[mplpost] Stan Rogers, A Matter of Heart

[Rick]

It doesn't surprise me in the least that some theatre critics have been
luke warm to "A matter of Heart", just as it surprises me even less that
last night's standing ovation was one of a great many during it's run at
Toronto's Jane Mallett Theatre. Whether you agree or disagree on the
various "artistic interpretations" for each song, those incredibly
intelligent lyrics can still hit you in ways hard to describe without
getting very emotional.
If, as a critic, you're  used (forced) to reporting on productions
filled to the brim with pyrotechnics, profoundly uninspired
pseudo-emotional lyrics and scores, then you might very well be looking
for "the Story" in the Stan Production. Well, it ain't there. It's in
the SONGS: Wonderfully painted mini-portraits, each one standing quite
well on it's own.
In a nutshell, the band (with Mapleposter Paul Mills) is tight, tasteful
and beautifully mixed. I think the man behind the mixer is Jaimie George
(or is it Ron Gorveatt). Either way, the sound was great...and for me
that simply makes or breaks any performance.
I must admit that (being a Stan fan) I was worried about the possibility
of an "over the top" approach complete with "happy feet" choreography
and "Broadway style" emoting...or even worse, a  "Riverdance meets
DADGAD" (Stan's tuning) thing. Nope, the songs are extremely well sung,
with no attempts at mimicking Stan's vocal style, and the acting is
subdued and very effective.
Damn good show. They should be proud.
Oh, and the guy almost hidden at the back of the stage, Kim Ratcliffe,
plays some lovely fills on guitars and mandolin.
--
Rick Fielding

Producer/Host of Acoustic Workshop on CIUT, 89.5FM on Monday from 7-8pm
in Toronto and on World Wide Web: http://www.ciut.utoronto.ca.  Selected
shows are archived at Mudcat Café <http://www.mudcat.org/threads.cfm>
and are available whenever you want to tune in.

Take a look at Rick's Webpage at
http://www.interlog.com/~rfield/index.html


e-mail:  rfield@interlog.com

snail mail:  1235 Kingston Road, Toronto, Ontario, M1N 1P4

Tel:  (416) 690-8697


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