THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 13, 1996 TAG: 9605110083
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: SPECIAL CONCERT PREVIEW
SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 205 lines
DEPENDING ON who's answering the question, the multidimensional, macrocosmic musical caravan that rolls through Hampton Roads for five days starting Wednesday is:
1) The beginning of an evolution, a way overdue sign that the motherlode is only going to get deeper. We have arrived. The industry has noticed.
2) The folly of the calendar gods. With more acts on the road, and more venues booking them, dates are bound to pile up. It's business.
People who play and promote the music, radio program directors, for instance, tend to choose 1). People who bring in the performers aren't as likely to wear rose-colored glasses.
But there is a point on which everyone agrees. Given the variety and volume of music being offered in the days ahead, you won't need a bloodhound to scare up a show to your liking.
``We're finally getting what we've always deserved,'' said WNOR-FM program director Harvey Kojan. ``We've been behind some markets of similar size.''
Kojan acknowledged that promoters don't often have much choice - a band is coming through or it's not - and that some dates, such as this weekend's Chesapeake Jubilee, are fixed. Still, ``we've always had the people living here to support amount of concerts we're starting to see.''
Perry Stone, his counterpart at WROX-FM, said the hot music scene is part of a broader, evolving picture.
``This town has an identity crisis,'' he said. ``I've been here 2 1/2 years and all I've heard is this is a transient market. Well, so is San Diego. Charlotte is smaller than us and they have two pro sports franchises.''
Wednesday's opening of the Virginia Beach Amphitheater is an indication that Hampton Roads is thinking regionally, Stone said.
Mike Jones of Cellar Door Productions remembers when the Hooters played at a Wards Corner skating rink and 400 people paid; six weeks later, 35,000 showed up for a free Hooters concert at Hampton Bay Days.
``Did they get that much more popular?'' asked Jones, who books the Boathouse and Festevents concerts. ``Free is an amazing thing.''
Good crowds, then, are assured for Candlebox Friday at Town Point Park and the Jubilee. After that, it gets dicey, even with the amphitheater's built-in draw.
``More artists are touring now than ever before. More bands are getting label deals,'' Jones said. ``It's like we're in the remote-control generation: `Hey, that was great. Who were we watching?' `I don't remember.' It used to take two or three years to go from `you're great' to `you suck.' Now, it takes two or three weeks.''
There's no grand plan involved, not in the five days ahead, anyway, said Bill Douthat, president of Whisper Entertainment. He booked the Jubilee and brings acts into the Little Creek Amphibious Base.
``The amphitheater is new, but you have existing venues that will continue to book,'' he said. ``Cities are into it pretty big; you have festivals that are booked annually. The military has a different attitude.
``Can the market handle all that? I don't know.''
Decide for yourself. Here's a rundown of what's happening:
Wednesday
Hard to believe a decade has gone by since Bruce Hornsby released ``The Way It Is.'' That's because the personable pianist - Williamsburg-born and bred - has shown throughout his career that he's not one for resting on his Grammy-winning laurels. The current ``Hot House,'' like 1993's ``Harbor Lights,'' delves into his jazz roots. Hornsby's second career, as sideman to rock, jazz and country royalty, has been equally distinguished.
Virginia Beach Amphitheater, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $15-$23; order at 671-8100.
``I would hate to have to market Son Volt,'' drummer Mike Heidorn said recently. ``That would be tough.'' Formed by Jay Farrar after he left Uncle Tupelo, the band got on the air with the scorching single ``Drown.'' Critics, though, were taken by the Gram Parsons-Neil Young influence that made ``Trace'' one of 1995's best albums. If Farrar was a painter, he'd use earth tones: His evocative vignettes are that rich and real.
The Abyss, 1065 19th St., Virginia Beach, 8 p.m. Tickets: $8 advance; order at 671-8100; 422-0748.
Thursday
Those whose tastes lean to world music will want to hear Xu Ke, a 36-year-old native of Nanjing, China, and master of the traditional ehru. While the two-string instrument dates back to the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907), Xu Ke has given it universal applications. His recital, a ``Melody of Peace,'' includes works by Tchaikovsky and Elgar.
Chandler Recital Hall, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, 7:30 p.m. (also, 2 p.m. Sunday). Tickets: $10, 464-6957, 423-1429.
Benjamin Britten once said, ``I am first and foremost an artist, and as an artist I want to serve the community.'' Tidewater Humane Inc. and the Cantata Chorus do likewise with ``Noye's Fludde,'' his setting of the Renaissance play about Noah's Ark. The production is a mighty undertaking, with adult and child soloists and instrumentalists, a large children's chorus and dancers. Proceeds benefit Tidewater Humane's Spay/Neuter Assistance Program.
Christ & St. Luke's Church, Olney Road and Stockley Gardens, Norfolk, 8 p.m. (through Saturday). Tickets: $5.50-$10, 363-8366.
Friday
Ironic, huh? Rod Stewart, who forged a rep with the boozy blues-rock of Faces and Jeff Beck, not to mention his first, gritty, solo LPs, uses an MTV ``Unplugged'' gig and disc to recharge his career. But spark it they did. Traces of the old Haystacked One can be heard in his current ``A Spanner in the Works,'' which bodes well for his first local performance in many a moon.
Virginia Beach Amphitheater, 8 p.m. Tickets: $22.75-$44.75, order at 671-8100
The guys in Candlebox are no strangers to the road. After getting together in 1991, they went into hock to finance their first demo, then hit the highway - 450 dates in 18 months. The Seattle foursome has also gotten serious mileage out of ``Lucy,'' the punchy follow-up to their self-titled debut, a 4-million-seller that included ``Far Behind'' and ``You.''
Town Point Park, Norfolk, 5-9 p.m. Free, 441-2345.
It's not hard to hear where Art N' Soul is coming from. ``Ever Since You Went Away,'' their hit single, works a '70s groove. Or why. They favor live instrumentation and their debut disc, ``Touch of Soul,'' was helmed by Timothy Christian Riley of Tony! Toni! Tone! The Oakland trio will be at JAMZ Fest VI with Silk, Chantay Savage, Shai and Domino, just to name a few.
Hampton Coliseum, 7 p.m. Tickets: $10, order at 671-8100.
Since its inception as Norfolk Pro Musica, the McCullough Chorale, the state's only fully professional choral ensemble, has evolved into one of its finest. Founder Don McCullough moves onto new challenges this fall with the Paul Hill Chorale in Washington, D.C. First, he'll lead his group through its final program, ``Mystery and Majesty.''
First Presbyterian Church, Colonial and Redgate avenues, Norfolk, 8 p.m. (repeated Sunday). Tickets: $12.50, 627-8375.
``Every Little Girl's Dream'' turned out to just that for Lisa Brokop. That debut album earned her a nomination from the Academy of Country Music as Top New Female Vocalist of 1995. She was only 21, the youngest nominee since Tanya Tucker. Which means, with her self-titled follow-up, she's a seasoned pro.
24th Street Park, Virginia Beach, 6 p.m. Free, 491-7866.
The Chesapeake Jubilee lineup is nothing if not a smorgasbord: Molly Hatchet, the graying, Southern-rock guitar army (6:30 tonight), and the Bellamy Brothers, whose hits include ``Let Your Love Flow'' (8:30); Bill Pinkney & The Original Drifters (6:30 p.m. Saturday), and the soulful Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes (8:30); and, Aaron Tippin, the mill mechanic-turned-country hunk who made it big with ``Working Man's Ph.D'' (5 p.m. Sunday).
Chesapeake City Park, Greenbrier Parkway. 5-11 p.m. (10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, noon-7 p.m. Sunday). Free, 482-4848.
An extra helping of cabbage rolls and a bottomless cup of coffee for Dick Yash, the friendly Pennsylvanian who is bringing his three-day Polka Festival back to Williamsburg for the fourth year. He's also bringing along John Sagan's Polka Rascals, the Seventh Ave. Polka Band and the Polka Naturals, who will play at Sunday's Polka Mass.
Williamsburg Marriott, 500 Kingsmill Road, Williamsburg, 6 p.m.-midnight (same times Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sunday). Tickets: $6-$12, 220-2500.
Saturday
Talk about a can't-miss match: Vince Gill, the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year, and Patty Loveless, the Academy of Country Music's Female Vocalist of the Year. Gill will be previewing songs from the forthcoming ``High Lonesome Sound.'' Loveless' latest is ``The Trouble With the Truth,'' but she better sing ``Timber, I'm Falling in Love.''
Virginia Beach Amphitheater, 8 p.m. Tickets: $14.75-$34.75; order at 671-8100.
Spacehog didn't hang around Old Blighty waiting for opportunity to knock. They left Leeds for New York's East Village, then tapped the David Bowie-Mott the Hoople glam-rock gold mine for the good-time ``Resident Alien.'' The single ``In the Meantime'' has been embraced by alt-rock radio.
The Abyss, 1065 19th St., Virginia Beach, 8 p.m. Tickets: $9 advance, order at 671-8100; 422-0748.
Sunday
Is anybody out there not familiar with The Presidents of the United States of America? The band, not the chief execs. ``Lump'' and ``Peaches'' pushed the trio's self-titled debut into the Top 10 soon after its November release. Call them fun-loving. Or quirky. Goofy, even. (A song about fruit?) But the Prezes are a definite antidote to their hometown Seattle sound.
Boathouse, Norfolk, 8 p.m. Tickets: $12.50 advance; order at 671-8100.
Newport News is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and the Virginia Symphony has been invited to the party. Timothy Muffitt leads the orchestra through - fittingly enough - Aaron Copland's ``Outdoor Overture,'' Morton Gould's ``American Salute'' and ``Porgy and Bess, Symphonic Portrait,'' by you-shouldn't-have-to-ask.
Newport News Park, 13560 Jefferson Ave., 2 p.m. Free, 623-8590. (In case of inclement weather, the concert will be held at Denbigh High School.)
Egypt's brand of funk-metal has gone over big in Hampton Roads, making the Washington, D.C., outfit a regular on the club circuit. This time around, they're touring behind ``Drowning in the Promised Land,'' just out on Norfolk's own Trumpeter Records.
The Bayou, Radisson Hotel, 1900 Pavilion Drive, Virginia Beach, 9 p.m. Tickets: $4-$6, 422-4864 MEMO: Staff writer Eric Feber contributed to this story.
ILLUSTRATION: BRUCE HORNSBY
PATTY LOVELESS
VINCE GILL
ROD STEWART
CANDLEBOX
ART 'N SOUL
SPACEHOG
THE SCHEDULE
[For a copy of the schedule, see microfilm for this date.]
[For a copy of the INFOLINE box, see microfilm.]
Xu Ke, master of the traditional ehru, will perform Thursday at ODU
in Norfolk.
WARNER BROS. RECORDS
Son Volt performs Wednesday at the Abyss in Virginia Beach.
by CNB