Stephen Petronio Dance Company

Stephen Petronio’s fifth time at UCSB culminated in a night of provocative narrative and impressive physicality set to the backdrop of the powerful and prodigious music of Nick Cave. Underland, a production that Petronio choreographed in eight weeks in the heart of Sydney, Australia, looks at the cyclical and subconscious emotionality of Cave’s work through the physical manifestation of the body as the site onto which “the dark beauty of his music, its rawness, pain and redemption” saturate the dancers’ movements with pronounced mastery and passion. The pieces illuminated Cave’s predilection towards the battle of lightness and darkness and his unique articulation of communal struggle and salvation. In the Q&A after the performance, Petronio noted how blessed he was to work with so many dedicated performers and collaborators in a creative space where, after twenty five years in the business, he could finally have the confidence to illustrate Cave’s lyrics through textured flashes that slide back and forth between abstraction and explicit illustration. With industrial overtones and muscular grace, the Stephen Petronio Dance Company moved the audience with their sultry agility and blurring movements in pieces that aptly depicted Cave’s focus on the journey of both the submission and exaltation of the human soul.

Stephen Petronio Company from Blake Martin on Vimeo.

Yours,

Ashley

Creole Choir of Cuba

On Wednesday night, the Creole Choir of Cuba, comprised of ten members from Camagüey, Cuba, arrived in Campbell Hall to a crowd eager to hear their internationally renowned traditional Creole songs. Creole, the fusion of multiple languages over the course of centuries of slavery and cross-cultural interactions, represents the hybridity of Cuban culture through beautiful and soulful vocal recitation. On a sparse stage with a small percussion section, the choir evoked a markedly powerful response through their passionate harmonies and nuanced choral configurations. Energetic and lively, the song selection spanned the cultural history of Cuba from the Haitian slave trade to contemporary neo-liberalism, illuminating the textured history of Creole culture. The themes freedom, family, and hope rang true through their intimate stories of resistance and identity. With music as the hub of expression and cultural preservation, the simplicity of the performance juxtaposed to their dynamic vocal exaltations made for an evening rich in rhythm and radiance.

Best,

Ashley

Rejoice & Shout Film Review

On a cold and dark Monday night, I had the pleasure of viewing, Rejoice and Shout, a documentary that chronicles the 200 year history of African-American gospel music, stemming from the call-and-response spiritual hymns on the plantations all the way to the booming industry of contemporary Christian music. As a programmer at KCSB, I host a soul and R&B show and I was delighted to see the amazing footage that director, Don McGlynn, had collected. From rare recordings from the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet, to the Blind Boys sing-offs, to Mahalia Jackson’s heart stopping performance on the Ed Sullivan Show, Rejoice & Shout not only informed the audience, but also entertained them with captured moments of musical brilliance and innovation. With a deftly constructed storyline as well as lush and insightful commentary by some of gospel music’s most significant performers, like Clara Ward, Ira Tucker, and notable gospel historians, Rejoice & Shout told not only the story of gospel music, but also the story of the communities that found identity within these hallowed voices. What struck me most about this film was that almost every performance captured in both film and audio was utterly saturated with a raw sound that was simultaneously exalting, haunting, and alluring. Upon leaving the theatre I heard a couple sum up perfectly why gospel music has left such an enduring legacy in American music: these musicians were not singing for fame or fortune-they sang with an ineffable and irreparable conviction of spirit that still resonates with listeners to this day.

Mary Oliver Review

You may ask yourself: why are you writing a post about a poet on a music blog? I won't even go into the intersectional nature of poetry and music (jive poetry and jazz, anyone?) but I'll say just this: Mary Oliver's poetry is music to my ears.

Bundled between a young boy and an older woman from the UK, I knew that this was going to be an experience. I had been eagerly anticipating to hear one of my favorite poets speak and here I was, right in the middle of it. The woman next to me expressed her surprise about the high quality of audience turn out. Indeed she was right: this Pulitzer Prize winner at Campbell Hall seemed to have attracted the cream of the crop of Santa Barbara's poetry lovers from both near and far. Mary Oliver's words had inspired the sleepy literary enthusiasts of the central coast to come out in full force to hear the enchanting musings of one of America's greatest poetic voices. She spoke with such endearing charm and humor, inserting witty commentary between her recitations of both her old and contemporary literary creations. Blending in old classics like "Wild Geese" (to the audience's delight she prefaced the poem saying, "People hit me if I don't read Wild Geese") and unpublished poems, she recited her work with graceful simplicity and sincerity. The times she fumbled between her passages she noted that "finding poems is like doing taxes," amusing the audience with her wry, casual humor. She created an organic experience of sharing and communication between her work and her listener, allowing her readings to be just as seamless and alluring as her printed words. As her poems capture the gorgeous multiplicities of human experience, so did her performance. Her traditional pastoral observations of her home in Massachusetts still embody an ethereal poignance even as her recent move to Florida has forced her to "learn to love the palm trees." Her fascination with the ineffable sublimity of nature enraptured the audience-the air was silent and still as they grasped on to every word. Mary Oliver's epistolic recitations was like a full season: embodying every facet of the world's dark and enduring beauty. She captured every range of emotion, confronting issues of mortality, love, nature, and, of course, her beloved canine companion, Percy.

Maneuvering between the worlds of poetry and academia, she found that "poetry only has one nation, no boundary--it's the warehouse of the world, full of metaphors." During the Q&A, Oliver revealed that while teaching she would assign students to write a "prose poem" to prove that they could, indeed, write a sentence. She seems to realize the balance of prose and poetry, claiming that one need not choose one over the other. Utilizing multiple part poems in order to allow a circular change of voice, Oliver shed light on her writing style stating that she utilized dashes and semicolons in order to make the listener more privy to finish the sentence-a sentence that could be 36 lines long. When asked about the validity of poetry she proclaimed, "Poetry saves lives...I read for joy, comfort, satisfaction, and then elegance." Each poem she read became my new favorite and by the end of the night, my notebook was full of her hauntingly gorgeous observations. Evoking an emotional standing ovation, Mary Oliver left the stage as quietly as she had entered it, but this time with an audience yearning for more.

Replacing "Wild Geese" as my favorite poem, here is "The Kitten."

The Kitten

More amazed than anything
I took the perfectly black
stillborn kitten
with the one large eye
in the center of its small forehead
from the house cat's bed
and buried it in a field
behind the house.

I suppose I could have given it
to a museum,
I could have called the local
newspaper.

But instead I took it out into the field
and opened the earth
and put it back
saying, it was real,
saying, life is infinitely inventive,
saying, what other amazements
lie in the dark seed of the earth, yes,

I think I did right to go out alone
and give it back peacefully, and cover the place
with the reckless blossoms of weeds.

-----------------------------------------------

Poetically yours,

Ashley

6/8/11 Playlist

1.Security-Otis Redding

2. Shake-Sam Cooke

3. Hey Lolly Molly-Oscar Mclollie & The Honey Jumpers

4. Time Is On My Side-Irma Thomas

5. Don't Play That Song-Aretha Franklin

6. She's Not Just Another Woman-8th Day

7.Get Something Out of It-The 5 Royales

8. Sitting On Top of the World-Sweet Honey In the Rock

9. I Got to Go-Little Walter

10. Frankie & Johnny-Champion Jack Dupree

11. How'm I Gonna Get Back Home-He's My Brother, She's My Sister

12. Looking For the Right Thing-Jamestown Revival

13. Little Ashtray In Sun-Cotton Jones

14. The Hills of My Home-Laurie Lewis

15. City of Refuge-Abigail Washburn

16. Wade In the Water-Patty Griffin

17. To Ramona (live)-Bob Dylan

18. Folks-Mirah & Thao

19. By Morning-Leftover Cuties

20. Minds Awake-Rumspringa

21. Wreck My Car-Scott H. Biram

22. New Shadow-The Dutchess & The Duke

23. Sophie's Waltz-Nathan

Happy summer,

Ashley

91.9FM KCSB

6/1/11 Playlist

1. Johnny's Heartbreak-Otis Redding

2. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy-Marlena Shaw

3. Gimme Little Sign-Brenton Wood

4. I Know-Barbara George

5. These Ain't Raindrops-James Carr

6. Girl Watcher-The O'Kaysions

7. Who Knows-Marion Black

8. God Is Trying To Tell You Something-Quincy Jones

9. Talk With Jesus-The Jones Sisters

10. Drown In My Own Tears-Ray Charles

11. It Won't Be Long-Clarence "Frogman" Henry

12. Leaving Here-Eddie Holland

13. My Country Man-Big Maybelle

14. Bloodshot Eyes-Wynonie Harris

15. Little Mama-The Clovers

16. Hey Bartender-Floyd Dixon

17. Sag Drag & Fall-Sid King & The Five Strings

18. Lord Lord-Junior Wells

19. Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan-Holcombe Waller

20. Wasteland-Maggie Bjorlund

21. Southside of Heaven-Ryan Bingham

22. Sometimes-Punch Brothers

23. Good Night Darling-Huckleberry Flint

24. Long Time Traveller-The Wailin' Jennys

25. Wicker Frames-Polka Dot Dot Dot

26. Buffalo-Mountain Man

27. Lakeville-Amy Correia

28. I Like The Way You Walk-The Donkeys

Paz, Paz, Paz,

Ashley

KCSB 91.9FM

5/18/11 Playlist

1. For Your Precious Love-Otis Redding

2. Mannish Boy (Muddy Waters cover)-Erykah Badu

3. Who Knows Who?-Orgone

4. This Land Is Your Land-Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

5. Oughta Be A Woman-Sweet Honey In The Rock

6. Purple-Shuggie Otis

7. Don't Cry-Sam Cooke

8. Sincerely-The McGuire Sisters

9. I've Got That Feelin'-Darrell Banks

10. I Love You Baby-Moovers

11. Hard Time Killing Floor Blues-Chris Thomas King

12. Traveling Mama Blues-Joe Calicott

13. Sweet Appalachia-The Del McCoury Band

14. I've Just Seen a Face-The Dillards

15. As I Lay On The Prairie-Brian Harnety

16. Hello Goodbye-Barry Phillips

17. Lexington-Elephant Revival

18. Glencoe-Richard Thompson

19. Colorado Girl-Steve Earle

20. Art Isn't Real-Deer Tick

21. Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)-Justin Vernon

22. Spanish Pipedream-The Avett Brothers

23. Sold-Dan Mangan

24. Watchman-Peggy Sue

25. My Name Is Buddy-Ry Cooder

26. Showbiz Blues-Fleetwood Mac

27. Ooh La La-The Faces

28. She PLays Yo Yo With My Mind-Sonny & The Sunsets

29. Hard Line-Jill Barber

30. Bundles-Mariee Sioux

31. Hidden Track-Johnny Flynn

32. Your Only Doll (Dora)-Laura Marling

Eclectically yours,

Ashley

KCSB 91.9FM