From: owner-cageheads-digest@smoe.org (cageheads-digest) To: cageheads-digest@smoe.org Subject: cageheads-digest V1 #6 Reply-To: cageheads@smoe.org Sender: owner-cageheads-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-cageheads-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk cageheads-digest Thursday, October 15 1998 Volume 01 : Number 006 Today's Subjects: ----------------- JCUD 10/14/98 PASSIM !!! [JCage4166@aol.com] Re: Welcome! [Jonathan Burak ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 14:11:09 EDT From: JCage4166@aol.com Subject: JCUD 10/14/98 PASSIM !!! J O E L C A G E W E E K L Y U P D A T E OCTOBER 14, 1998 v i s i t t h e s i t e: Joel Cage Webpage & Philosophy ••• CLUB PASSIM ••• Thursday, October 15 8pm Well, it's the eve of the big show, and that's all I really want to mention on this promotional missive, but as alway, I've a few axtra run-on sentences to throw at you... First off, thanks to all the folks who made it out to shows at The Colatina Exit (VT) and The CAV (RI) Colatina Exit has become, officially, my new "favorite" venue. Chris Jones provides a totally amicable space for a primo performance opportunity, and has athe purest of taste in the best of music, along with a heart, large and true to the form. The CAV, always a unique space, was made home to me by the consumation of some new and hopefully long-lasting friendships. Here's to all of you ! And now, a final announcement regarding the show of the century (for me) followed by a review of my recent Colatina performance as posted to the Folks lists on the internet, by the esteemed Mr. Tom Durgin in which he make an honest plea on my behalf for all of you kind people to try and attend : T H E S H O W ••• CLUB PASSIM ••• Thursday, October 15 8pm Also performing will be AL Halliday & The Griffins with whom I'll be appearing on screaming eclectic electric guitar! If you are truly planning to attend - call 617-661-1513 for advance ticket reservations - you'll save money, get a really good table and make me look wicked cool! Thanks O T H E R G I G S T H I S W E E K FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 H O R S E F E A T H E R ' S North Conway, NH 9pm 603-356-2687 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 T H E C E N T R A L A V E S A L O O N Dover, NH 9pm 603-743-4489 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 B O R D E R ' S B O O K S Downtown Crossing, Boston, MA 2pm 617-557-7188 Here's the review: Cage Rattles At The Exit by Tom Durgin BRADFORD, VT-Joel Cage brought his high-powered enthusiasm to the stage here at the Colatina Exit for the second time on Wednesday, and I'm glad I heard him again. Cage's first performance here was a real eye-opener for me; although we've been blessed with a string of great performances both before and after his first gig, his still stands out in my mind. Trouble is, not many people heard him the first time. The crowd was a little bigger for Wednesday's show, but it wasn't what he deserved. I don't know (to borrow a line from one of his songs) why; perhaps folks were saving their money for the great Norman Blake next Wednesday. And this is, after all, a very small market. But I remain convinced that this venue is a great place to hear music, and so does Cage. On a good night with a big crowd it would be hard to find fault with the place, but Wednesday seemed more like a house concert than a club date. Not that it made a difference in Cage's performance; he plays with a marvelous intensity no matter what the size of the audience, and he had us thoroughly enthralled all evening long. But Cage definitely deserves to be heard by more people. He is a tireless self-promoter, keeping his fans informed through e-mail about upcoming gigs and asking them to support radio stations that play his music. That's a lot of work, and he realizes the importance of it, but there's really no substitute for actually playing before an audience. So I'm going to do something I haven't done before in these reviews: I'm going to tell you about his next gig, and encourage you - no, exhort you - to go see him. If you haven't yet, you have no idea what you're missing. Joel Cage will be playing at the legendary Club Passim in Cambridge, Mass., on Thursday, October 15, starting at 8 PM. After his solo gig, he'll switch to electric guitar and play with Al Halliday and The Griffins. Call 617-661-1513 for advance tickets (ask for a table, too!). Cage's strong voice and stellar guitar work are not to be missed. His thoughtful way with lyrics belies his sometimes-frenetic style; he is a sensitive songwriter and I especially like his love songs, which speak to my heart while coming from his. But don't take my word for it - go see him. If I could afford it, I'd guarantee you the cost of your ticket if you don't like him. I can't, but I don't think I'm wrong about this, so I'll give you my personal e-mail address so you can write and give me grief if you disagree: tdurgin@sover.net. There. I've rattled your cage, now let Cage rattle yours. Welcome to the The "If You've Read This Far" Dept. nada - sorry see you thursday night !! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 22:33:30 -0400 From: Jonathan Burak Subject: Re: Welcome! I'm kind of embarassed by my last post. I sounded like some teenager given to idol worship. I over-did it when I said Joel could be another Clapton, but I'm not taking anything else back. :>) I believe there are relatively clear separations between a given "traditional" folk song, a rock song, a blues song. Traditional Folk Song: Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" (original cut) Non-Traditional Folk Song: James Taylor's "Something in the Way She Moves" Joel Cage: "Uncomplicated Me" Rock Song: Springsteen's "Born to Run" (original cut) Joel Cage: "Stand and Fall" Blues: Muddy Water's "I'm Ready This isn't as clear as it may seem. A change in tempo and arrangement can make just about any rock song more in the direction of folk, and the inverse is also true. However, a blues is a blues by virtue of it's innate chord progression no matter what you do to it. Bruce Springsteen's acoustic version of Born to Run is a good example of a hard rock song turned to folk. But I hope I'm not saying that just "unplugging" a song makes it folk. I categorize folk vs. rock by the chord progressions, the tempo (you can always walk down the street to a good rock beat), the arrangement and instrumentation. However, excess categorization has no purpose. The reason I categorize Joel the way I do is because I find his particular mixing of folk and rock very unique. The bottom line is he's a really good songwriter and arranger, otherwise he'd sound like lots of others who try to pull it off and fail. The more unique the music the more exciting and interesting it is. More later. Regards and see you at Passim. Jonathan kartalst@HUGSE1.HARVARD.EDU wrote: > Welcome, Jonathan! > > It's always so cool to hear different people's opinions and stories. > > Now, I have a question for you...for EVERYONE...one which has been on and > off my mind... > > where do you draw the line with folk music? where do you come to a point > where someone who is acoustic is just 'acoustic' and someone who is folk > is 'folk'? > > do you think such a seperation is even necessaary? > > > > where do you draw the line? on the one hand, traditional "folk" is really > acoustic...i guess a lot of people would consider the traditional folk > stuff that tells the folklore of a specific area...or even something that > tells a story about the people (rather than making a political or social > *statement* per sey...)...in our society there seems to be a lot of > emphasis of "type" of music performed with instruments played... > > > > so I leave things open-ended from my POV. I don't know how to categorize > or howto even *define* and draw seperations between diferent areas of > music like this...which so many people seem to really use freely... > ------------------------------ End of cageheads-digest V1 #6 *****************************