THE BEAT
Summer '97 Wish List
by Seth Rogovoy(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., April 24, 1997) -- What with at least three major concert venues -- Tanglewood and the National Music Center in Lenox and the Studio on Pittsfield -- up and running, this could well be the biggest summer ever for live music in the Berkshires. Then again, if the promoters drop the ball -- as has happened in the past -- it could be, in the words of the Roches, a "big nuthin'."
So far the lay of the land for summer '97 looks like this: Lyle Lovett and James Taylor at Tanglewood on July 4 and Aug. 18, respectively. Expect the annual reggae festival at Butternut Basin in Great Barrington to bring in one or two internationally-known acts sometime in June. Bluegrass and folk fans should reserve the weekend of July 25-27, when Noppet Hill Bluegrass in Lanesboro and Falcon Ridge Folk in Hillsdale, N.Y., present top names in their respective genres. Unfortunately, with Great Woods in Mansfield claiming Lollapalooza '97 for itself on July 8, Pownal, Vt.'s Green Mountain Race Track looks less likely to play host to that annual alternative-rock blowout.
Otherwise, the calendar has yet to be set. What follows are some acts we'd like to see, either out of fandom or sheer curiosity, or, in a few cases, morbid curiosity. We know for a fact that most, if not all of them, are touring this summer. We've tried to parcel them out to particular venues, taking into account the specific prerequisites of each place, e.g., nothing too wild for Tanglewood, but ultimately those decisions aren't for us to make. In the case of the Studio vs. the Berkshire Performing Arts Theatre at the National Music Center, they share similar capacities of approximately 1,000, so some of those shows could be interchangeable. The center also has a 300-500 seat theater it hopes to have open in time for shows this summer, so some smaller acts might be best geared to that space.
The "Rumours"-era lineup of Fleetwood Mac, featuring Stevie Nicks, Lindsay Buckingham and Christine McVie, along with co-founders Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, are reuniting in order to cash in on the "unplugged" phenomenon that's meant money in the bank to the likes of Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart. That show would be a sure bet for Tanglewood, as would the Tina Turner/Cyndi Lauper double-bill, which would reinstitute Tanglewood's old policy, forsaken the past few years, of programming one token female R&B artist each summer, which brought Anita Baker, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston and Natalie Cole to Lenox in the late-'80s and early-'90s.
Other acts that have "Tanglewood" written all over them include Steely Dan, Jimmy Buffett and the Dave Matthews Band, the last of which -- while perhaps slightly CONTEMPORARY for Tanglewood's taste -- will wind up being the Steve Miller Band of the 2010s in any case. Surely the BSO could stomach LilithFair, the all-female festival featuring an assortment of artists drawn from a pool including Sarah McLachlan, Paula Cole, Suzanne Vega, Indigo Girls, Emmylou Harris, Lisa Loeb, Shawn Colvin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Neneh Cherry, Aimee Mann, Jewel and Joan Osborne.
But what we'd REALLY like to see at Tanglewood this summer is the return of the Who to its former stomping grounds. They're tanned, they're rested, they're hearing-impaired and well into their 50s. The musicians, at least, fit the Tanglewood demographic to a "T."
After last summer's fiasco at the box office and on the stage, it's anyone's guess as to how the National Music Foundation's summer season will shape up. Chances are lessons were learned -- albeit the hard way -- and it's a good bet you won't be seeing too many Las Vegas-style acts at the center now that promoter Richard Nader is out of the picture. If the choice of Emmylou Harris as the headliner for next weekend's Berkshire Music Festival is an indication of current thinking about programming, audiences can look forward to artists of legitimate musical integrity befitting the foundation's mission.
With two stages to choose from, the foundation might look at a list of contemporary artists that includes singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston, female funkster Me'Shell NdegeOcello, piano popsters Ben Folds Five, acid-jazzsters Us3, Bobby McFerrin, Ani DiFranco, Peter Himmelman, the Nields, Iris Dement, Medeski, Martin and Wood and the Wallflowers. Drawing on their predecessors might lead them to book people like Randy Newman, Bruce Cockburn, Leo Kottke, Squeeze, Carly Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash and James Brown.
Many of these acts would also work well at the Studio in Pittsfield, as well as such current hot club acts as surf guitarist Dick Dale, retro-honky-tonkers BR5-49, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, L7, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Pavement and Morphine. Groups like the Chemical Brothers, Orb and Prodigy will be barnstorming the country this summer, bringing electronica -- the hot new, computerized dance sound -- to the masses. The Jayhawks and Son Volt are touring with their unique blends of neo-country-rock, and Soul Coughing -- led by Simon's Rock alumnus M. Doughty -- and Cake are relentless purveyors of acid-funk. And Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty hits the road this summer, powered by the thundering drumming of Stockbridge native Kenny Aronoff. Surely thousands of fans would turn out to greet the hometown hero on his home turf.
And would somebody -- anybody? -- please bring Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Patti Smith to the Berkshires, before it's too late?
What acts would YOU like to see this summer at local venues? Send or E-mail your suggestions to one of the addresses below and we'll compile them in an upcoming column.
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on April 24, 1997. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1997. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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