:: propagandART ~ november 9, 2004 ::

it's bobby mcferrin time!
do yourself a favor...just commit to going.
i promise my holiest promise you won't be disappointed.
the only other artists i've gushed this hard about: prince, maceo parker, vinx.

:: Bobby McFerrin ::

OK...without a doubt, this is the coolest event I've gotten to promote since Maceo Parker was in town a couple of years ago. This is one of the single-mose insprational vocalists I've ever heard. I didn't have much interest in developing myself as a singer until I heard my dad play a record called "The Voice."

My dad was sitting at the dining room table doing some work and put the record on. When I walked into the dining room from the kitchen I was mesmerized. The sounds coming through those speakers stopped me in my tracks. Bobby was doing an a capella version of Paul McCartney's "Blackbird," but it wasn't like any vocal performance I'd ever heard in my life. It was as if he took his vocal part from the entire score of the song, but jumped from the bass line, to the guitar line, to the vocal melody line, to the harmony line, then back to the guitar line, and then inventing his own line. With all that complexity, he still made this beautiful song sound simple. and elegant. and intimate.

"This is pretty cool," I said to my dad. Which, for a teenager, is one of the highest accolades you can give. Once the song was done, he picked up the needle and put it back to the beginning of the side. It was a version of James Brown's "I Feel Good" and it split my head open. My very first musical revalation took place right then and there.

"How does he do that?!?!" I begged of my dad. We sat there and tried to mimic the music we heard. It was incredible. To this day I practice singing like Bobby McFerrin. His recordings were the closest I ever came to vocal instruction. Not only did his records teach me to sing, they taught me how to use my voice and how to use music to open my soul. No lie. There's something trascendant about music. Bobby was my key to discovering how deeply music can touch the spirit.

I'll be putting my love for his music where my mouth is as the pre-talk speaker for his concert at the Leid Center. And I don't know how in the world I'm going to prepare an audience for what they will hear. His soul, his energy, his spirit and his virtuosity will be on display through his music...and there's no way I can tell people what to expect. It will be one of the most special nights of the year for me. I can't wait...and I sincerely hope many of you will be there with me to experience the magic of Bobby McFerrin. Hit his website for more about this beautiful person: http://www.bobbymcferrin.com.

Call the Leid Center for tickets right now.

Friday, November 12, 2004 - 7:30pm
Location: Lied Center for Performing Arts
Tickets: $45/40/35 Student/Youth: $22.50/20/17.50
Hit their website to buy tickets online.
Or call the box office at 472-4747.

:: Steve Martin's Picasso At The Lapin Agile ::

Science Takes on Art as Einstein Confronts PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE by Steve Martin

** RUSH Tickets will be available for the Thursday November 11 performance of PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE at the Lincoln Community Playhouse. Rush Ticket price for this performance only is $10. Tickets must be purchased in person at the Box Office between 5:00 and 6:00 pm. Thursday evening. No phone sales. Limit of two Rush Tickets per person. **

In an unexpected time warp the other night, patrons of the Lapin Agile, a nondescript Paris bistro, were transported back to the year 1904, as upstart young scientist Albert Einstein tangled in a war of words with as-yet unknown Spanish painter Pablo Picasso.

Reliable sources say the entire incident between Einstein and PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE was artfully orchestrated by comic actor Steve Martin, who, in his first comedy for the stage, played fast and loose with fact, fame and fortune as the two geniuses traded words with infectious dizziness. A re-creation of the absurd twist of fate will be presented at the Lincoln Community Playhouse studio theatre November 5-21, 2004.

Einstein, 25, employed by day in a patent office, was heard to say that at night “the stars come out in my head.” Everyone in the bar viewed this statement with relative skepticism, but knew for sure they had a fruitcake on their hands when he started scribbling mathematical formulas on the table top.

Young artist Picasso, 23, arrived moments later and, according to barmaid Germaine, added to the surreal evening by claiming, “There’s nothing in my way any more. If I think it I can draw it.” And he, too, began defacing the table top with a line drawing.

From that moment on, the competition heated up between the two geniuses, each claiming that his ideas would change the world. Insults were exchanged at dizzying speed: Picasso called Einstein a fake; Einstein fired back, “Maybe you’re an idiot savant. And hold the savant.” Soon everyone in the bistro was chiming in – arguments raged all night about romance, humor, art, talent, time and space.

And in one final surprise, everyone was caught off guard by a young dark-haired singer from the future who was oddly protective of his shoes. By the end of the evening, all had reconciled, posed for a group photo, and joined together in a toast to the Twentieth Century.

Thursday, November 11, 7:30 PM
Friday, November 12, 7:30 PM
Saturday, November 13, 7:30 PM
Sunday, November 14, 2:00 PM

Lincoln Community Playhouse ~ 56th & Normal
Box Office: 489.7529

:: Pride & Prejudice ::

The Haymarket Theatre presents Pride and Prejudice. Bob Hall directs Jane Austen's sparkling romantic comedy, featuring a cast of Lincoln's best talent. Melissa Lewis is Elizabeth Bennet and the company features George Hansen, Leta Powell Drake, Steve Gaines, Brad Boesen, Liz Banset, Lettie Van Hemert, Fred Stuart, Nora Smith, Kelli Chaves, Jeffrey Little, Matthew Hansen, Michela Coniglio, Andrea Swartz, Laura Nettland and Margy Ryan. This show will kick-off our 3rd Season of main stage professional productions.

November 11th-20th ~ Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm
Sunday, November 14th at 2pm
The Haymarket Theatre ~ 803 Q Street
Tickets are $15 adults, $12 Seniors and $9 for students.
Call 477-2600 for tickets!

:: Catie Curtis ::

Like the pied piper, Catie Curtis has legions of fans and admirers who will follow her wherever she leads. She has toured extensively with Lilith Fair, but this will be her first trip to Lincoln. Her songs have been heard on such shows as Dawson's Creek, Felicity, and Alias. The New Yorker has deemed her as a "folk-rock goddess." For more about Catie, hit her website: http://www.catiecurtis.com

Opening Act : Mark Erelli (http://www.markerelli.com)
Mark Erelli has been called "a gravelly-voiced heartthrob, who has a way with a smirk" and "a dynamic young folk-rocker, dives full-bore into honky-tonk and Western swing, and sounds like a natural doing it."

Friday, November 12, 2004 - 7:30pm
Loft at the Mill (8th & P)
Tickets: Member - $13 / Non-member - $17 / Student with ID - $10 / Children under 12 - $1
Buy tickets online or by contacting LAFTA ~ laftaNE@yahoo.com; (402) 580-8656

:: Crescent Moon ::

Every Friday is “live jazz” from 7PM to 10PM featuring local and regional jazz artists.

Saturday Night Acoustic Series: (8PM to 10PM)
November 13- Michael Murphy (Omaha singer/songwriter and Indian flute player)

Crescent Moon Coffee House
8th & P in Lincoln's Haymarket
435-2828

:: Dirty Dozen Brass Band ::

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band in its prime successfully mixed together R&B with the instrumentation of a New Orleans brass band. Featuring Kirk Joseph on sousaphone playing with the agility of an electric bassist, the group revitalized the brass band tradition, opening up the repertoire and inspiring some younger groups to imitate its boldness. Generally featuring five horns (two trumpets, one trombone, and two saxes) along with the sousaphone, a snare drummer, and a bass drummer, the DDBB was innovative in its own way.

Monday, November 15
Knickerbockers (9th & O) ~ 9ish

:: Nebraska Brass ::

The Nebraska Brass begin their season with a bang when percussionist Joe Holmquist joins the quintet to open the 2004-2005 season with All-American Pops. Joe Holmquist is a performer, educator and composer. He received a master of music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. As an educator, he is known most broadly for his drumset etude books. Currently, Mr. Holmquist works in Lincoln as a freelance percussionist and has toured across the nation and throughout Western Europe.

The Brass will perform: Fanfare by David Amram; Brass Quintet #1 by Alec Wilder; Leroy Anderson Melody, arranged by Jay Pralle; Foliations: Variations on “La Folia” by Jan Bach; 12th Street Rag by Euday Bowman, arranged by John Wasson; Take the A Train by Duke Ellington arranged by Jack Gale; Saturday Night Waltz by Aaron Copland; Buckaroo Holiday (from Rodeo) by Aaron Copland. The concerts will be at the following dates and venues:

Thursday, November 11, 2004 · 7:30 p.m.
First Presbyterian Church
840 South 17th Street Lincoln, NE

Friday, November 12, 2004 · 7:30 p.m.
Morning Star Lutheran Church
331 South 85th Street Omaha, NE

Sunday, November 14, 2004 · 3:00 p.m.
First United Methodist Church
4500 Linden Drive Kearney, NE

In Lincoln and Omaha, ticket prices are $15 Adults; $12 Seniors and FREE for children & students. In Kearney, tickets are $12 for Adults; $10 for Seniors and FREE for children & students. They are available at the door the night of the concert, or in advance by contacting the Nebraska Brass business office at Arts Incorporated at (402) 477-7899 or nb@artsincorporated.org.

The Nebraska Brass, founded in 1987, includes members Dean Haist, trumpet; Brad Obbink, trumpet; Richard Ricker, French horn; Mark Mendell, trombone; and John Thomason, tuba. In addition to performing five concert series each concert season, the Brass provides educational outreach to Nebraska elementary and high school students through the Nebraska Brass Education & Community Outreach Project.

Contact: Alexis “Zee” Zgud
Phone: (402) 477-7899
E-mail: aszgud@artsincorporated.org