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From: elf@utcsrgv.UUCP (Eugene Fiume)
Newsgroups: net.music
Subject: Re: Guy Van Duser
Message-ID: <765@utcsrgv.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 13-Feb-85 10:44:44 EST
Article-I.D.: utcsrgv.765
Posted: Wed Feb 13 10:44:44 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 13-Feb-85 11:18:39 EST
References: <549@decwrl.UUCP>
Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto
Lines: 44


					[]

> John Fahey is another story.  I saw him perform just before Christmas,
> and after all I had heard of his talent what I saw was a great disappointment.
> He was late taking the stage, leaving promoter Harry Lipson dangling for
> several minutes.  When he finally came out he appeared to be drunk.  His
> face was red, his speech a bit slurred, and his playing seemed sloppy.
> He played aimlessly for a while, stopped to make some strange comments,
> and then played aimlessly for a while longer before leaving the stage with
> a promise to be right back.  An embarrassed Harry Lipson then filled the time
> promoting future concerts as several of the audience (myself included) left.
> Perhaps I mistook his "strangeness" for drunkenness, I'm not really sure.
> I don't know if what I saw was typical, but I was very disappointed and
> got very little enjoyment out of the show (a first for me with the Folktree
> concerts).  I know Eugene will disagree with me, but I can't really recommend
> him, not if what I saw was typical of how he performs these days.
> 
> 	Mike Ryan


Fahey strange?  Yes, very.
Fahey drunk?    Possibly, but I thought he was off the bottle (hence his
		frequent references to soft drinks on stage.)

I don't disagree with Mike if this is this is Fahey's normal behaviour.
He's always played well into the wee hours of the morning whenever I've
seen him, typically giving the impression that he'd keep playing as long
as someone is willing to listen.  Too bad about that night though.

I find the use of the adjective "aimless" above very interesting.  I used
to call his music (and playing) that too.  Then I realised that the only
way to enjoy him is to suspend all intellectual pretenses.  There is nothing
there intellectually (compare to the other musicians mentioned in Mike's
article).  It's meditation, dance, rhythm.

By the way, has anyone heard Fahey's latest album?  I think it's called
"Railways" or some such thing.  It costs $14 as a special import here, so
I'm a little cautious.


Eugene Fiume
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