The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
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New Music Notes|by Mark Boshnack British Band Pays Homage to Velvet Underground Dance to Be Featured during Weekend By Denise Richardson Oneonta will have its second destina- tion weekend Friday through Sunday with a program featuring art and music and highlighting dance. dancing, African dancing and drumming, and Jaycee Lambros, a former Oneontan and a Rockette in New York City, will visit her hometown to lead a kickline, Place said in an email. "Dancin' in the Streets" will feature mod- ern, traditional and indigenous choreog- raphy and music. Local and nationally established per- formers, plus college students and faculty, will present an arts smorgasbord starting with a dance performance Friday, and ending with an afternoon tea and popular music concert Sunday. The Oneonta Arts and Entertainment Task Force, which recently merged resources with the Community Arts Network of Oneonta, has been working on collaborating with art- ists and organizations in general and more-recently on the "destina- tion weekend." Jason Pierce of Spiritualized. host of new albums that offer a moveable feast for the ears. Spiritualized, 'Sweet Heart Sweet Light' The spring music season has provided a One of the best is a British band that started putting out music in 1990, Spiritualized. Although there have been changes in band members, the one constant has been singer songwriter Jason Pierce. The band's latest album, "Sweet Heart Sweet Light," is being touted by reviewers in the rock press as this psych rock band's most accessible. Contributed rangement in "Huh? (Intro)," when the music slips right into "Hey Jane." Soaring guitar and steady rhythms an- nounce the debt with its evocation of "Sweet Jane." Pierce even sounds like Lou Reed (though his voice is more melodic). He paces his work well, placing "Little Girl," a more introspective tuneful song with a chorus that evokes some of his health issues: "Hey little girl we're on our own, here today and then we're gone." On this seventh album, released in April, Pierce has created a big sound that shows not only the influence of a seminal American band, but also the impact of some personal problems he has worked through. After some serious health issues, his struggle with the meaning of life can be heard on several songs. But what really sets it apart from the others, is his homage to the influential Velvet Underground. It can be seen in the album's title, a reference to the classic Velvet's "White Light White Heat." It can be heard after a beautiful string ar- "Get What You Deserve" follows with its evocation of the ethereal side of the Velvets, while staking out new ground of its own. My favorite song on the album is "I Am What I Am," a real in-your-face rock anthem, with some steady piano and fuzzed-out bass. The final song returns to the introspective side, with lyrics that include the plaintive, "help me Lord, help me Jesus, 'cause I'm lonely and tired, I've got no reason to believe in anything." It ends with an optimistic state- ment about all that rock and roll can bring, including some soaring choral sounds. Mark Boshnack is a reporter for The Daily Star, and a music fiend. He can be reached at mboshnack@ thedailystar.com. The format is to have two desti- nation weekends a year with Main Street downtown closed for some activities, task force members said last week. Students and faculty from Hartwick Col- lege and the State University College at Oneonta have been involved in the plan- ning and will help with the presentation of Saturday afternoon programs, Place said. Several college clubs will hold family- oriented activities, such as face-painting and games. LAMBROS Oneonta's first destination weekend was in October, which featured an American music theme. "We are trying to create Oneonta as a `destination' place," Kellie Place, task force and CANO board member, said. The Oneonta Theatre is doing a "phe- nomenal job" bringing in various genres of music, she said, and the Foothills Per- forming Arts and Civic Center and CANO separately have presented big events. Main Street Oneonta, a downtown merchant organization that promotes businesses, also has been working on the destination weekends. MSO's Julia Goff didn't return a telephone message left at her office Thursday. Place said "Dancin' In The Streets" came about as a result of the Oneonta Concert Association's presentation of the Taylor 2 dance group Friday and the Oneonta Theatre's booking of the popular band Dark Star Orchestra on Sunday. Both of these events are expected to draw large audiences, she said, and the Task Force played off these major events and created the Saturday afternoon of "Dancin' in the Streets." The free event on a closed Main Street downtown will have live music on a portable stage, ballroom event-filled weekend that will keep locals and visitors entertained and coming back to Main Street Oneonta for more," Place said. On Sunday, Mother's Day, CANO and the task force will offer a free Sunday afternoon tea from 1 to 4 p.m., with refreshments and entertainment and the ongoing display of "Two Danc- ers: A Photographic and Poetic Collaboration" by Charles Bremer and Robert Bensen at the gallery in Wilber Mansion on Ford Avenue. "The Oneonta Arts Task Force tied all the weekend's events together, added the afternoon of music and dance on Saturday and the Sunday tea to complement the art exhibit to create a three-day The schedule, in part, includes: Paul Taylor's Taylor 2 Dance Company, presented by the Oneonta Concert Association, 7:30 p.m. Friday, at the Oneonta Theatre, 47 Chestnut St. The Catskill Choral Society performance of Handel's "Messiah," 7:30 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday, at the First United Methodist Church, 66 Chestnut St. Free family-oriented activities, music and presentations at Muller Plaza downtown from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, with the Oneonta Farmers Market also scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rock Orchestra III, 8 p.m. Saturday, Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Cen- ter on Market Street. Hartwick College string orchestra and other ensembles will perform. Volunteer Fireman's Ball, with the band Spoonbread, 8 p.m. Saturday, at the Oneonta Theatre. "Hairspray," 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, Goodrich Theater at SUNY Oneonta. Presented by Orpheus Theatre. Dark Star Orchestra, 8 p.m. Sunday at the Oneonta Theatre. May 10, 2012 O-Town Scene 7