LITTLE COW BIG DEAL FOR BUCKMAN SEASON

"Hungary’s hottest export since goulash." Funkhaus Europa

"A crossover mixture that radiates the spirit of an alternative traveling circus, Little Cow moves between melancholy and a wild party…catchy songs . . . Top music from a top band." Sound & Image Magazine

Don't miss one of the brightest stars on the world music circuit, Hungary’s Little Cow! This raucous ensemble takes listeners on a joy ride through the carnivalesque and the lyrical, the melancholy and the whimsical with absurd humor and all things known to keep a party going. The band is celebrated for their Gypsy, Balkan, rock, pop, ska and dance music fusions. Little Cow has played all of the hottest venues from New York's reputed Joe's Pub to Globalfest to the esteemed Kennedy Center and are a featured artist on Putumayo World Records. Bring your dancing shoes for an unforgettable night at the Buckman!

WHO: Little Cow

WHEN: Sunday, October 5, 2008, 7 p.m.

TICKETS: $28 for adults, $25 for seniors and students

BOX OFFICE HOURS: Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. or 1 hour prior to a performance. Call (901) 537-1483.

WHERE: Buckman Arts Center at St. Mary’s School,
60 Perkins Extended, Memphis, TN 38117

CONTACT: For more information or to arrange an interview with the artist(s), please contact Cindi Younker at cyounker@stmarysschool.org or (901)537-1483.

IMAGES: See attached

ARTIST VIDEOS: www.youtube.com, search “little cow”

Little Cow (Kistehén Tánczenekar) was founded by László Kollár-Klemencz after the great success of his songs for the popular Hungarian cartoon, Little Yellow Cow. This funny figure, which won the audience award at the International Animation Festival in Ottawa in 2002, was brought to life by László and his creative partner, Igor Lazin. In the same year, the protagonist, Little Cow, became the main advertisement figure of Hungary‘s Sziget Festival.

The band first formed to play for the Sziget Festival, with a makeshift set-up and a limited repertoire. At the time, the band was just a hobby of the members. Nevertheless, László and his band mates managed to produce two albums, A Kis Tehén (The Little Cow) in 2002 and Csintalan (Naughty) in 2004.

Little Cow became a full time band, following the phenomenal success of their song Szájbergyerek (Cyber Boy). Although not broadcast on any commercial channels, it’s popularity spread quickly via the Internet. In Hungary, Cyber Boy was a runaway hit breaking music industry records, including most ring tone-downloads, video of the year on Hungarian VIVA Television, and Song of the Year at the Fonogram Awards. Little Cow’s fame began to spread abroad when it was selected for the British Beginner’s Guide to Eastern Europe compilation album. The band was soon bombarded with invitations to music festivals, village days, cultural celebrations and TV shows.

By 2006 they were one of the Hungary‘s most popular bands. Their next album Szerelmes Vagyok Minden Nobe (I’m in Love with Every Lady) was published by EMI in Hungary and internationally by Eastblok Music. In 2007 Csintalan became a Platinum selling album.

Today, they are touring the world. They were selected by UK’s Songlines Magazine as a featured artist for their Top of the World CD and for the Gypsy Grooves album for Putumayo World Records.

Little Cow’s music has been described as “crazy listening”, “underground pop” and “a village version of Beatles” with its Gypsy, Balkan, rock, pop, ska and dance music. The mood of their music races from serenity, absurdity and humor to mature, deep and poetic. The Buckman is pleased to introduce the Mid-south to Little Cow on Sunday, October 5 at 7 p.m. Visit www.youtube.com and search for “Little Cow” to catch one of their kitschy videos or see a rollicking live performance. Tickets are available on line at www.buckmanartscenter.com or by calling (901) 537-1483

Raconteurs Concert

My first visit to the Cannon Center downtown was as pleasant as I could have hoped. It’s usually used for ballets and symphonies, and even when I first entered the auditorium, I couldn’t help noticing that it looked exactly like an opera house. To be honest, I thought the venue was just a little too nice for the Raconteurs, who are a charming combination of power pop, fuzzed-out blues, and Americana, all taken to the next level. I wanted to see this band in a dingy bar somewhere, where the pervasive smell of cheap cigarettes, stale beer, and incredible body odor that only Memphis concertgoers seem to be able to muster, lingered in the air like good, old-fashioned industrial pollution.
Well, we did have stale beer and Memphis B.O. at least, so by the time the opening act came out, I was in my concert state of mind. The Kills took the stage with high expectations from this reviewer, and over the next 45 minutes, proceeded to ruin all of them. The Kills are a two-member band, consisting of “Hotel” Hince and “VV” Mosshart, with both playing guitar and doing vocals, although Hince plays guitar a bit more, and Mosshart sings a bit more. They’ve been compared to other minimalist electronic acts like Suicide and Gary Numan, but trust me, they are nowhere near as good.
They had a drum and bass machine on stage while they played their set, and I must say, it was a little excessive. The bass was so huge that it nearly rattled my hipster glasses right off my face. The drum machine was staid and completely free of any kind of dynamics. And worst of all, Mosshart would not stand still for more than 5 seconds. She seriously must have walked nearly a mile with all of her prancing, gallivanting, showboating, and posing. In her sad attempt to be Iggy Pop/Mick Jagger/Freddie Mercury, she forgot that her band sucks.
Madam, you are no Karen O.
After the Kills played some of their more popular songs, like “U.R.A. Fever,” “Sour Cherry,” “No Wow,” and “Fried My Little Brains,” they left the stage, and the unwashed masses started pouring into the auditorium. It was actually a much older crowd than I was expecting, and almost the entire younger, college-age crowd was up front in the standing room section. The roadies worked quickly, and before you knew it, the Raconteurs were taking the stage.
Now, maybe this is something that has always been around and I just don’t know it, but it seems like the only purpose of standing near the front of the stage nowadays is to take as many pictures on your phone/digital camera as possible. And judging from the pictures people were taking, it seemed like the only reason anyone was there last night was basically the same reason I was there: to see Jack White, the likely savior of traditional rock and roll.
This was the second time I had seen Mr. White live, and I have been listening to his music since the eighth grade. When I was in high school, he was my guitar god, and in some ways, he still is. The applause of the audience was noticeably louder when he took up his ax, and right from the start, my nose started to twitch: the tension in this band must be unreal.
The drama played out over the entire show. He played the first five minutes with his back to the audience, as if he was trying to hide himself so that his friends could share in the limelight for just a little while. He would often sit down to play his instrument, effectively disappearing from the view of many people in the audience. And his demeanor was remarkably different from that of a White Stripes show; when he is on stage with Meg, he really gets into the music, screwing up his face along with the guitar, and evincing some kind of emotion. But during the entire show, he played with pursed lips, half-open eyes, and an expression taken right off of George Harrison. He was different around this band, around his good friends. I thought it was kind of sad to see this, to see Jack White stuck in a cage.
But ladies and gentlemen, Jack White is seriously just too good to be kept under wraps like that. After a particularly blistering blues/rock solo, I actually turned to my friend and said, “It’s just not fair how much better he is than the other guys in this band.” Still, despite White’s indomitable abilities on guitar, the band motored through some fan favorites, like “Many Shades of Black,” “Old Enough,” and the title track from their new album, “Consoler of the Lonely.” Brendan Benson, the other guitarist and singer, was totally on point the entire show, especially since he had to pull some slack; Jack White came out after about the fifth song to address the troops, made chit-chat, talked about eating at Interstate Barbeque, and then apologized about a disc in his neck, which he said was also affecting his vocals. I thought nothing of it, until the end of the show.
The Raconteurs were tight for the first 45 minutes, but after that, they got increasingly jammy. I don’t like jam music. It’s repetitive, boring, pointless, and unsatisfying. And until the end of the first set, the Raconteurs just jammed away. It was incredibly disappointing. But as always, there was an encore. (Does anyone not play encores anymore?) And man, this encore was better than the whole show so far.
The first set was noticeably free of the radio hits, “Steady As She Goes,” and the newer “Salute Your Solution.” But the Raconteurs brought it out in full force. After playing two powerful, cagey numbers, they pulled out the big guns to satiate the crowd. And unfortunately, because Jack White couldn’t sing, they brought out Mosshart of the Kills. I could have cried. She had to read the lyrics off a piece of paper, and something happened to White’s guitar. During “Steady As She Goes,” the last song, he went through three guitars to get the right sound, but he eventually fixed it. The set ended to raucous cheers and applause, and the band took a bow before they left the stage, which I had never seen before.
All in all, the concert was a solid B-. The Raconteurs took a little too much liberty with the jam session, and the opening band was abysmal live. But they completely redeemed themselves with some swift, tight rock songs, and awesome audience rapport. If anything, I would recommend buying the Raconteurs albums, and getting a few Kills tracks. But please, if you get the chance, go see the Raconteurs if only to see Jack White. He is just too good to believe.
- Jake Smith

- Photo: Lindsay Smith

MSO: David's Perfect 10

On Saturday September 20^th I attended the Memphis Symphony Orchestra’s (MSO) performance of “David’s Perfect 10”. This evening there was a guest violinist, Juilliard grad Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg—whose performance was nothing short of show-stopping! She strode on stage beaming and utterly confident in her abilities—I could tell her performance was going to be standing-o worthy because of her pants. I know this sounds strange, but her black and white striped and shimmery pants were so ridiculous-looking that I assumed she must be so good on violin that her skill would distract the audience from her unconventional choice of attire. This proved to be true! She and the MSO’s performance of Piazolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” was an aural sensation. Some of my friends even commented that “halfway through we decided it was ok she wearing those pants”! Salerno-Sonnenberg put on a theatrical as well as a musical performance by swaying to the pulse of the music, while simultaneously dazzling everyone with her effortless runs on the violin.

The rest of the program paled in comparison. I was particularly confused by the placement of Ravel’s “Bolero” after Piazollo’s “Four Seaons” because “Bolero” is repetitive and a bit grating on the nerves. It does not implement any virtuosic solos nor innovative melodies. It’s the same motive over and over again. I felt that the best way to send off the audience is to leave them inspired and in high spirits—exactly how everyone felt after Sonnenberg’s spell-binding performance!

- Brigid Hannon

For a schedule of what, when and where Nadja performs next visit:

www.nadjasalernosonnenberg.com/concerts.html

For more information about the MSO’s upcoming concerts visit:

www.memphissymphony.org

Visiting voice professor: Stephen Smith

On Thursday September 5th I attended a vocal performance concert in which a visiting voice professor from Middle Tennessee State University, Stephen Smith and accompanist Lynn Rice-See performed a variety of “arias and art songs”. His selections included “Sonnets of Petrarch” by Franz Liszt, “Nessun Dorma” from Giacomo Puccini’s opera, Turnadot, and songs by Richard Hundley and Richard Strauss—to name a few. My favorites by far were “Nessun Dorma” and all of his Strauss songs. He sung the Puccini aria with such spirit and compassion. When he hit and sustained the highest note in the piece the resonance and tone was so beautiful and full that it gave me goose bumps! Likewise, I could tell that he felt most connected and passionate about his Strauss selections because of his added animation and careful phrasing of each song. It’s hard to explain, but as a singer I sensed that he had an even higher regard and deeper appreciation for these songs than any of the other songs performed. My beliefs were confirmed when I attended his master class the following day because he confided to us that he did in fact like his Strauss selections the most out of the concert repertoire! The rest of his pieces were performed well but did not inspire or affect me in the same way his delivery of the “Nessun Dorma” and the Strauss songs did.
- Brigid Hannon

Clough-Hanson Gallery at Rhodes

On Wednesday September 24, I decided it was time to see the fist exhibit this semester for the Clough-Hanson Gallery. I had seen flyers around campus for the Memphis World exhibit, so I knew that there would be old photos taken from the Memphis World newspaper. What I did not expect was the flood of emotion that came from seeing these photographs. MEDGAR EVERS’ GRIEVING FAMILY that appeared in Memphis World on June 22, 1963 was the most moving photo for me. The photograph shows Evers’ wife, two children, and brother seated at the funeral. The raw emotion on their faces nearly had me in tears as well. That such a good man was killed and his family made to suffer in grief tore me up. That photograph really is worth a thousand words. Another favorite of mine, SEQUIN CLUB MEMBERS BRILLIANT FORMAL WITH FRENCH THEME, taken by Hooks Brothers Photography, showcases young women dressed for a dance. The dresses and smiles the women wear really caught my eye. The fact that all of the people in the photos are real people who led real lives at that time really resonates. The photograph topics vary a lot, so you get an entire cross-section of African American life from 1931 through 1973. In total, the Clough-Hanson Gallery showcases nineteen photographs while the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art hosts the remaining two hundred and three. I highly recommend that everyone go to this exhibition and get a taste of our city’s history. I think you will all find it more than worth your time.

- Leah Bachmeyer