by Seth Rogovoy
(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., June 1, 2000) Two years later, Guthrie is quickly establishing herself as the latest in the line of folksinging Guthries, as a solo performer and as a member of RIG, a trio that includes another third-generation folkie, Tao Rodriguez, a grandson of Pete Seeger who has performed all over the world with his grandfather, and Guthrie’s husband, Johnny Irion. RIG makes its Berkshire concert debut this weekend with two shows at the Guthrie Center (528-1955) in Great Barrington on Friday and Saturday nights at 8. RIG has its genesis in a few informal shows that Sarah Lee did with Irion and Rodriguez. “We decided to make something official out of it and came up with the name RIG from our initials,” said the Berkshire-born Guthrie. “We play together, back each other up, we each do our own songs, and switch back and forth throughout the night. Johnny sings and plays a dobro, I play some of Woody’s songs and traditional folk songs and originals, and Tao, who was raised in Nicaragua, does some really awesome Spanish material.” For this weekend’s shows, RIG will be joined by Guthrie’s keyboardist brother Abe, who like Sarah Lee performs with Arlo Guthrie, and Terry “A La Berry” Hall, who played drums for many years in Arlo Guthrie’s backup band. “We’re definitely carrying the torch,” said Guthrie. “We’re all carrying on the tradition of folk music and singing good old songs. I’m 21, and I’ve noticed that my generation really hasn’t stopped listening to the good old stuff.
When it came time for Guthrie to learn to play and write and perform, she
had an able and willing teacher close by, and one who was also able to
provide her with a hands-on apprenticeship.
Geometry and funk at MoCA In the tradition of last year’s “Jet Lag” and MoCA’s commitment to interdisciplinary performance art, “Geometry of Miracles” is an avant-garde work whose form, utilizing movement, music, media and text, mirrors its content, which is ostensibly an exploration of mysticism and architecture. The piece is an imaginative exploration of the historical relationship between the great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright and the spiritual leader Georgi Gurdjieff. Unnatural Science” is a museum-wide exhibition of 14 contemporary works, including several room-sized installations, that use science as a springboard for aesthetic and intellectual investigations and which are united by an idiosyncratic approach to scientific authority. Over the years Mass MoCA has shown an uncanny gift for choosing great party bands to entertain at its various galas and fund-raisers. Among those performers who have played for dancers at MoCA have been Mindy Jostyn, who was later seen performing with John Mellencamp and Carly Simon among others, and Rebecca Coupe Franks, who was playing hot swing music years before swing became hot again. Saturday night’s opening party, “The Big Bang,” will feature the big beat of Kenny Banks and the Rhythm Makers. Banks came out of the same New York disco scene in the ‘70s that produced such hitmakers as Kool and the Gang and Melba Moore. His current funk group features two lead vocalists who perform a mix of disco, R&B and hip-hop.
G-L-O-R-I-A, Gloria! Gloria Deluxe is a vehicle for singer-songwriter Cynthia Hopkins, a multi-instrumentalist (piano, accordion, guitar) who, on the basis of a 15-song eponymous debut CD and a recently-recorded five-song demo, is a Billie Holiday-influenced vocalist with a penchant for Leonard Cohen-style French cabaret and introspective, Cowboy Junkies-like country-rock. The band ’s music also shows the influence of John Lee Hooker, Kurt Weill, the Velvet Underground and Balkan folk music. Hopkins writes and sings about alcoholism, poverty, music, desperation, loneliness, and religion. Her group, formed about a year ago, has played such cool places in New York as the Knitting Factory, CB’s 313 Gallery, Joe’ s Pub at the Public Theatre and the BAMcafe at the Brooklyn Academy of Café. The core of her band, including bassist Chris Bonner and guitarist Tom Hopkins, is frequently accompanied by drummer John Mettam, trombonist Curtis Hasselbring and trumpeter Cuong Vu. In keeping with MoCA’s emphasis on cross-disciplinary platforms, Hopkins describes her performances as conscious attempts to “blur the boundaries between theater and music to create a uniquely personal style of storytelling.” In addition to her songwriting, Hopkins has composed music for theater, including Big Dance Theatre’s “Another Telepathic Thing” and Anika Kristensen’s “Curb Your Mind.” She has also written and directed two operettas. For more info visit her website at www.gloriadeluxe.com.
Helsinki happenings As for this weekend, Helsinki presents country-roots singer-songwriter Stacey Earle tonight at 9. As heard on her latest album, “Dancin’ with Them That Brung Me,” Earle boasts one of those impossibly timeless, Appalachian voices like Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith or Iris Dement. And like her brother Steve, she writes songs that are more country than anything you’re likely to hear on country radio, more in the vein of “Blood on the Tracks”-style acoustic roots-rock. (528-3394) [This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on June 1, 2000. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 2000. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy rogovoy@berkshire.net music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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