though she isn’t living up to her potential. She’s afraid that when she goes off to college, her mother will become completely withdrawn from the world. The essay that Katia is writing brings up questions she has about her past. Her mother and father adopted her from Russia when she was a very small child. She’s recently been thinking about the country she was born in and her birth mother. Her mother tries her best to answer Katia’s questions but the answers aren’t easy. As the two talk, Maggie is making a blueberry pie from scratch. Performing from what appears to be a very lived-in set, Panfilio and Stephens develop a very authentic chemistry. Panfilio puts in a sympathetic performance as Katia. While Tolan’s dialogue is very intricate the role could’ve easily been read as a somewhat whiny teenager. However, Panfillo’s performance is very insightful. She never exaggerates the mannerisms of youth. Likewise, Stephens puts in a textured performance as Maggie. The role could’ve easily read as a 2-dimensionally wise old woman in many places throughout the dialogue. Stephens plays many angles of an aging divorcee who just might be settling for less than what she deserves professionally. Music choices are particularly clever in this production and flesh out the characters in an interesting way. In conversation, Katia holds a great deal of respect for her father, the college professor, but whenever he calls her cell phone the ring-tone that we hear is Green Day’s “American Idiot.” Every time he calls, we hear the rhythmic pop punk refrain, “don’t want to be an American Idiot.” Quite a few layers of meaning could be inferred from the character’s choice in ring-tone. Clever. Over the course of the play, Stephens is, in fact, baking a blueberry pie. The oven in the kitchen onstage appears to be a working oven. As Katia continues to put off work on her essay, her mother […]
Nov 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
Lloyd Cole
By Blaine Schultz Lloyd Cole and the Commotions’ 1984 debut album, Rattlesnakes, garnered a good amount of airplay (both on college radio and MTV) and press. In the years that followed, this competent record would be lionized as a masterpiece. In hindsight, the dude had a ways to go. Twenty-plus years and a dozen albums find Cole releasing another sophisticated pop album. Or mature pop album. Or literate pop album. Let’s just say that, lyrically, Cole comes across as pretty sincere… verging on humorless. He is content to merely litter the landscape – dropping hip, young urban references whenever he gets the chance. His jumbles of words come off like a blatant attempt to impress the listener. Covering Moby Grape’s “I Am Not Willing,” he sings of a romantic breakup: “I’m so grateful, no longer willing to have a home,” relieved that she gave him a reason to split. The very next song, “Slip Away,” offers this: “I propose an exit strategy… to slip into the ether where I belong.” Maybe only a true artist can blur the lines between woe-is-me and self-satisfied sneer. Maybe Lloyd Cole is that artist… Maybe. But a typical album is a good year’s hard work, so let’s not pitch this disc into the landfill just yet. Musically and sonically, the album is brilliant. The stylish arrangements build on Cole’s modern folk tunes, adding brushed drums here, textured keyboards there and even a richly impressive string section on a few tracks. Rhythms lean toward bossa nova, while subtle loops and delayed guitar riffs add to the palette. If you can get beyond the lyrics, Antidepressant would be perfect listening in a Starbucks or Barnes & Noble.
Nov 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
Halloween Guide October 2006
By It’s that time of year again, when the air starts to sharpen, the leaves start to turn and everyone, if only for a night, gets to act like a child. Halloween is, indeed, a magical time of year. A palpable sense of folly and frivolity permeates the city as costumed kids fill the streets, cobwebs and cardboard skeletons drape houses and adults sneak candy from their children’s baskets whenever their little Supermen or Princesses aren’t looking. And despite (or perhaps because of) its pagan origins, Halloween is a unique and wholesome celebration. From haunted hayrides to haunted caves, Wisconsin is awash in paranormal activity this season. For details on the following events plus a complete listing of Halloween activities in Wisconsin, check out www.hauntedwisconsin.com. All Hallow’s Eve: A Beggar’s Night October 28 Old World Wisconsin S103 W37890 Hwy 67, Eagle 262-594-6300 Bear Den Haunted Woods October 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28 6831 Big Bend Rd. (Hwy.164), Waterford 262-895-6430 Bloody City Haunted House & Burial Chamber Haunted House October 6-7, 13-15, 19-22, 26-30 500 N. Lake St., Neenah 920-727-4669 Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” October 20-22 Old World Wisconsin, S103 W37890 Hwy 67, Eagle 262-594-6305 Charlie House Halloween Happenings October 27 & 28 The Charlie House/Studio 5545 N. 40th St., Milwaukee 414-536-9924 Creepy Cornfield Adventure at Meadowbrook Farm October 1-30 2950 Mile View Rd., West Bend 262-338-3649 Dominion of Terror October 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 26-31 2024 North 15th St., Sheboygan www.dominionofterror.com Fright Hike October 27 & 28 Lapham Peak State Park W329 N849 Highway, Delafield 262-364-7773 Halloween Candlelight Cave Tours October 20-21 Ledge View Nature Center W2348 Short Rd., Chilton 920-849-7094 Halloween Nature Hikes October 20-21 Kettle Moraine State Forest N1765 Hwy G, Campbellsport 920-533-8322 Haunted Cornfield at Meadowbrook Pumpkin Farm October 1, 5-8, 12-15, 19-22, 26-29 Meadowbrook Pumpkin Farm 2970 Mile View Rd., West Bend 262-338-3649 Haunted Tours of Burlington October 1, 6-8, 13-15, 19-22, 27-29; November 3-5, 10-12, 17-19, 24-26 UFO and Paranormal Center 549 N. Pine St., Burlington 262-767-2864 Mars Haunted House October 6-7, 13-15, 19-22, 26-30 734 W. Historic Mitchell St. 414-384-7491 Morgan Manor October 1, 6-8, 13-15, 19-22, 26-31 Waukesha Expo Grounds 1000 Northview Rd., Waukesha 262-547-6808 Pumpkin Walk October 24 Brillion Nature Center W1135 Deerview Rd., Brillion 920-756-3591 Rosebud Cinema Drafthouse Midnight Movies October 13-14 (The Shining) October 20-21 (The Exorcist) 6823 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa 414-607-9672 Salem’s Plot Haunted House October 6-8, 13-15, 20-22, 27-29 Don Happ’s Pumpkin Patch, 24121 Wilmot Rd, Salem 262-862-6515 Splatter Haus October 6-8, 13-15, 20-22, 26-29, 31 W5806 County Rd. W, Cascade www.splatterhaus.com The Corn at Linden Farm October 6-7, 13-15, 20-22, 26-29 Lindners Pumpkin Farm 19075 W Cleveland Ave., New Berlin 262-549-5364 The Dark Side October 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28 N1255 Hoard Rd., Ixonia 920-273-0612 The House of Darkness October 1, 6-8, 13-15, 19-22, 26-31 Walworth County Fairgrounds 411 East Court St., Elkhorn 866-9-HAUNT Not-so-Scary Halloween October 26-29, noon to 4 p.m. Little Monster Bash October 27, 5:30 […]
Nov 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
Joanna Newsom
By Erin Wolf When one insists on being called a “harper” rather than a harpist and becomes peeved when told that one sounds “childlike” (“Bjork-ish,” too) even though the description is nail-on-the-head, it’s obvious one’s perception of oneself is a tad bit off-kilter. Some would call this stubborn, some would call it quirky; most would call it self-absorbed. This self-absorption, though, is just what makes Joanna Newsom’s music work. Her first two EPs and full-length album, The Milk-Eyed Mender, were studies of self-absorption, created from a world not known to anyone other than the 24-year-old herself, characterized by music and lyrics straight out of the writings of Homer and a “childlike” voice more like a infantile gnome with a bad cold piped in between harp pluckings. To write music that sounds centuries old, the writer must obviously not be spending too much time watching television. Going from the intriguing base that is her first album, Newsom’s latest, Ys, is a wash of strings and rich orchestral sounds, surrounding the ever-plucky “harper’s” own string manipulations and warbling. Ys was produced and mixed by Steve Albini (!) and Jim O’Rourke, and adding even more magical elements with string arrangements was Van Dyke Parks of Beach Boys fame. Blending lyrics that are pure poetry (“there is a rusty light on the pines tonight / sun pouring wine, lord, or marrow / down into the bones of the birches and the spires of the churches”) and music arranged in a manner that resembles an old school Disney score takes incredible patience and craft. It also takes incredible patience on the listener’s part, as most of the songs clock in between 7 and 17 minutes long. It is worth it to be patient with Ys, though. It is an album meant to be reflected upon, for it has definite stories to tell. There’s a slim to none chance that the five songs featured here will ever make it to Top 40 radio, but this is just exemplary of the diamond in the rough quality Ys possesses.
Nov 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
Anders Parker
By Frank Olson On his self-titled album, former Varnaline frontman Anders Parker displays a knack for capturing a lonely highway vibe not dissimilar to The Rolling Stones on their old country songs. Parker, though, is neither as engaging as Mick Jagger nor as good a songsmith as the Glimmer Twins, which, while not a criticism in itself, casts a long shadow for Parker to sidestep. The end result is a singer-songwriter album with dreary, light-grunge singing and forgettable songwriting. There are a few decent songs here, including the opening “Circle Same,” which uses a looping structure to give the standard going-nowhere lyrics more weight, and “False Positive,” which marries a tightly-coiled verse section to a George Harrison-esque chorus. But even these bright spots seem more the work of a good producer (Adam Lasus, who has worked with Clem Snide) and a good band (including former members of Uncle Tupelo and the Jayhawks) than of the spotlight talent. The album’s best moments are the ones that allow the band to stretch out and reshape the generally uninteresting songs. A dramatic electric guitar/steel pedal duet ends the otherwise dull “Dear Sara;” instrumental breaks change up the pace of “Airport Road;” thundering percussion underlines a sensitive pedal steel solo in “Under Wide Unbroken Skies.” But these moments are few, and most of Anders Parker is dominated by generic alt-country songs and lyrics that often literally sound like Hallmark cards.
Nov 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
Matthew Schroeder
By Blaine Schultz + Photo by Kate Engeriser Matthew Schroeder, guitarist and department chair at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, has traversed the entire spectrum of music, from guttural electric with local rock groups Pet Engine and The Barbeez to Signal, his recently released debut solo album of original acoustic finger-style compositions. On November 18, Schroeder will launch the Midwest Guitar Summit with longtime friends and collaborators Dan Schwartz and Ben Woolman at the WCM. Find tickets at www.matthewschroederonline.com. 1. With instrumental music, do you have certain images that come to mind for songs when you play them? Imagery is central. In composing it helps you stay the course, and in performing it takes you where you need to go emotionally to best play the piece. If you play well, you create art in the mind of the listener, and much like a good book, it’s a bit different for everyone. Many times someone will know just what the tune is about, and what’s best is when they add surprise details to the picture. 2. What makes for a good instrumental guitar tune? There are no particular elements that need to be present. I simply need to enjoy hearing and reacting to it. I do like tunes that incorporate something slightly off the beaten path in note choice or technique. A tune that succeeds in the imagery category is John Fahey’s “The Approaching of the Disco Void.” Recorded live in Tasmania, it will scare you! In the groove/melody area, Leo Kottke’s “Orange Room” is pure fun. 3. What drew you to this music? Coming from a rock background and looking for more, finger-style guitar was a means of expression outside of the traditional classical or jazz guitar idiom. Along the way I fell in love with the style. Many people keep searching for what they should be doing with their life. I feel I’ve found it. 4. What is the Midwest Guitar Summit? The Midwest Guitar Summit is a finger-style guitar concert featuring myself, Dan Schwartz and Ben Woolman. We all met in the early 90s while attending the cooperative guitar program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee/Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and received BFAs in American finger-style guitar performance. We enjoy each other’s music and friendship, and have stayed close over the years, so doing some shows together is a natural result. A typical MGS performance will consist of each player doing a short solo set, some duets, and culminate with all three guitarists onstage together, displaying their versatility by including other instruments such as lap steel, bass and electric guitar. 5. How do you define success as a musician? I currently teach and perform. When my students are learning, and I am moving people with music, that is success for me as a musician. VS
Nov 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
