New Age Aquarians

Yesterday night I had the privilege of attending UC Follies' production of 'HAIR' performed at HartHouse Theatre on the St. George Campus at U of T. Directed by the ever-impressive Shak Haq, and comprised of a cast reaching numbers of at least thirty, this was a production full of that 60s flare which is often forgotten about in the culture of the youth of the 00s.

Emmett O' Reilly played the rather, intense, character of Burger. Aidan Sharp played the sensitive character Claude, Bronwen Drummond was Sheila, Madeline Foley the rumbunctious Jeannie and Arianna Benincasa the heartbroken Chrissy. Each of these actors abound in talent and radiated a heat of talent which wafted around and smacked each audience member sitting there that night. O' Reilly in particular used his hands and the intonation of his voice to raise the bar in terms of character development and his consistent attention to detail of the character's nuances and quirks. Foley's slapstick humour brought the rather meek audience to chuckle with laughter, and brought me and a friend of mine to roar with it. Her solos were something fantastic as well. Benincasa's Chrissy was light and likeable and her solo embodied the definition of vocal control.

The ensemble seemed to have been experiencing the after-affects of a long day and long haul through the blizzard. Or maybe they had U of T's mountainous heap of readings on the brain. Whatever it was, the seemed to lack the extra ounce of chutzpah, however continued on with the show just the same. 

The costumes were out of this era. Colours and patterns and bell-bottoms, the movement on the stage was a spectacle in itself.

And the music...oh, the music.

Listen for yourself,

I highly recommend those of you who want to experience the trip of the 60s once again, or for the first time, to head on out to HartHouse Theatre and support the talent UC Follies has to offer.


www.uofttix.ca




Peace, Love.

The Genius that is Jack

How much do you know about Jack White? If you're an avid rock listener you will know he has been a member of The White Stripes. You may have heard about his being part of the Raconteurs. You also may have heard about the band he masterfully organized, The Dead Weather.

But what of his musical innovation? What of his aura? His artistic personality?

I, more of a Dylan and Beatles listener, will try my best to collate my personal knowledge of the man along with what I gather to present to you the clearest syncopation of Jack.

Born John Anthony Gillis, and often referred to as Jack White III, he is renowned for his cheeky lyrics and profoundly for his Rolling Stones' acclamation as being named one of the best guitarists of all time. 

Realistically if what you want is every detail amassed about this man, check out what Wikipedia has to say about him. 

I am here to write about the music. 

He began playing the guitar at the tender age of six and as a teenager was highly influenced by the rock n' roll which emerged during the 60s. The sound which arose out of the studios he recorded his music in was such that altered the route rock n' roll would take during the 90s. Not only are the guitars he uses authentic of the 60s and 70s, but he employs different effects which assist in the rapid modulations of his pitch during solos - producing a distinct sound. He uses amps and distortion generators to achieve a sound unlike many rock artists which were producing music around the same time as he. He even produces a "fake" bass tone by playing two of his guitars through an amplifier set to one octave down, creating a low rumbling sound heard droning in many of his songs, most notably in "Seven Nation Army". It's great shit, man.

With the Raconteurs and The Dead Weather he uses different guitars, all given names, and even plays   instruments like the piano, drums and tambourine.

It is his innovative use of machines that had not been tinkered with in such a way that created the sound Jack was looking for. He is now put in the same list as Hendrix, Morrison, Zeppelin to name a few. 

And, just for your information, he has twenty ideas underway for his next album. "Blunderbuss" part two? We shall see. 

Fashion in the 60s

You really need to check out this link. These pictures reek of authenticty.

Highschool Fashion in 1969



Here's a little taste of what you'll find:

Thought this was entirely suitable: