reviews
Bishop
gets
down
to
some
serious
partying
“I can’t remember a time that we
came in second best,” remarked Elvin
Bishop prim- to his Friday night shows
at the Lane County Fairgrounds.
Bishop was referring to his group’s
ability to blow any other band ap
pearing with them off the stage.
Few people at the concert could
disagree with him.
The Elvin Bishop Group and
Providence each did a 7 p.m. and 10
p.m. show before a total of around 2000
fans with the latter gig drawing the
majority of that number.
Providence, who were supposed to be
similar to the Moody Blues, somewhat
disappointed me. Their music in
corporated the sounds of violins, cello,
harp, flute, glockenspiel, and the usual
rock and roll band instruments.
For sure, they were good musicians,
but for myself, I just don’t get off on
their mellow brand of music. Their last
two numbers were by far their best.
One of them is to be released as a single
very soon, and should have fair suc
cess.
I think the two groups did each other
a bit of injustice by appearing together
but this is the type of program that the
promoters “believe in.”
Bishop says he likes to get his
audience “receptive and relaxed” with
his music and between numbers
comments.
“First, I check out the feedback from
the audience to see how long the set will
be and how much I’ll get into it.”
When I asked him about his
showmanship, he answered, “Not too
much is calculated. I do just what feels
good with a bit of showing off thrown
in.”
Bishop was a bit drained from the
previous night’s gig in San Francisco
(and “a little too much partying”) and
was to play San Jose Saturday night.
but when he hit the stage he was his
usual cocky and friendly self.
The mellow attitude that had
prevailed earlier ended abruptly when
Bishop’s group took the stage. Tunes
that were particularly well done in
cluded the opening number, “So Fine,”
“Rock Bottom,” two new things,
“Cadillac” and “Sure Feels Good,”
(which sounded great and is planned
for their next single release). “Wings,”
“Rock My Soul,” and various others
that I should have written down but
didn’t because I was enjoying myself
too much to screw around with it.
So tuff.
Most of them featured the dynamic
voice of female vocalist Jo Baker, and
outrageous guitar solos by Bishop.
A blues piano and organ was provided
courtesy of the keyboard man, Steve
Miller (not the guitarist), who just
about got his hand shook off after the
concert.
Newcomer Rick Kellog really got
down to the nitty gritty of blues and
rock and roll with his harmonica while
accompanied by Bishop. This guy is a
real character, just like a little kid
onstage and he enjoys every minute of
his antics, perceivably so did the
audience.
Also new faces in the group are
vocalist Russ Hayashida, and bassist
Mike Larscheid. Both of their voices
blend perfectly with the group’s sound.
Larscheid sang the lead in “It Sure
Feels Good.”
Hidden away behind everybody else
was drummer Bill Meeker, who should
get a chance to show off once in a while
himself, as he was pounding out a wild
beat constantly.
Bishop and Kellog got together on the
last tune and left everybody hollering
for more.
They came back with Bishop ex
claiming, “I think it’s time for us to get
down to some serious partying.” And
that they did when they rolled into
“Party Till The Cows Come Home.”
Before that number, the concert was an
eight (on a one to ten scale) but it went
off the meter with this encore.
Everybody’s trip was bummed out a
bit (including the group’s) when the
power went out right at the end of the
encore. The band stayed mi stage not
knowing what to do as they temselves
were fired up. Twice they left the stage
thinking the power outage had signaled
an end to the concert, but they finally
came back when a blown fuse was
discovered.
Their second encore had the same
frenzied pace that had preceded it and
came to a conclusion with the end
melody of “Party Till The Cows Come
HMne.” Ah right!
Photo by Peter Grant
Bishop boogies
Everybody got loose and bad a good
time which is the kind of atmosphere
that the Elvin Bishop Group likes to
play in.
Until the untimely demise of the
Fillmore West the Elvin Bishop Group
was a regular there. They are now
dung regular gigs at Winterland.
Concerning the Fillmore, Bishop said
only that “it was a good place to play.”
Accordin to Bishop, the Fillmore’s
manager, Bill Graham, who has
become controversial in the rock music
scene, was, “An honest businessman
who told the truth plainly. Sometimes
the truth hurts,” he stated flatly.
According to promoters Dave Lieken
and Carl Pennington, of Double Tee
Promotions, this concert was an ex
periment in having rock groups at the
fairgrounds—an experiment with fair
board members looking on.
I wasn’t able to get their verdict, but
the outcome looks like it might be in our
favor, which is nice considering that
Double Tee is thinking aboutbringingin
Tower of Power next.
I really didn’t get off on the teeny
bopper scene, I wish more University
aged folks would have attended and I
didn’t appreciate the highly capitalistic
attitude of the concessioners charging
25 cents for the smallest cup of Coke.
But I guess they figure a hippie with a
cotton mouth or a sweet tooth will pay
anything to relieve it.
Anyway, I hope they have more,
because after this last gig the
fairgrounds are batting 1000 per cent in
my book.
Jim Worlein
Hrisanide: exploiting all parts of the piano
Always in the forefront was the 20th Century
schizophrenia—explosively violent outbursts
broken by the softest pianissimos—as Alexandre
Hrisanide presented contemporary Romanian
piano music to a sizeable audience in the School of
Music Recital Hall last week. Hrisanide, a well
known composer and performer of contemporary
music in Europe, is a visiting professor of music at
the University this year.
The pieces, a chronological selection of 20th
Century Romanian composers, manifested much
stylistic diversity, which Hrisanide helped to
illuminate in his short introuction to each work.
Pieces by Georges Eneseo and Paul Con
stantinescu opened the concert and provided the
groundwork for what was to follow, for these two
men are the “classical” contemporary composers
of Romania. Enesco’s Carillon Nocturne or Bells
in the Night, was starkly impressionistic, pointing
to the influence of Faure, his one-time teacher.
Constantinescu’s writing closely parallels Bela
Bartok in that he has taken peasant folk songs and
k__
set them in a harmonic scheme distinctly 20th
century. (Interestingly, both Enesco and Bartok
gave performances of their piano music in Eugene
30 years ago.)
A sharp departure from 20th century tonality
followed, and subsequent pieces covered a wide
variety of 20th century composition techniques.
There were serial pieces by Doru Popovici, a
composer who has expanded the 12-tone
techniques of Schoenberg. A piece entitled
Monosonata I by Adrian Ratiu consisted of a
number of musical phrases or ideas which the
performer puts together in any order and mode he
or she pleases. This piece also used the 8-tone
scale of Oliver Messiaen (instead of the more
common 7-tone scale) making for an exotic
tonality.
Other pieces expiated all parts of the piano—
the keyboard and the inside strings as well as the
outside of the piano on which surprising and
jolting percussion sounds were obtained. A
striking composition was the inevitable time by
Myriam Marke where the Notre Dame was heard
inexorably and repeatedly under the texture of
atonal and explosive figures where Hrisanide
made use of paper, thimbles and glass.
Hrisanide’s M.P. 5 or Musique Pour Cinq was
heard on tape. The piece, a quintet for violin,
viola, cello, saxophone and piano is a series of
cadenzas making use of both static and moving
tone clusters. The score was visually graphic
where the performer gives his musical in
terpretation of a graphic form.
The final selection, Cadenza by Costin
Miereanu, consisted of 15 fragments again or
dered by the performer, and making full use of the
piano.
Hrisanide showed himself to be an excellent
performer with the understanding of one who is
deeply involved with 20th century trends. Because
of the agility required of a performer who must
play both on the key board and inside the piano,
the performance was visually, as well as audibly
exciting.
Jacquie Helin
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