WOW Hall Events This Week
On Friday, November 26, the Community Center for the Performing Arts and KRVM proudly welcome Susan McKeown back to the WOW Hall as she tours North America in support of the release of her new CD Singing in the Dark.
One of the strongest, most expressive voices to have come out of Ireland belongs to Susan McKeown. The Grammy award-winning vocalist and BBC Folk Award nominee spans the realms of world music and rock. Her music has been featured in documentary programs on PBS, BBC, RTE, and ABC (Australia) and she has frequently performed on NPR and PRI. On her seventh solo album, Singing in the Dark (Hibernian Music; October 30, 2010), McKeown brings her fine-tuned sense for song to centuries of striking visions from across the Americas, Ireland and the British Isles — the perspectives of artists struggling with depression, mania, and substance abuse. The lyrics come from the anonymous poet of the ninth century — Gaelic Mad Sweeney– plus Lord Byron, James Clarence Mangan, Theodore Roethke, Anne Sexton, Gwendolyn Brooks, Gwyneth Lewis and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill — with new music from McKeown, Frank London and Lisa Gutkin. Also included are songs from John Dowland, Chilean activist songwriter Violeta Parra and Leonard Cohen. The resulting album, with an introductory essay by author and Professor of Psychiatry Kay Jamison, sheds light on the deepest and most beautiful layers of the human condition. “I was able to trace back a line of manic depression going through my father’s family,” she says, “and all those men married musicians. I began reading about mental illness and creativity and discovered they are linked. It’s just a fact.” This link fascinated McKeown and sent her digging through poetry books and library collections, as well as turning to roots music in her home of New York and on her native shores. She looked for lyrics with “singability,” as well as powerful perspectives. She followed Anne Sexton, who urged, even in darkness, to tell it true, and whose eerie poem Her Kind became the album’s single “A Woman Like That”. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the album will benefit the mental health organizations NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), Fountain House and MDSG (Mood Disorder Support Group). Susan grew up in Dublin, Ireland but in 1990 she left for New York City to attend The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Susan started out as an actress but soon gained a reputation as a vocalist and songwriter. From 1998 through 2004 McKeown was a frequent visitor to the WOW Hall, performing here with her own band, with the late Scottish fiddler Johnny Cunningham and with the Women of the World.
Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 at the door, and $25 for front-of-house reserved seating, and are available at C D & Game Exchange, C D World, House of Records, U. of O. Ticket Office, WOW Hall and www.ticketweb.com. Doors open at 8:00 pm and showtime is 9:00. The WOW Hall is located at the corner of 8th and Lincoln in Eugene and is open for all ages (6-11 half price at the door when accompanied by parent or adult guardian; five and under no charge). Adult refreshments are available downstairs. Info: 687-2746.
On Saturday, November 27, the Community Center for the Performing Arts and KRVM’s Women in Music host the Grand Finale of GRRRLZ ROCK 2010 at the WOW Hall featuring The Sugar Beets, The Sub Pilots, Engraved, Gemiinii Riisiing, Grace Mitchell and Savanna Coen.
When it comes to singing, 12-year-old Savanna Coen has been described as a soulful black woman in a little girl’s body. She has been wowing audiences with her powerful and expressive vocals for the past few years in Eugene and this summer in Chicago, where she fronted an eight-piece band at Buddy Guy’s famous nightclub, Legends. Most recently, she performed at the Blues by the Sea festival in Astoria and The Willamette Valley Blues & Brews Festival, where the Register Guard called her the festival’s “Surprise hit.” Accompanying her on guitar, David Frank is a talented 22-year-old musician from Seattle who learned guitar from Heart guitarist, Roger Fisher. David is a founding member of several successful bands and currently has a new album called Fight the Moon.
“She’s only 13? WOW!” That’s usually the phrase uttered after every one of young singer/songwriter Grace Mitchell’s performances. Grace is only 13 years old but she packs a punch with her soulful voice and passionate performances. Graces’ unique sound and style has established her reputation as a singer/songwriter people want to pay attention to.
Gemiinii Riisiing started three years ago, has 16,000 fans worldwide, and just released an album called Insects which is available through online music retailers including itunes, Amazon, and Myspace, as well as various Eugene record stores. As of September, 2010, Gemiinii Riisiing is back in the studio working on a sophomore album. This record will be a full-length LP, and will include 10 new songs. Whereas the Insects EP was more an exploration of the inner world and the personal connection with the Source, the next record will bring into focus the way in which the internal consciousness experiences and interacts with the external world. The songs will explore an array of human relationships, interpersonal dynamics and intergenerational karma.
Engraved started with Mavis meeting a young bass player named Josh Carpenter. The band began six and a half years ago and had a pretty good two and a half year run, one studio recorded CD and another one on the way but began to struggle with keeping band members. After a three year hiatus, Engraved is back with two new members and gigging professionally again. The music has several influences including Tool, Metallica and Primus. With melodic female vocals and male vocals shouting in distortion, Engraved has developed a slightly harder rock style. The lineup includes original drummer Steve Bogdanoff and two new guitar players, Ben Lane and Austin Blanchfill.
Formed in 2009, The Sub Pilots have already rocked audiences at Saturday Market, Lane Community College, and the Kids Rock showcase stage in downtown Eugene with selections from the Beatles to the Ramones to the Talking Heads, as well as many other groups both modern and classic. Ages 10 to 16, their musical confidence and their colorful personality combine to make them one of the groups to watch in coming years, and their ability to switch instruments at will adds an unpredictability rarely seen in local youth bands.
What began as a weekend jam session among University of Oregon students in 1990 has become Eugene’s own community band creating the musical backdrop to countless celebrations, rites of passage, kickoffs, rallies and tributes. Soon to celebrate 20 years together, The Sugar Beets have only improved with time and experience. Woven from the foot-stomping traditions of Bluegrass, Celtic and old time fiddle music to the worlds of Motown, Gospel, country, folk and pop, The Sugar Beets have been moving audiences for nearly 20 years with original tunes and fresh and inspiring sounds.
Admission is $10 at the door, $7 with three or more cans of food for Food For lane County; free with VIP Pass. Doors open at 6:30 pm and showtime is 7:00. The WOW Hall is located at the corner of 8th and Lincoln in Eugene and is open for all ages (6-11 half price at the door when accompanied by parent or adult guardian; five and under no charge). Adult refreshments are available downstairs. For more information please call 687-2746.
On Tuesday, November 30, the Community Center for the Performing Arts and U. of O. Campus Radio 88.1 FM KWVA proudly welcome to the WOW Hall Le Serpent Rouge: An Evening of Beguiling Dance and Strangely Familiar Music featuring internationally renowned belly dance company The Indigo (Rachel Brice, Mardi Love and Zoe Jakes), The Crow Quill Night Owls and The Gallus Brothers plus Eugene’s own Blair Street Mugwumps.
The Indigo have charmed the hearts of princes and tramps alike. Since the Indigo’s inception in 2003, the company and its members have been seen throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. The Indigo has toured extensively with The Bellydance Superstars, Lollapalooza, The Yard Dogs Road Show, and has performed at a number of festivals including the prestigious Glastonbury Festival. The Indigo has created and defined a new style of belly dance, embracing the roots of Middle Eastern dance while incorporating an aesthetic reminiscent of early 20th century cabarets and world’s fairs.
The Crow Quill Night Owls are submerged in the depths of old medicine show music like a serpent eating it’s own tale, playing a mix of 1920′s jazz, jug band music, ragtime country blues, and minstrel songs gone feral. Kit “Stymee” Stovepipe sings like the surface noise of an old 78 rpm record and picks a resophonic guitar like a broke down engine on rusty zig-zag tracks. At the same time, Windy City Alex shreds the tenor banjo and sings with a voice like piano notes gliding through the spokes of an old bicycle. The band is composed of part old instruments and part old junk, including tub bass, washboard, National steel guitar, banjo, harmonicas and kazoos. They’ve indulged audiences all over the West Coast playing the obscure songs of a forgotten America.
The Gallus Brothers play rollicking good country blues peppered with old rags, prewar pop songs and dance tunes. Devin Champlin syncopates wildly on a resophonic guitar, while Lucas Hicks brings the music to a new level by playing percussion on a suitcase full of bones, bells and antique tomfoolery. They have played up and down the West Coast wooing crowds with their music, humor, and their willingness to jump on a table, stand on each other, and juggle while playing a good old tune from way back when.
Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 at the door, and $25 reserved and are available at C D & Game Exchange, C D World, House of Records, U. of O. Ticket Office, WOW Hall and www.ticketweb.com. Doors open at 7:30 pm and showtime is 8:00. The WOW Hall is located at the corner of 8th and Lincoln in Eugene and is open for all ages (6-11 half price at the door when accompanied by parent or adult guardian; five and under no charge). Adult refreshments are available downstairs. For more information please call 687-2746.
Classes, Meetings & Workshops at the WOW Hall 11/26 to 12/2/10:
Saturday, November 27:
West African Dance with Alseny Yansane’
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Sunday, November 28:
Coalessence: Community Ecstatic Dance
10:00 am – noon
Monday, November 29
African Dance Fundamentals & Core Strengthening with Alseny Yansane & Andrea DiPalma
7:00 – 8:15 pm
