Your account does not include highlighter on images.
Searches Highlighted on Image
| August 25, 2006 Barnstable Patriot |  |
|
©
Publisher. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 23 (23 of 32 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
August 25, 2006 |
|
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader 
|
arts@barnstablepatriot.com |
Singer-songwriters are aninteresting bunch of musi-
cians. Singular, chargingforth with their own musical
vision, they aim to define their music as unique and
identifiable. In order for them to gain acclaim and
respect in the musicalworld, their songs must sound
like none before them. Their albums must be worthy
of a solitary name in the title. This is no easy task.
Perhaps it is the challenge of such a task that keeps
the«inger-songwritersuch apopular force in the music
industry.Perhaps,too,this iswhy singer-songwriters
tend to wear the title like a badge of honor.
The latest batch of new releases from the singer-
songwritergenre add fodder to the conversation. Thorn
Yorke, the lead singer and songwriter of the popular
European band, Radiohead , sets a mark apart from
hisbandmates withan album of his own material. Paul
Simon proves for the fifteenth time why he deserves
to be on his own. And Alexi Murdoch , a new face on
the musical circuit, shows that not everybody needs
a reputable resume to create compelling and original
solo material.
Thorn Yorke
Eraser
XI Recordings
Thorn Yorke
has already
cemented his
reputation in
rock n' roll
folklore. As
the leader of
the famed Ra-
diohead,Yorke
has become
recognized
as one of the
dominant creative lorces in rock n roil music since
Y2K. He and Radiohead mates have delivered a few
albums (namely Kid A, Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief)
that have been celebrated widely as masterpieces.
Many argue that Radiohead has set the precedent for
electronics-induced rock music. Sowhy release a solo
album, particularly a solo album that sounds in many
places like an unfinished Radiohead album?
Therein lies the question that has surrounded
much of what Yorke does and is. The man and his
band have long been mysterious characters. And it
is in Eraser that this mysteriousness is augmented.
The only Radiohead band member who plays on the
album is guitarist Johnny Greenwood and he does so
in a brief, hardly noticeable solo on the title track. The
rest is purely Yorke:haunted distant voice, spare and
simple acoustic guitar playing, always eerie computer-
generated sounds echoing in the background , adding
up to a noticeably inspired blend of songs that feel
premature.
The album is dense and provocative. Thom Yorke
is truly a singer-songwriter who deserves to create
solo work. But include the others, Yorke. We want
Radiohead , not the Yorke basement tapes.
Paul Simon
I Surprise
i Warner Bros. Records
Paul Simon is
I a living legend. It
\ could be argued
\ that his influence
i can be measured in
| any up and coming
! singer-songwriter's
| methods , regard-
: less of style.
This reputation,
of course, can be tricky for posterity. For a guy who's
created a combination of chart-topping singles with a
host of inquisitive, searching, artistic songs for nearly
40 years, the fans and the critics alike have expecta-
tions. High expectations.
We want Paul Simon to deliver rhythmic dance
songs that'll keep us moving. We want Paul Simon
to make us think, make us smile, make us sad, and
we want Paul Simon to grow. We don't want him to
be redundant and myopic. He needs to continually
change color like a chameleon but never change his
always pleasant shape.
He does this with Surprise. Admittedly, the album
is wordy and requires a bit more concentration than
some of his previous work. The melodies and harmo-
nies are there. The sweet sound of his voice comes
appropriately matured. And the art is intact.
It's the integrity of Simon's music that can be so
alluring. Surprise is surprising because Simon has
provided another fresh look at the artistic possibili-
ties. Yet that's really no surprise at all.
Alexi Murdoch
Time Without Conseuences
Zero Summer Records
Alexi Murdoch's songs are original. Time Without
Consequences is Murdoch's first full length album (a
four-song EP containing a few songs on Time Without
Consequences was released nearly two years ago) and
the guy has the proverbial stuff.
His finger-picking acoustic guitar playing is spare
and equally considerate of breaks and silence as it
is melody. His lyrics are thoughtful and calculated
additions to the guitar playing behind them. The
song's constructions sound like none other than
CONTINUED ON PAGE C:2
^DuJte^^kML-
[rl
P
*
r-
IA
si
¦f
s
Monomoy's season finale
a riotous , rollicking romp
By Kathleen Szmit
kszmit@barnstablepatriot.com
CAROLINA CONTE PHOTO ,' | %
I'LL TAKE THAT - William GarrJ Diggle | S
(left) and Aaron White light up the stage
with laughter in the Monomoy Theatre's m
final production of the season , The Butter I \
and Egg Man. tm&^
B^^^M.
The
time has come for the final curt ain on the
Monomoy Theatre's season, which ends this
weekend with The Butter and Egg Man.
George S. Kaufman 's raucous show focus- ^0\
es on the oft-unsavory world of theatrical Jk
producing and the mayhem and mishaps M
that can ensue. I
William Gard Diggle is Joe Lehman , a ¦
smooth-talking shark of a producer who a ^T ? '
is stuck with a boat anchor of a show.
^H
Realizing the misfortune, he and his W
smarmy partner, Jack McClure (Luke ^(
Eddy) , hatch a plot to find themselves a f
"butter and egg man" to finance the (r.
ShOW. mmf ^
^
\
Enter Peter Jones, superbly , &Q
portrayed by Aaron White. Hailing \ ..;
from Chillicothe, Ohio, Jones is as if :r
- .} \
green as the grass whence he came. g \
I I X:- :
It isn't long before this witless gent is connived into
signing over his savings, something he is especially ea-
ger to do once he sets eyes on the lovely Jane Weston
(Laura Frye), secretary of Lehmac Productions , Inc.
Before the ink has dried on the check , Lehman and
McClure are off to the bank , having milked Jones for
nearly all he is worth. As the curtain falls on their
opening night in Syracuse several days later, grim real-
ity descends as the company begins to realize what a
dud they've got on their hands.
What follows this revelation is pure comedic gold.
i^j
^^
Jones, suddenly aware of
j ^
his tenuous situation
|HH ¦
^O pected turn y^ " ""*""*v.
'-ty^t Jm\ ft,
Butter and EggMan is sharp souffle
Ranting actor
rates a rave
By Bethany Gibbons
arts@barnstablepatriot.com
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
BROTHER ACT - Robert Kropf, left, and Erik Parillo play brothers
re-united on the Weflfleet Harbor Actor's Theatre stage.
An
average day
finds Robert in his
kitchen, perched on
a bureau in a pair of BVDs
and an undershirt, drinking
a beer and mumbling to
himself.The decor of choice
is news clippings affixed to
the walls and fridge with
electrical tape. The stage
is set for Wellfleet Harbor
Actor's Theatre's New
England premier of John
Kolvenbach's on an aver-
age day.
The play is at once in-
tensely riveting and nearly
pointless. For those not
yet weary of "dysfunctional
chic"theatre, the script is
a whirlwind assemblage of
neglect, neurosis, alco-
holism, child abuse, fear,
violence and hopelessness.
Luckily for the audience,
most of the details of
this pitiful existence are
revealed in the rambling
dialog loosed from Robert's
unraveling mind. And he
says everything fast.
Robert Kropf, in the role
of paranoid schizophrenic
Robert, is mesmerizing. His
talent is so formidable, so
immediate and engaging,
that the audience is held
rapt as he unfolds on stage.
He is met by his long-ab-
sent brother Jack, played
at the outset with tense
restraint by Erik Parillo.
A gray figure that at first
meeting seems to embody
a level-headedness that
is lacking from the scene,
Jack is a welcomed foil for
Robert's madness.
The tempo of Robert's
sometimes disturbing and
sometimes funny out-loud
thinking creates a hum
onstage that obfuscates
the question of why Jack
has come to visit. His unan-
nounced appearance and
unknown intentions be-
come more ominous, how-
ever. Sad truths about their
childhood come out; their
mother deceased, their
father cold and uncom-
municative, the boys are
deserted at a young age,
left to fend for themselves
and grow, or not. without
assistance.
Kropf and Parillo excel
in their roles. Their perfor-
CONTINUED ON PAGE C:2
Average
material gets a boost from great acting
Neil XJ W
Simon | j
play mocks
our love of gossip
By Melora B. North
arts@barnstablepatnot com
ROBERT TUCKER'FOCALPOINT STUDIO PHOTO
WHEN COUPLES COLLIDE - Lauren Piselli and Rick Smith are the battling Ganzes in
Neil Simon's Rumors, on stage at the Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans.
» -
Everybody knows one - a rumor
monger, that is - and we all enjoy a
little snippet from the mill, but when
you gather eight adults in one room
who are all about the nasty deed it is
nothing short of hilarious when the
plot is concocted by America's humor
icon Neil Simon.
Rumors, playing at the Academy of
Performing Arts in Orleans is a dance
through gossip, well-intended deceit
and frothy hoohaw that is sure to tan-
talizeaudienceswithlittlenuancesand
asides that tickle the funny bone in an
almost medicinal way.
Four well-heeled couples have gath-
gy ered at the home of Char-
Nc£r lie and Myra Brock , where
Sr they are slated to celebrate the
couple 's 1Oth wedding anniversary.
However, the host, deputy mayor of
New York, has been shot in the ear
lobe in what is surmised to be a failed
suicide attempt. Or is it? Just where
is Myra. and where is the staff that
should be preparing the gala dinner?
The food is on the counter. Charlie is
upstairs sedated and the guests are
CONTINUED ON PAGE C:2
Rumors has it in Academy's
v side-splitting production