Celebrate,Crazy About Always … Patsy Cline,Freud's Last
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Celebrate “There is really no better way to celebrate America’s birthday than celebrating its music” The traditional music of America is being celebrated in one of America’s most historic sites right here in our own backyard. Wednesday marked the launch for the 1st Annual BlueGrass Music Festival. Cranston Mayor, Allan Fung, and Warwick Mayor, Scott Avedisian, were both in attendance. The unveiling took place in historic Pawtuxet Village. The mayors were joined by local residents and band members who will be performing in this week’s festival. This marks the first time that both cities, in association with the Rhode Island Bluegrass Alliance, will come together to put on an event for everyone in the community to enjoy. The weekend long event begins July 4th and continues throughout the weekend. During the day, Aspray Park in the heart of Pawtuxet will be taken over by local food vendors, farmer’s market, arts and crafts booths and live acoustic performances and jams by local bluegrass artists. In the evening, the festival moves to Rhodes on the Pawtuxet with performances by Grammy nominated bands Blue Highway and SteelDrivers along with award winning innovator Tony Trischka & Great Big World and many more. Chris Keenan, who helped plan and organize the music festival, emphasized that even if you do not know anything about Bluegrass it will still be a great experience and you are guaranteed to have a good time. “There is really no better way to celebrate America’s birthday than celebrating its music,” said Keenan. Bluegrass with Street Cred “While we have some of these amazingly talented musicians here,” Keenan added, “We’ll also be conducting a series of master classes.” From seminars on the basics, to workshops for all skill levels, to some serious insider music-tips, these more intimate sessions will focus on Banjo, guitar, vocals, songwriting, the music business, or just Q&A about how to jam, or what it’s like to be on the road.” It’s a chance to get up close and personal with some amazing talent,” says Keenan. Pete Wernick, Mike Kropp, Susahn Fiering, George Harper, as well as members of Blue Highway, SteelDrivers and Tony Trischka will be leading the sessions. By: Surya Moreira Photos by: Karin Tavares Crazy About Always … Patsy Cline The life of country western music legend Patsy Cline was cut short due to a plane crash in 1963, but her songs live on in Always … Patsy Cline, which opened at Ocean State Theater Company on June 4 and runs until the 22nd. Erin McCracken delivers a stellar performance as Cline. McCracken is an engaging performer with a charismatic stage presence and a rich voice that does justice to Cline’s songs, and her energy and charisma was charming and infectious. The other major character in the show is a devoted fan named Louise, played by Lulu Lloyd. Louise has almost all of the spoken dialogue in the show, as she recounts how Cline’s music brought comfort and joy to her life. “Patsy’s music made me feel so alive every time I heard it,” Louise says early in the show. The relationship between Louise and Cline is heartfelt and deeply engaging and McCracken and Lloyd are perfectly matched. Louise speaks in a Southern twang and has a frisky, no-nonsense attitude. Lloyd gets to wiggle her butt a few times, which amused the audience. She also stepped off stage and engaged with the audience at a few points in the show, even dancing with a male audience member. The setting for the show is a honky tonk where Patsy is accompanied by the Bodacious Bobcats Band (John C. Brown, John Whidgren, Brian Grochowski, Jonne Gomes, Randy Cloutier) and backup singers (Neil Jeronimo, Brian Pereira). Creator Ted Swindley, who directed the original production of Always … Patsy Cline, and director Amiee Turner pay tribute to Cline and her ability to captivate audiences. Cline scored major hits on the country charts with “Walkin’ After Midnight,” “I Fall to Pieces,” “Lovesick Blues” and “Crazy” – all featured in the show. You don’t have to be fan of Patsy Cline or country music to enjoy this show. You just have to enjoy good theater. Always … Patsy Cline runs through June 22 at Ocean State Theatre Company, 1245 Jefferson Blvd., Warwick. Call 401-921-6800, or visit oceanstatetheatre.org. Freud’s Last Session Is Brilliant Theater What would happen if you put two highly intellectual individuals in a room and let them debate the existence of God? Freud’s Last Session, a witty and provocative play by Mark St. Germain, isolates the legendary psychoanalyst Dr. Sigmund Freud and the author C.S. Lewis in Freud’s office for a riveting 60 minutes at Warren’s 2nd Story Theater. The show opened in previews on June 6 and runs through August 3. Ed Shea, as Freud, and Wayne Kneeland, as Lewis, have electrifying chemistry as they argue over the existence of God, the meaning of the Bible, humor, sexuality and Freud’s plans for his own suicide. St. Germain’s dialogue is brilliant as it displays the different personalities of these two highly articulate and opinionated men. Freud acts on his intellect, not on emotions. Lewis was critical of Freud’s views and is not hesitant to debate him on religion and the nature of God. “I state the truth no matter who it outrages,” Freud says at one point. Freud’s Last Session takes place in London at the outset of World War II, and air raid sirens frequently sound. Freud and Lewis listen to the radio for news updates, and the anxiety of living in a turbulent era clearly affects both men profoundly. Their essential vulnerabilities are exposed as they seek solace from the violence erupting all around them. But despite this stark drama, there is a great amount of humor in the play. Director Pat Hegnauer created a fast-paced show that challenges the audience to reconsider their own views toward many subjects, including religion, and there is an effective moment at the end of the play where Freud reveals his chat with Lewis allowed him also to reconsider one of his views. It is just one of many reasons to witness Freud’s Last Session. For tickets, contact 2nd Story Theatre at 401-247-4200. Alt Nation: Summer Shows The best of alt rock in Rhode Island all summer I thought this winter was hard, but this stretch of early April-like weather has been just furthering the frustration of waiting for summer to come again. I’ll let someone else worry about climate change because talking to the people that harp on either side of that debate is just painful. Instead I’m going to crank up my summer playlist, which always starts with The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer in the City,” and go through a list of all the shows coming to the area that I’m excited for! So grab your Del’s, iced coffee, sunscreen, crank up the tunes, and get ready to get dirty and gritty! Stanatron mixes video and music for what should be a night of hypnotic ambient music. The music will be performed by a couple of seasoned veterans, Kraig Jordan and Bob Kendall. The performance includes a 49-minute film as well as Jordan and Kendall performing. The music is a departure from the more conventional songwriting of some their other projects. Think pre-Dark Side of The Moon Pink Floyd but more ambient and less structure. There is a 75-minute LP available now at 75orlessrecords.com.Stanatron will perform June 14 at the Jamestown Art Center. The English Beat return to play West Warwick. Geez, never thought I’d write those words. The English Beat had one foot in the ‘80s new wave and the other foot in two tone ska. They had top 10 hits with a cover of “Tears Of a Clown,” “Mirror in The Bathroom,” and“Too Nice to Talk to.” It’s always a risk with older bands that don’t have much as far as original members, but having seen them several times in recent years in both conventional (Lupo’s) and unconventional venues (The Foundry building), I’ll vouch that The English Beat are still money for a good time. Fun fact about The English Beat is their name changes depending what continent they are on. In Europe they are known as The Beat and when in Australia they are The British Beat.The English Beat, The Stone Unturned, The Copacetics, and Rad Thursdays at Manchester 65, West Warwick June 21. Bob Kendall returns with follow up to his last release, Midnight Flower (75orLessRecords). The new record has a decidedly Americana feel. I like the dark atmosphere on the opening track “Stay.” “Pall Mall Days” has kind of a folk feel, which I dig here. “You Can’t Have Everything” has kind of an Irish folk beat that I could see generating some good sing-a-longs at shows. The optimistic “New Day” is probably my favorite on the line, maybe just for the lyric, “If you lose your mind, don’t let it get to you.” Much of the record seems to be bridging ‘60s stuff like The Byrds with more modern influences like Uncle Tupelo and Wilco. This record is also available through the 75orLessRecords website. The CD release show is at one of the best laid back places to catch a show, The Narrows. The venue installed an air conditioning system last year so one no longer has to worry about being trapped in the sweat fest that old factory buildings can become in late June.