POPCORNER
Summer 1996 Was, Not Was
by Seth Rogovoy(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Sept. 12, 1996) -- In many ways the summer just ended did not live up to its promise. From the vantage point of last spring, summer '96 looked to herald a vast array of concert choices of perhaps record-breaking proportions. In the end, the only record- breaker was the one-day, Lollapalooza '96 festival, held at Green Mountain Race Track in Pownal, Vt., on July 9, when over 25,000 fans defied the worst fears and predictions of the naysayers and enjoyed a relatively calm, mellow gathering which the neighbors might have overlooked had they not been whipped into a frenzy beforehand.
But other than Lollapalooza, the summer was characterized more by what did not take place than what did. Tanglewood's incredible shrinking Popular Artists "Series" consisted of a grand total of one concert: James Taylor's bi-annual gig. I love Sweet Baby James as much as the next guy, and sure, he's a guaranteed sellout -- even on a drizzly Monday night, as he was in late July -- but enough already! There are plenty of other touring acts that appeal to baby-boomers, which is presumably the criteria used to book the series, which if history is any guide will present Bonnie Raitt and Arlo Guthrie next summer. Oh, joy.
After a jolt of excitement in June, the Night Shift Cafe in North Adams hibernated through July, apparently knocked out of commission in favor of David Byrne's site-specific installation in Building 13, leaving room for just two outdoor shows in Mass MoCA's courtyard, the latter scheduled to have taken place just last night.
The Byrne exhibition itself, although ostensibly an art event, provided one of the biggest doses of rock 'n' roll excitement this summer, with the former leader of Talking Heads hanging out amid the crowds who flocked to the opening of "Desire." Hot on his trail came news that the Kinks' leader Ray Davies would be bringing his one-man show to the Berkshire Theatre Festival for five nights in late September, instantly turning a one-shot deal into a trend: aging rockers revitalize their fading careers by branching out into other media, using the Berkshires' cultural infrastructure as a proving ground.
Ironically, it's exactly the sort of trend with which the National Music Foundation in Lenox could have garnered national attention for its mission -- as examples of the sorts of things retired or nearing- retirement musicians could do to remain creative and artistically relevant when the rigors of performing or the realities of the commercial marketplace make it difficult or impossible for them to continue touring.
But the Foundation had nothing to do with any such innovative programming. Instead, its first, full season of concerts consisted almost entirely of blatantly commercial performers -- few if any who ever boasted musical influence of any sort -- befitting Las Vegas and not the Berkshires, ignoring the region's rich legacy of artistic and musical integrity.
The result was a complete commercial and artistic disaster. The Foundation learned the hard way that "commercial" does not guarantee success at the Berkshire box office when hundreds of people stayed away in droves from concerts by Paul Anka, Victor Borge, Jose Feliciano and Cleo Laine. Even the one concert they can point to as a "sellout" by Kenny Rogers was in fact supposed to be two concerts. Halfway through the summer, the Foundation attempted to cut its losses and cancelled most of its remaining shows.
Contrast this with the amateur -- but by no means amateurish -- effort by a synagogue group to bring the cutting-edge, new-Klezmer performer David Krakauer to Great Barrington in late August. David who? Exactly. After topping out at 350, the sponsors had to turn away dozens of disappointed, would-be concertgoers. Contrast this with amateur Michael Saporito's Rock and Reggae Festival at Butternut Basin in Great Barrington -- which boasted reggae legends The Wailers in June -- that annually attracts upwards of 1,000 fans and raises thousands of dollars for homeless children in the Berkshires. And you don't hear Saporito whining about bad press or lack of press or lack of government funding or threatening to leave the Berkshires.
All this proves is that Berkshire audiences -- including residents and tourists -- are smart and culturally sophisticated. They don't need to be pandered to with "celebrities" as opposed to artists. They don't care how many million records some washed-up hitmaker has sold. They have been brought up on shows at Music Inn, Tanglewood and the former Berkshire Performing Arts Center. Sure, all of those venues had to pay attention to the box office, but there was always some sort of artistic vision behind the programming.
I bet after this summer's dismal failure, the National Music Foundation turns itself around and enjoys success inspired by a Berkshire-style vision. Stay tuned.
Spotlight
Boston singer-songwriter Kevin So, a rising star in that city's very competitive, singer-songwriter scene, celebrates the release of his new album, "Pendulum," at Northampton's Fire and Water tonight at 8. The CD features a dozen original tunes by So, many of them family-based portraits that speak of or directly to his Chinese immigrant parents. Among So's most apparent influences is Bob Dylan, who garners a whole tune of his own, "Ode to Bob Dylan," in the tradition of Dylan's "Song to Woody," and whose influence is also felt in "Elmer Fudd's Diwemma," an incisive, Dylan-style talking blues about the O.J. Simpson trial. The university-trained musician's album is mostly solo acoustic, with So filling in on guitar, harmonica, keyboards, violin and percussion, and he sings in a clear, clean tenor full of personality. Admission to tonight's show is free; for more info call (413) 586-8336.
Backstage bits
Last week's Melissa Etheridge concerts in Albany and Amherst were all-around Berkshire affairs, what with drummer Kenny Aronoff and guitarist John Shanks both boasting strong local ties. It was as much fun to see Stockbridge native Aronoff bang away with his trademark fierce finesse on the big video screens surrounding the stage at the Knickerbocker Arena as it was to see the look on Shanks' parents' faces, who were sitting right behind me, every time the Sheffield couple's son was given the video spotlight. Those two ruled the day in our section. Oh yeah, Etheridge was OK, too, but she knew fully well which side her bread was buttered on, and gave more props to Aronoff in one show than he got in a year of John Mellencamp gigs. Good riddance to the Hoosier!....This weekend's edition of the Third Sunday Jazz Series at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, featuring the Charlie Tokarz Jazz Stars, will benefit the Berkshire Children's Chorus. Joining Tokarz are Woodstock, N.Y., jazz legend Betty McDonald on vocals and vioin, Ted Perry on keyboard and Ram Miles on bass. That's this Sunday, Sept. 15, from 12:30 to 3....
Jane Siberry and The Nields co-headline a Folk and Crafts Music Festival at the Pines Theater at Look Park in Northampton on Saturday evening. Gates open at 5:30, music begins at 6:30. Call (413) 586-8686 for tickets....
Folk fans will want to catch Bill Staines on Friday night at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield at 8, as part of the Birch Tree Concert Series (623-5526), and Priscilla Herdman on Saturday at Spencertown (N.Y.) Academy at 8, when she kicks off that venue's Fall Folk series (518-392-3693).
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Sept. 12, 1996. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1996. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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