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Photo by Steve Twedf
Gordon Ughtfoot at Mac Court last Wednesday night.
Liltin’ Lightfoot
By GREG LEE
“I've got a basic concept of what it is that I'm doing and I like to try
and refine it as often as possible, so if there's a change...a change in
attitude, or if I tend towards writing bar songs, slegzy songs, or tend to
get away from natural outdoorness and that sort of thing, it's just
because it happens that way," explained the golden-haired Gordon
Lightfoot, often recognized for his tender love ballads and lyrical talent
in highlighting the great outdoors in song.
Lightfoot appeared in Mac Court last Wednesday evening to a sold
out house (6,500 persons in attendance).
His concert ranged from a marvelous array of old favorites to current
material from his latest Reprise Ip "Sundown." Typically a Lightfoot
crowd, the Mac Court audience was generally well-behaved and should
be commended for not smoking.
Folk songstress Mimi Farina opened the concert and received much
welcome applause for her appearance, one which was made at the very
last minute. Her set, which was as well polished as the Lightfoot act,
featured mostly new material from her upcoming A&M album, as well
as old standards like the encore "Amazing Grace."
Lightfoot, fresh from sold-out houses in the Northwest nights before,
resembled a wooden troubador, moving only to sing. His apparent
uneasiness could have been attributed to road fatigue, or to a series of
double shows given in recent nights. Yet, opening with "High and Dry"
and quickly following with "Sundown," he Soon overcame the obvious
stiffness and from there on the show was definitely on the road.
Lead guitarist Terry Clemmens gave Lightfoot some hefty com
petition during "Watchman's Gone," in which intricate and delicately
played notes sparkled the solos that the crowd so dearly loved.
The nearly two-hour concert ended on several good notes: tight and
polished vocals and backup which gave a most pleasing effect and a
grassroots level of rapport with his lockerroom humor and outdoor
stories.
Closing with an encore rendition of "Old Dan's Records," Gordon
Lightfoot certainly proved to be the showman record sales figures have
him to be. With the success of "Sundown" people need only ask
themselves, "If a performer can play a concert that good, what's next?"
‘Fingers’
Fahey due
It is not often that the music
lovers of Eugene have the op
portunity to hear a musician who
has had as great an impact on
contemporary American guitarists
as has John Fahey. Among his
notable disciples are Leo Kottke
and Peter Laing. His musical ideas
emanate from both the folk and
classical traditions from all over
the world. What has emerged is
highly original music that tran
scends the usual definition of
guitar playing. He has captured
the simplicity of the music of the
deep south. It is a unique com
bination of old time hillbilly and
blues music together with a
sensitive understanding of
American folklore that provides
the exhilarating experience of
John Fahey's acoustic guitar.
He is known for his flawlessness
and the immaculate clarity of each
note. Listening to a live per
formance by John Fahey is at
once exciting and relaxing. His
rolling melodies capture anxieties
and turn them to satin.
On Thursday, May 30, at 8 p.m.
John Fahey will perform in the
EMU Ballroom. Tickets are
available at the EMU main desk,
Sun Shop, Chrystal Ship and
Viscount Records.
Dynamic duo:
Boss Boz and
Hemo Froid
Boz Scaggs and Cold Blood, two
of the tightest bands to come
from the San Francisco scene in
the last decade will appear in
concert Wednesday, May 29 at
the Lane County Fairgrounds.
Boz Scaggs, an original member
of the Steve Miller Band in the
late 60s has had his own band for
a number of years. Scaggs is best
known for his gold album
"Dynaflo" and for his recent
success, “Slow Dancer." Scaggs
has put together a new band for
this tour that includes a full horn
section.
Appearing with Boz Scaggs will
be Cold Blood, which features the
searing vocals of Lydia Pense and
a grinding sound that has made
them probably the number one
white soul band in the country.
Tickets for the concert are $4 in
advance and $4.50 at the door.
Tickets are available at the
Crystalship, the Sun Shop, the
EMU main desk and George's
Garage.
Boon production of had play
‘Royal Gambit'
ay bHULE bEISER
University Theater opened its
last major production of the 1973
74 year last Friday night. "Royal
Gambit," written by Herman
Gressieker, showed good, hard
work on the part of the actors and
the director, John Evey.
The script dealt rather poorly
with King Henry VIII and his six
wives.
Roger Lawrence Baron capably
handled the role of King Henry
VIII. Henry VIII is most commonly
thought a bloodthirsty madman.
Baron gave a new twist to this age
old ogre: He is wise, witty,
inhumane, compassionate,
overpowering, weak and just plain
human. Cathy Tippin ably por
trayed the female lead, Katarina of
Aragon, Henry's first wife. Tippin
is excellent in this role. She
conveyed a solid character and
displayed a wide variety of well
executed emotions. She con
tinually reappears throughout
Henry's life, and in her own way is
his counselor and sounding
board. Denise Mahin played a
very good Ann Boleyn. Her
character did not stand up to
Henry a few times when it should
have, but all in all it was a highly
commendable performance.
oaran juneistaa-Heynoias was
very strong as Kate Parr, the last
of Henry's wives. Although she
was kind and understanding of his
illnesses, she would take no guff
from him, even though he was the
king. Jutteistad-Reynolds por
trayed this woman to the letter.
Others in the cast were Debra
Martin as Anna of Cleves, Mary
Wadkins playing Kathryn Howard
and Fran Werneken in the role of
Jane Seymour.
The blocking was quite en
joyable to watch as Evey moved
his actors over the many levels of
Ian Mclver's set. The set is a mass
of levels surrounded by Gothic
arches. It is painted entirely black
and is perfectly symmetrical.
Mclver's set lends itself
beautifully to this type of play and
Evey's skillful direction.
The costumes by Merrily Brinda
are delightful in that they exhibit a
wide variety of styles and colors.
The set's being all black is the
perfect background for Brinda's
costumes.
Royal Gambit is well worth
seeing and will play in UT's Arena
Theater (Villard 104) May 23, 24,
25. For ticket information call the
University Theater Box Office at
686-4191. Prices are $1.50 general
admission and 75 cents with
current fee card.
, Photo by Greg Bryant
"Royal Gambit" continues at
.UT's Arena Theater May 23-25.
Villard Hall box office hours are
noon-5p.m. weekdays and until 9
p.m. on show days.
Eugene’s finest?
‘Stiff’ poets
By ELIZABETH BURNESS
I would like to believe that poetry
extends and deepens perceptions,
that it should somehow offer
something new. Yet I distrust the
way "shoulds" channel thinking.
Monday night, I sat down in the
Eggsnatcher Restaurant to listen
a$ openly as possible to three
young men claiming to be poets.
But the "shoulds” kept crowding
in. All three, John Damon, John
Massoglia, and Steve Siegel
clustered their words into stiff
segments that neither enhanced
nor detracted from their poetry; it
merely left it hanging in the air.
John Damon began. His poems
are mostly in the form of haiku in
an attempt to reflect the inter
relationship between people and
their Oregon environment. Oc
casionally, they succeed in
capturing an image precisely, but
rarely suggest anything beyond
that image.
The second reader was John
Massoglia. His poems con
sistently stick to a three-word-per
line format that constricts any
possible meaning his words might
have. His imagery is equally rigid,
following trite observations and
relying on charged words, rather
than meaning, to carry impact. At
times he touches depth and, even
more rarely, allows a poem to
speak for itself.
The final, and most enjoyable
reader for the evening, was Steve
Siegel. He commented that most
of his poems were written during
a "long, harsh, recent winter."
Though his reading was equally
poor, his poems exhibited greater
control over content and style
than the other two poets. He
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