2008-04 Vital Source Mag – April 2008
Mass Appeal
Between heaven and hell, if either exists, is a present life that human beings struggle through, desperate to survive the circumstances that confront them. Saving a person from hell by faith, the conventions of the authentic church and the representations of those beliefs, including the priesthood, become controversial dialogue in the current production Mass Appeal by In Tandem Theatre. Amid the stained glass windows, both real and on stage in the Tenth Street Theatre, Bill C. Davis’s 1980 award-winning play corners two Catholic priests, Father Farley and Deacon Dolson, from different generations as one tries to save the other from themselves and the authority of the Catholic Church. Youth rebels against the status quo, while age asks only for acceptance, to be loved at all costs, even if one’s profession and principles are sacrificed. Michael Duncan plays Father Tim Farley, an older priest settled contentedly in a wealthy diocese that fosters a non-confrontational approach towards religion, specifically Catholicism. Enter Michael Perez as Mark Dolson, the young seminarian just ordained as a deacon, the last step before becoming a full-fledged priest. After three years of indulgent living amidst startling sexual mores, Dolson ultimately seeks celibacy and reform through the priesthood – but only on his own unconventional terms, which are contrary to the reigning authority. Father Farley enjoys this enthusiasm while attempting to restrain it, although the headstrong Dolson resists. Their conversations spill into contemporary issues facing the Catholic priesthood and the church – homosexuality, women in the church, materialism, complacency and faith. As these priests try to change one another, Farley and Dolson reveal their own personal secrets, underscoring the notion that each individual creates his own heaven or hell on earth determined by the place faith holds in their life. As Father Farley reasons, “If there is such a thing as hell – there are hints of it here on this earth.” Both Duncan and Perez inhabit these holy vestments with vitality, but there is an emotional vulnerability between the two men as actors, and characters, which could be realized more completely. The Tenth Street theatre is a fine venue to contemplate these weighty issues; the high ceilings and arched doors are appropriate to this particular production, and the stage is dressed with rich oriental rugs and an ornate desk befitting a priest of Farley’s stature. Indeed, the audience feels as attentive and captivated as though the sermons were real. The surprises inherent in Mass Appeal resonate in today’s culture, even if “faith” in organized religion is dissipating; the church relates to other organized institutions in society, including the business environment. We confront Father Farley and Deacon Dolson not just as priests, but simply as people coping with life’s difficult choices. What can someone, anyone, Catholic or atheist, believe and trust in? And if the people we respect in society betray us, even priests, then questions concerning the existence of not only God, but also love and faith among each other, make it difficult to remove the grace of […]
Apr 2nd, 2008 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
The Felice Brothers
Recalling early Dylan and Woody Guthrie is certainly laudable; vacuously mimicking them, however, isn’t. On their self-titled debut release for Team Love Records, the Felice Brothers craft laid-back, charcoal-mellowed drinking chanteys that recall the earthy backwoods Americana of Dylan and Guthrie, right down to the nasal whine of the vocalist. Unfortunately, instead of bringing a new take to the genre, they prefer to coast on what came before them, choosing to supplement their sleepy delivery with equally lazy songwriting. The blueprint is followed so closely that it begs the question: why bother writing songs? Why not just become a Dylan cover band? At least then the material would be stronger. All the elements that bring the over-50 NPR set and the under-30 last-week-I-was-listening-to-metalcore-but-now-I’m-dating-a-Decemberists-fan crew together in charming “historic” table-seating venues are here: midtempo sentimentality, premature world-weariness, and plenty of those “unconventional” instruments (banjo, accordion, horns, Wurlitzer organ) that are losing their novelty faster than the 2003 post-punk revival (hey, remember The Rapture? Whatever happened to them, anyway?). No doubt, this stuff is big business right now, and the Felice Brothers are likely to blow up bigger than their Haystacks Calhoun-esque accordionist (a recent high-profile opening slot with the Drive-By Truckers was an obvious win). But instead of expertly painting with the varied palate of their heroes, the Brothers swirl and mix their colors until they emerge a homogenized, taupish brown—all earth tones and no variety. In today’s musical climate, it’s easy to imagine the Felice Brothers with huge bags of cash being thrown at them, like Ron Howard at the end of that episode of the Simpsons where he steals Homer’s movie pitch. Like Ron, the Felice Brothers are capitalizing on someone else’s ideas. Who knows what’ll happen once they run out?
Apr 1st, 2008 by DJ Hostettler
The Gutter Twins
Saturnalia arrives amidst some very high anticipation. The stellar careers of Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan, each spanning decades, evoke lofty expectations. They certainly need no historical introduction. All 12 songs on this CD are incredible. Taken as a whole, the aesthetic – from songwriting to production to track listing to artwork – is exceptionally crafted, with a cohesiveness that shows the true strength of this pairing. Individually, every single track connects to and transports the listener. What makes this more remarkable is the depth of subject matter and the emotional mining that must’ve gone on during writing. Both voices not only weave with one another effortlessly, but both actually carry the weight of the dark lyrics and melodies. Within these dozen songs, rock, blues, soul, folk and spiritualism are stripped to the core: naked, confused, perhaps weary, searching for warmth and shelter, utterly vulnerable. “Stations” starts things off with immediate mood, while “All Misery/Flowers” is outstanding with Dulli’s drumming providing ample groove. “Who Will Lead Us?” is Lanegan’s search for the here & now as well as the eternal. The last track, “Front St.,” doesn’t tie everything together, but it does leave you with the understanding of exactly what muse inspired these two artists. Simply stated: lay down your ego and let the songs possess you.
Apr 1st, 2008 by Troy Butero
400 years in a convent, three nights at Rooters
When our charming local presses take an occasional breather from their weekly “Where to Get the Best Brunch in Milwaukee!” pieces, they sometimes find it in themselves to sit down and interview local musicians (The Red Dot has a fantastic brunch, by the way). Asked their opinion of the Milwaukee Music Scene, the artists in question will almost always start ranting about cover bands, claiming this nefarious breed of entertainment diverts attention away from local, original music. While certainly not without merit, I’ve always found this assessment to be a bit hollow; after all, barring Summerfest and the occasional soul-crushing wedding, when was the last time any of us have actually seen a cover band? In the interest of getting to the bottom of this supposed dilemma, I recently decided to do what many have previously deemed impossible: willfully subject myself to three nights’ worth of questionable cover bands. Skimming through the local weeklies (past the “Who’s the Hottest George Webb Waitress?” articles), I found three intriguing groups to, um, cover: a bunch of dudes calling themselves Doc Hammer, a bunch of other dudes (and one girl) named 76 Juliet, and a Def Leppard tribute band called Photograph. All would be playing separate nights at Rooters, a veritable Mecca for bands with thinning hair and monthly mortgage payments. As the first evening approached, I found myself strangely excited: would I actually enjoy this excursion to the other side? Would I come away with a newfound appreciation for local, original music? Would I be able to sucker anyone into accompanying me? Would I be treated to at least one scorching-hot cover of “I Can’t Drive 55”? (Answers: sort of; yes; yes; sadly, no.) NIGHT #1 – DOC HAMMER Representative Song: Pat Travers, “Snortin’ Whiskey, Drinkin’ Cocaine” “It’s all about getting’ wasted on a Friday night! YEEEAAAHHH!!!” So proclaims the lead singer of Doc Hammer immediately after downing a shot and flipping the emptied glass through the air like a coin. To call Rooters anything less than Ground Zero for this sort of weekend-warrior debauchery would be an insult: it’s big (a second-story balcony surrounds an already large dance floor), it’s loud (even the volume behind the stage is ear-splitting), and it’s attached to a bowling alley. It’s also in the middle of bumble-fuck Waukesha, and a total pain in the ass to find. Accompanied by two courageous friends (Vital’s own Jon Anne Willow and Amy Elliott), I quickly come to the conclusion that Doc Hammer is actually pretty fucking excellent (their take on The Police’s “Roxanne” kicks particular ass), and represents everything a cover band should be: big, ballsy, and polished to a shine. The lead singer looks like a shorter, stockier Brett Favre, and the drummer seems to be an amalgamation of every member of Motley Crue. What’s the appeal? Well, getting wasted on a Friday night, that’s what, along with going out to see some live music and knowing every single word. Following a blistering yet needlessly extended rendition […]
Apr 1st, 2008 by Matt Wild
Stükenberg
It’s to be expected that someone adept in the art of moving from city to city as a kid should not only need to look to music as an escape hatch, but in turn, to have that music be as far-flung as his own hometown track record. David Stükenberg, the kid with suitcase always in hand (he was the veritable “son a preacher man”), finally landed in southeastern Wisconsin after hanging out in the South for many years, getting schooled in a wide range of subjects and what one might loosely term as “diversity studies.” It translates nicely into his music. Mountain of Pieces, Stükenberg’s full-length debut, sounds like something many musicians hatch after many, many more years. It’s no doubt that Stükenberg’s life-schooled, gospel-tinged pop is an after-effect from his upbringing. Vocals are the centerpiece of the music – equal parts jazz and soul, Stükenberg’s boyishly pleasing voice adding a winning element to the between soft soul revival and bouncy piano pop. Rhodes piano, harmonica, cellos, banjos, toy pianos, trumpets and guitars populate the songs backed by solid gospel choir vocals, creating a jaunty effect. Mountain of Pieces comes off as a Spoon-ish-sounding work, minus the smarminess, turning more into folk and soft soul revival tendencies. Remember the Milwaukee rock band Hudson? There are elements of their style of funk here, too. The best songs on Mountain of Pieces make use of the energetic youthfulness Stükenberg, at 21, naturally falls into encapsulating, such as his solid opener “Don’t Mind” with it’s crunchy organ lines and horns. The relaxed percussive soulfulness of “Hypothesis” is a sonic study of a sunny afternoon, but nicely clouds over with acid lyrics. Only slight tendencies to become too dear in some spots cause Mountain of Pieces to falter, letting the acoustic, singer-songwriter moments drag down an otherwise buoyant album.
Apr 1st, 2008 by Erin Wolf
Chomp!
A friend of mine is a stay-at-home mom to a four-year-old and a two-year-old. Her days are full of the minute-to-minute care of little ones, the way mine was just a few years ago. Most mornings, we enjoy 15 minutes on the phone while I drive to school and she makes breakfast for the kids. If you’ve ever had a conversation with someone in her position, you know that there are frequent interruptions. Usually, it’s a minor thing. The four-year-old asks for a drink of water or the two-year-old gets a bonk on the head. The other day, though, I heard through the phone an unmistakable high-pitched shriek from the four-year-old. That particular sound can only mean one thing: the child has been bitten. I’ve never heard of a toddler who hasn’t bitten someone at least a few times, and I can’t think of a single parent who doesn’t react strongly to biting. It’s a hot button for adults. When your child gets bitten, you want to take down the biter! And when your child has sunk her pearly whites into another, it’s even worse. Because biting seems to be a constant of early childhood, it’s important to look at what motivates little ones to clamp down so the behavior can be corrected as quickly as possible. I think what makes adults so angry about biting is the same thing that causes it – it’s a very animal thing to do. Despite the fact that toddlers are small people, they are also very animal. Those instincts have not yet been replaced with more socially acceptable behaviors. The biggest thing we do as parents is guide our children through their first 18 years, raising compassionate, empathetic adults who can feel the difference between right and wrong in their hearts. Most of us know this starts at birth. We interact with our babies in ways that affirm “people skills.” We are delighted when the baby smiles at us; we videotape those first laughs. We teach please, thank you and you’re welcome by example, and then by reminding. As adults, we have to remember the reason toddlers bite and work from there. Most young children bite because they don’t have the words to express their feelings. They have all the same emotions that you and I do, with the same intensity. But they don’t have any way to talk about it. So those feelings well up, just building up inside the chest of the toddler, and they have to be let out! The question for the parent is how to bring a swift and sure end to biting before it really takes hold. It seems best to immediately employ a strategy that combines lessons of empathy and vocabulary. Empathy is largely learned, and it’s important to start early. When your child hurts another through biting (or hitting, pushing, or any other wonderful, typical toddler interaction), it is important to point out the other child’s pain. It’s also important to be honest about the […]
Apr 1st, 2008 by Lucky Tomaszek
The Matches
An enigma is rare in the present state of predictable punk pop music, but A Band In Hope, the third release from Oakland quartet the Matches, will mystify. Just as easily as he can change holiday costumes—duke one year and James Dean the next (“Between Halloweens”)—vocalist Shawn Harris slips between musical identities from a dead-ringer for Chris Carrabba to a channeler of Freddie Mercury. Though the Matches’ influences are eclectic and apparent, the album is seamless from track to track. Yes, shockingly, 90s ska revival-revival “If I Were You” and Andrew Lloyd Webber aspirant “Darkness Rising” are like peas and carrots. The acoustic coming-of-age number “Clouds Crash” is succinct, pleasant, and a fast favorite. “Yankee in a Chip Shop,” a playful rally song about curing a hangover (“get greased to sober up”) while across the pond, is too. But along with the highs, according to “To Build A Mountain,” you also “gotta dig a hole.” One-liner “We Are One” and hot air “Point Me Toward the Morning” meet the low bar, which must make “Wake the Sun” and “Future Tense” rolling hills. They are great actors, but it’s hard to put a finger on who the Matches are and whom this ageless, faceless, music without borders is for. A Band in Hope is mysterious, interest-peaking, and most importantly a call to action for a more distinguishing and less evocative follow-up release.
Apr 1st, 2008 by Amber Herzog
“Give them the Remote”
By Bridget Brave Cerqua Daniel Keegan doesn’t want to be a casual observer. “Don’t just give me a TV monitor with something playing. Give me the remote. Give me the options, give me the control.” And he’s not letting you slack off, either. “That’s what [the museum experience] needs to be: visitor options, visitor choice. Give them the remote. Tell them to direct their own experience.” His audience-enabling attitude speaks volumes about his vision for the Milwaukee Art Museum. “I’ve always felt that art is really cool,” Keegan says. A Green Bay native, he took the reins as director of the Milwaukee Art Museum in March after more than six years as executive director of the San Jose Museum of Art. Now he wants to introduce that “cool factor” to Milwaukee’s urban population through a stepped-up commitment to a changing audience. “We’ve all become multi-taskers,” Keegan says. “We’re expecting the experience to be much more multi-dimensional. We have been conditioned by the amazing dynamic energy of the mass media: HDTVs, TiVo, iPods, everything … it definitely changes the way we experience life on a daily basis.” He references a recent New York Times article detailing the challenges museums face as new, younger, more plugged-in consumers begin to demand a say in their experiences. “Cell phone-ready audio guides are one way to put control into the hands of the visitors,” Keegan says. “Handheld devices such as Blackberries or iPods can offer additional text, video clips and interviews, all at the push of a button.” “The first thing people ask when they see or hear about a piece of art is ‘What’s the relevance? How does this impact me?’ If the connection isn’t clear, they’re going to move on and not become engaged in the piece.” Engaging a visitor is one thing, but maintaining engagement is a big hurdle. “We’re the sixteenth largest museum in the country – but that doesn’t necessarily translate into visitors spending quality time with the art.” Keegan says. “What we need to do is figure out a way to slow visitors down, give them access to the information behind each piece, and then find a way to keep them engaged with that work, even after they leave.” The problem is “center tracking,” a phenomenon prevalent in museums across the world: most visitors are not drawn to a particular piece or exhibit butsimply dash through the galleries at a fast pace, roaming the halls without sticking to anything. Less static, more active He also recognizes that museums tend to keep static collections even in the midst of dynamic, growing communities. Answering the question of relevance is difficult for most cultural institutions today, but Keegan believes the way to get people to appreciate art lies in giving them a broader range of access and letting them find what speaks to them. “What we’re looking for is the Google experience,” he said. “Imagine taking a group of kids into the museum and saying, ‘Okay, what is your favorite thing in […]
Apr 1st, 2008 by Vital Archives
New Releases
April 1st Anti-Flag The Bright Lights of America RCA Dave Barnes Me + You + the World Razor & Tie Black Francis Svn Fngrs Cooking Vinyl The Black Keys Attack & Release Nonesuch Lili Haydn Place Between Places Nettwerk Kathy Mattea Coal RED Moby Last Night Mute Van Morrison Keep It Simple Lost Highway R.E.M. Accelerate Warner Joe Satriani Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock Epic Sevendust Chapter VII: Hope & Sorrow Warner April 8th Eric Avery Help Wanted Dangerbird The Breeders Mountain Battles 4AD Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Dig!!! Lazaruz Dig!!! Anti-/Epitaph Clinic Do It! Domino Meat Beat Manifesto Autoimmune Metropolis Melanie C This Time Red Girl Gavin Rossdale Wanderlust Interscope Tapes ‘N Tapes Walk It Off XL Recordings April 15th Asia Phoenix EMI America The Brian Jonestown Massacre My Bloody Underground a recordings Mariah Carey E=MC2 Island Everclear The Vegas Years Capitol/EMI Frightened Rabbit The Midnight Organ Fight Fatcat The Kooks Konk Astralwerks The Little Ones Morning Tide Astralwerks M83 Saturdays=Youth Mute Phantom Planet Raise the Dead Fueled By Ramen The Plastic Constellations We Appreciate You Frenchkiss Dianne Reeves When You Know Blue Note Ashlee Simpson Bittersweet World Geffen Supergrass Diamond Hoo Ha Astralwerks Thrice The Alchemy Index: Vols. III & IV – Earth & Air Vagrant Jordan Zevon Insides Out New West April 22nd Tab Benoit Night Train to Nashville Telarc Blind Melon For My Friends Adrenaline Billy Bragg Mr. Love & Justice Anit-/Epitaph The Cat Empire So Many Nights Velour Music Michael Doucet From Now On Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Elbow The Seldom Seen Kid Fiction/Geffen Flight of the Conchords s/t Sub Pop Jeff Healey Mess of Blues Ruf Kerli Love Is Dead Island Def Jam Whitesnake Good to Be Bad SPV April 29th Mark Chesnutt Rollin’ With the Flow Lofton Creek Def Leppard Songs from the Sparkle Lounge Universal Madonna Hard Candy Warner Nerf Herder Nerf Herder IV Oglio Portishead Third Island Carly Simon This Kind of Love Hear Music Steve Winwood Nine Lives Columbia
Apr 1st, 2008 by Vital Archives
New Model Army
I started writing my column this month on booze in the newsroom and other lost traditions. In my 21 years in journalism, I’ve witnessed the devolution of media culture from free-wheeling hotbeds of professional tension and excessive living into hushed, corporate cubicle warrens, with reporters and sales folk alike watching their companies’ stock prices as a key indicator of success or failure. I find this development counterproductive, unnecessary and possibly even fatal. Bloggers, gun-for-hire correspondents and foreign news agencies like the BBC and Al-Jazeera have become the new vanguard, and their work constitutes most of the heavy lifting in global coverage. The biggest loss is at the local level, where panicking publishers retire their most experienced newshounds in favor of cheaper, younger labor (or nobody at all), compromising our access to the information that affects us most directly by eliminating the beat reporter with intimate knowledge of the players. Experience has been devalued into obsolescence: a strong statement where exceptions are surely demonstrable, but generally true in my opinion. As a publisher, I absolutely understand the financial travails of for-profit journalism. I know that lifestyle sells to advertisers better than news coverage and that bills must be paid. I know that print is on the wane and web is on the rise, and that the big challenge is monetization of web opportunity. I also understand that the digital democratization of information is one of the greatest blessings of this modern age, but that as a result, it is increasingly difficult to be the exclusive source for anything. It’s a conundrum of biblical proportions and it’s threatening to take down the existing structure of the Fourth Estate. The New York Times and Washington Post are two excellent examples of locally-based daily newspapers that successfully serve an enormous national and international audience on the web, yet haven’t built enough web revenue to close the gap on lost print dollars. It’s democratization again; once online, news outlets compete with everyone else on the web for ad dollars and it’s no longer enough to send sales reps to every business and agency in town to exact the formerly customary pound of flesh. Advertisers now have the same limitless choices as media consumers, plus a long-standing bad taste in their mouth from the extortionary tactics previously employed by daily newspapers and the Yellow Pages. It’s a big mess, that’s for sure. High-quality local news coverage is an absolute must in every community. On the other hand, a long-term soft retail economy and broader competition for ad dollars has local news organizations stuck between a rock and an even harder rock. So, what’s the answer? I’m just one small publisher and I can’t solve all of the world’s problems – I can barely even keep up with my own stuff. But I have seen a few agile publishers here in Milwaukee do some pretty smart things to connect with their constituencies. The Small Business Times was started in 1995 by a group of Business Journal expatriates […]
Apr 1st, 2008 by Jon Anne Willow
VITAL’s 2008 – 2009 Spring Fine Arts Season Preview
By Jon Anne Willow and Lindsey Huster Spring brings a sea change in our fair city. Longer days, warmer nights and anticipation of the summer’s inherent ease all conspire to turn the tide of a particularly grueling winter. Yes, change is in the air in so many ways. From the White House to Wall Street and the Calatrava to Canal Street, seismic shifts in management, economics and principles are destined to affect us all in the foreseeable future. We have so much as consumers of local culture to keep track of with this ascent of the mercury.The Milwaukee Art Museum recently welcomed Daniel Keegan to the helm as Executive Director, replacing the highly successful and sometimes controversial <>b>David Gordon. He brings a love of new technology and multimedia to MAM; expect to tap into a guided tour from your cell phone, download a podcast about the latest exhibit and engage with your collection in new ways. Up the road and a few blocks from the lake, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Music Director Andreas Delfs conducts his last season (and the MSO’s 50th) as Edo de Waart prepares to take the helm. By reputation, de Waart’s choices tend to be riskier and more contemporary than his predecessor. He also comes with an extensive collection of recordings, so look for MSO performances to be more readily available for download or CD purchase. This month he’ll conduct his first concert for the MSO, Holst’s The Planets, on April 18. The performance includes space exploration video footage provided by the Jet Propulsion Lab and NASA. Milwaukee gets another dose of fame from the MSO with new Pops conductor Marvin Hamlisch.He’s one of only two people in history to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, a Tony and the Pulitzer Prize, not to mention a clutch of Golden Globes. On the funding and advocacy side, funding powerhouse Christine Harris, formerly President of UPAF, steps into a parallel role at the Milwaukee Cultural Alliance. Her UPAF shoes were filled by former Journal Sentinel Inc. VP Christy GarciaThomas, who brings media savvy and a strong background in sales and marketing to her new role. Both will try to shake the money tree to ensure ongoing funding for a city with incredibly rich and diverse cultural offerings. There are other changes, of course. Some have gone unreported, some are less glamorous in print but of equal impact in their own way. As a loosely defined collective, the arts face their own sea change. Technology is changing the way we interact with art; a slow economy could change the way current and prospective arts consumers consider discretionary spending. On the upside, the increasing sophistication of local audiences and an ever-more conducive environment for ambitious young artists to produce – and market – quality performances on a small budget bodes well for the health of our vibrant artistic scene. We’re also blessed with unparalleled generosity in private and corporate support of the arts for groups of all sizes and stripes. […]
Apr 1st, 2008 by Jon Anne Willow
