Movie 7:45

OK, that was fun!

This past weekend it was just plain ‘ol fun at the Strand.  On Friday Hoosier Dylan performed:   22 musicians, 1 poet laureate, 50 songs and over 4 hours!   Wow.    On Saturday for our very first Dinner and a Movie:  Tables for 64, tickets for 76…..it was interesting, but still fun.

Learning is something we always do at the Strand.  The past week we learned a tremendous amount from both shows.   The Friday night Hoosier Dylan didn’t use any of our sound equipment.   To bring in equipment, the Strand had to have the appropriate power, space and facilities to handle it.   We passed with flying colors.   The biggest winners were Ron B., Gordon H. and Cody V. who didn’t have to move or set up anything!

On Dinner and a Movie, we didn’t quite know what to expect.   John from Grandma’s Pancake House had a great menu.   Overall things went really well.  We took notes and will tweak a few things for next month.  Everyone had a great time.   The film looked great on the big screen.  It is a great movie!

Let it snow, let it snow let it snow.  The weather outside is frightful, but my dear the Strand’s delightful….   Snow again.   We are checking every day to make sure our roof vent problem doesn’t reoccur.   So far so good, but this is something we have to remain vigilant.    The sidewalks are going to be cleared by the downtown contract, so that will be a little help to our volunteers.   We have been shoveling the snow from our theatre all the way to Hendricks Street.  It is a greater distance than you might think.

We had volunteers check out our motor generators in the attic.  They are making their plans and preparing to get them out.   They don’t think that the units will be as heavy as we think, but they are disassembling as much as possible just to make sure.   While their at it, we are going to remove the old neon transformers.  This will be done with the advise and guidance from the Shelby County Waste Management District.  We don’t want to take any chances.

The Strand is getting new bookings every day.  The interest in our theatre is very rewarding and humbling.  These requests come from near and far.  Gary N. juggles the schedule and keeps things on track.   We just booked a Jazz concert, a film premiere and a rock concert!

This weekend, on Saturday night at 7:00pm, the Strand is hosting “Band Together for Haiti”.  This is the creation of community leader Sara Chappela.  She was moved by the tragic events from the earthquake in Haiti.  She is producing this event will proceeds going to Haitian Relief with the American Red Cross.   This is the first time that Sara has attempted anything like this.  It will be a great show for a worthwhile cause.  The Strand is proud to participate in our own small way to help those whose lives have been devastated by this natural disaster.

On Sunday, Shelby County Reads hosts a very interesting program at the Strand.   The American Indian Cultural Forum will take the stage at 2:00pm.  This forum presented by the American Indian Center of Indiana, Inc. will feature drumming, dancing, flute playing, a power-point presentation, and informational tables.   This event is free.
Even with the snow, we have continued installing the sockets for the chase lights on the marquee.  We are almost finished with the north half of the marquee.  Soon it will be time to screw in 300 light bulbs… lefty loosy, righty tighty.    That is a day to which we are looking forward!

Thanks for your support.  The great audiences this past weekend help energize everyone connected with the Strand.  It should energize you too, since you are the most vital part of the Strand project.   Thanks for the support.

Regional musicians celebrate Dylan’s legacy

An especially rich and talented ensemble of 22 singers, musicians and a poet gathered Friday night at the Strand Theatre to celebrate the eclectic genius of Bob Dylan.

It was a show that musically defined why Dylan is more than mere legend and how this maestro of Minnesota is still able to inspire new generations as he musically morphed from a folk singer to hipster to electronic hippie and then became a guru of grunge. All these styles, plus several more Dylanesque  incarnations , were on display Friday night at the Strand in “Hoosier Dylan,” a show conceived by Tim Grimm.

The show opened with the reflective harmonies and mellow, rapturous voice of Bobbie Lancaster singing alongside the rich throat of Jennie DeVoe. Nearly 50 songs and more than four hours later this entertaining, educational exploration of Dylan’s massive repertoire of musical styles ended as 20-some performers packed to the stage to sing “Like a Rolling Stone.” In between, the music ranged from bluegrass to folk, blues, children’s songs, classic hits and even a spoken word tribute to the beatnik bard by Indiana Poet Laureate Norbert Krapf.

Krapf’s spoken ode to Dylan, “the Voice,” was a proper, fitting tribute to the man who fused lyricism, social protest and music into a new genre. “I really push to reunite poetry and music and what a great format this is for that,” Krapf said .

Musically, Shelbyville was represented on stage Friday night by “the Complete Unknowns,” whose rousing, thumping, pounding electric folk rock songs of the early Dylan energized the audience.

It was, however, the women, DeVoe and Lancaster, accompanied by lead guitarist Gordon Bonham, who opened the eyes and ears of the crowd to Dylan’s stylistic gyrations. First, Lancaster of Bloomington, recalled Dylan’s early socially significant ballads with “Masters of War,” a song sung with a sweet voice of righteous anger that wiled angelic and indignant. DeVoe, for her part, concentrated on the blues tunes of Dylan, in her haunting, spellbinding version of “Man in a long Black Coat.”

While immensely enjoyable, these two rather expected styles of Dylan merely warmed up the audience for two eye-opening acts that displayed the wide ranging legacy and cross generational influence of Dylan’s musical evolutions.

The initial shock came from the “White Lightning Boys,” a band from Brown County who escorted the crowd into Dylan’s forays into country music, especially bluegrass. This band brought the gritty, down- home, earthy styles of Dylan with their controlled frenzy of fine picking, plucking, strumming and full -finger playing of traditional bluegrass.

The other often unexpected manifestation of Dylan as godfather of grunge music was highlighted a band of Columbus East High School students: “Joyous Garde.” This band played some later, heavier more electrified songs of Dylan, as well a s few classics that were written and recorded several generations before these musicians were born.

All- in- all, “Hoosier Dylan,” was a masterful musical retrospective and it is obvious that each band, musician or singer have mastered one or more styles of Dylan and his multitalented, perversely rebellious take on music and musicianship.

Friday night’s finale ,“Like a Rolling Stone” was literally a wall of sound vocally, visually and musically as this talented ensemble gathered on stage for a final romp through the eclectic tomes of Dylan in a show of truly epic proportions that ended with a standing ovation.

Submitted by:  Terrance Aldridge

This independent review does not express the opinion of the Strand Theatre.

The American Indian Cultural Forum will be at the Strand Theatre on Sunday February 21, 2010.   The program will start a 2:00pm

Sponsored by Shelby County Reads

Don’t miss this special event! This forum presented by the American Indian Center of Indiana, Inc. will feature drumming, dancing, flute playing, a power-point presentation, and informational tables.

Four Winds will be performing a large floor drum. Jeff Roberts will be playing the flute. Dancers include: Chelsie Eastwood, Virgil Lewis, Louella Lewis, Aubrey Lewis and Kayleigh Lewis. After the opening ceremonial dances, there will be an open dance where everyone will be invited to participate. A question and answer session will follow the presentation. Audience members may also pick up more information from Running Buffalo Circle and the American Indian Center of Indiana, Inc. at the event.

The American Indian Center of Indiana, Inc. aspires to promote a sense of unification among the American Indian people of Indiana. They are based in Indianapolis and have been operating since 1992.

The American Indian Cultural Forum will be at the Strand.

*Don’t miss this special event! This forum presented by the American Indian Center of Indiana, Inc. will feature drumming, dancing, flute playing, a power-point presentation, and informational tables.

Four Winds will be performing a large floor drum. Jeff Roberts will be playing the flute. Dancers include: Chelsie Eastwood, Virgil Lewis, Louella Lewis, Aubrey Lewis and Kayleigh Lewis. After the opening ceremonial dances, there will be an open dance where everyone will be invited to participate. A question and answer session will follow the presentation. Audience members may also pick up more information from Running Buffalo Circle and the American Indian Center of Indiana, Inc. at the event.

The American Indian Center of Indiana, Inc. aspires to promote a sense of unification among the American Indian people of Indiana. They are based in Indianapolis and have been operating since 1992.

The Strand tried a new concept for our theatre.   The concept of Strand Board Member Joey G, we hosted a Dinner and a Movie.   Our first offering was on Friday February 13, 2010.   We showed the 1942 classic Casablanca.

The dinner was catered by Grandma’s Pancake House.   The Moroccan inspired menu was fantastic.   The Strand had over 75 people attend this first dinner!

Everyone had a great time.   Thanks to all who spent their Valentine’s Day Eve with us!

22 Musicians

1 Poet

Music and poetry of Bob Dylan

Hoosier Dylan at the Strand.   The performers included:

GORDON BONHAM
THE COMPLETE UNKNOWNS
JENNIE DEVOE
TIM GRIMM
JOYOUS GARDE
BOBBIE LANCASTER
WHITE LIGHTNING BOYS
JASON WILBER
Norbert Krapf- Indiana Poet Laureate

The 4-1/2 hour marathon covered over 50 songs of Bob Dylan!

Below are the Shelbyville’s own The Complete Unknowns:

the performance was on their bass player Adam’s birthday!   Happy Birthday Adam:

The cast for the final number assembled on the Strand Stage:

Hoosier Dylan is one of the few shows that has played the Strand that has not relied on the Strand Staff for sound or equipment.   Below is Karl, the sound engineer for Hoosier Dylan.  Our 94 year old theatre was able to easily accommodate his equipment: