Medea, March 16 at MAT-Great Falls

Last night Lana and I went to see Medea at MAT and I thought while the individual performances were solid, particularly those of Bethany Mason, who plays Medea, and Jeff Scolley, who plays her husband Jason, the whole production lacked a qualitative connection to the audience.

I felt the cultural gap between ancient Greece, where this play was originally performed, and current day was a little too big to bridge here.

Firstly, a few words on what I liked.

The scenes between Bethany and Jeff were legitimately dramatic, with real human emotions at play. Medea plays a woman scorned who's searching for a solution to her situation. She might be a bit crazy, yes, but viewers can almost see where she's coming from.

Jason, her husband, has taken up with another woman, and has seemingly cast Medea aside. This in of itself is something that's instantly relatable, and always will be no matter how much time has gone since the scene was originally written.

I thought Jeff really shined in the the final scene, as well.

Without giving anything away, Jeff delvers a healthy dose of anguish and when he delivers the lines, you can't help but feel that emotion, as well.

Bethany, too, did a great job in delivering each of her lines, which were many.

 It never felt as if she were stumbling through a scene to get to another one, or that she was out of character at any moment. As soon as the lights went up, she was Medea through and through.

With that, I'll say my main criticism with the show was that throughout the entire show I never received an answer to a basic question -- why?

Without sounding harsh, I'm not blind to the hard work it takes in producing any show, I couldn't help but feel as if I was unsure of why this play was being shown in front of me.

To better explain what I'm getting at here, I'll share a bit of a conversation I had with Ed Moran not too long ago.

Ed, as you may or may not know, has long been a play director in Great Falls. Some of his recent plays he's directed include "No Sex Please, We're British," and "I Hate Hamlet."

Ed and I talked a few months ago about how the one thing a successful theater must do is get people in the seats. The balancing act comes in holding your artistic integrity intact while giving audiences reasons to see the show.

Meaning, while you certainly don't want to pander to the lowest common denominator, you don't want to do something that's totally over their heads, either.

Audience members here in Great Falls, the ones who regularly attend plays, at least, are fairly easy to please.

In my opinion, a theater should not have to cater to them because they love almost anything you do.
The goal, if I were in charge, would be attracting people who don't regularly come to your theater.

Now, back to Medea, I had a difficult time deciphering who this play was geared toward. Is it young couples? Young men? Women? Children?

I don't think it would be women as Lana told me one thing that bothered her was the misogyny rampant throughout the play.

In one scene Medea "attempts" to mend her relationship with Jason, saying she should have been supportive of her husband's decision to find another wife and that she should have been helping plan the wedding.

Our modern sensibilities say that's not okay. Indeed, a play of this nature hearkens back to times when women were treated differently from men. It was a different cultural acceptance where men were supreme masters over women. It's not like that anymore, so perhaps to see a play go through those scenes seemed a little absurd.

Next, I felt the music chosen to back up certain scenes only put the question mark of who this play was for into greater focus.

At one point during a scene between Medea and the King, played by Dyllan Strom, which got a bit romantic in tone, smooth jazz was played in the background.

You don't need to be a music expert to know that jazz didn't exist in ancient Greece. It probably wouldn't distract many, but if you think about it, it seems a little strange.

The same goes with the use of Beethoven pieces played intermittently throughout. Beethoven was a 16th Century composer.

But then, if one questions why more modern music was used, you have to start to think what music would have been more appropriate. They could have found some non-time specific music or music from ancient Greece, but then how is that any more relatable? Rarely anyone will appreciate or recognize music from ancient Greece.

If you extend that line of reasoning further out, how can one assume modern audiences will relate to a play based in ancient Greece?

Yes, the emotions are still being felt today, and yes, this type of show was not being done anywhere else in town, and finally, yes, it was a chance to explore some interesting relations between a man and woman. All of this is true.

But, when a theater already has several hurdles to jump over in terms of getting people into the seats, because, let's face facts here: it's not an easy feat to sell out shows in Great Falls; why would you choose to place more hurdles in your way with a script that was written thousands of years ago?

I say this out of a place of love, concern, admiration and respect. While we had some misgivings about possibly why there weren't more butts in the seat, both Lana and I enjoyed the show. The performances were good. There was plenty to like here.

I just felt that this play was a bit too outside the realm of average people to understand. Maybe that was the point. But, as Ed told me, and I might be paraphrasing a bit here,  but he said basically,
"We all do this to see people in the seats. We all enjoy that feeling of a packed house and a standing ovation. It's why we do what we do."

So yes, you CAN present an ancient Greek horror-tragedy. You CAN even have several great performances within that play. But, my question still remains. Why should you when you risk performing it to half-empty rooms?
Especially when we have, even in Great Falls, multiple entertainment options.

If I'm a typical Great Falls native, looking to spend $30 on entertainment, is it unreasonable to think that I'd rather go to a nice dinner, see a rock band, buy a video game or a new DVD than go see an ancient Greek tragedy, even if it is live theater and I know about the plot?

The answer should be fairly obvious.

Junior Cascade of Talent showcase, March 3

By Sarah Raines
Raines is a classically-trained vocalist with a degree from NYU. She currently teaches private voice and piano, and she is also the choir director at the University of Great Falls.

Sarah Raines

The first thing I noticed about the 2013 Junior Cascade of Talent show was the MC. What I liked were the tidbits about the performers that he shared with the audience. For example, a little boy and girl who did a dance together are best friends. The MC also told us that a girl who danced to an acoustic version of “I Need A Hero,” dedicated it to her grandfather.

Unfortunately, the MC’s energy wasn't as engaging as the performers. Perhaps that’s because a group of kids under the age of 14 has more energy than any full-grown adults.

The MC seemed lost, forgot portions of his introductions, and mispronounced several names. I was also distracted between sets because the stage hand was dressed almost too scruffily. In my experience, stage hands wear solid black in order to be less distracting as they move set pieces

The young performers, however, were excellent.

There was a variety of acts: from piano to saxophone, ballet to hip-hop. They performed songs by artists from Etta James to Adele.

The dances, mostly from students of Miss Linda’s school of dance, were amazing. I would expect no less from Miss Linda’s, especially since I had the chance to work with Miss Linda’s dance teacher Jackie Newman when she choreographed UGF’s Chicago last fall. Another thing I especially liked about the dances were how age-appropriate they all were.

That leads me to the singing.

I would never discourage a young person from singing and performing, but I am partial to age-appropriate songs. Young singers who perform adult songs sometimes fall into the trap of imitating instead of showing their own unique voices. Yet it was obvious that every singer chose a song that she (all the singers I saw were female) really loved. That is key. Watching those singers truly enjoy themselves on stage is what makes the audience enjoy it.

The instrumentalists were awesome as well. Each of them played high level pieces with better technique than many adults.

The saxophone rendition of “Duel of the Fates,” from Star Wars was well-done and a cool song choice. I appreciated its uniqueness. In general I felt the acts that stood out most were the ones that brought something unexpected. For example, it was unique to see a dance duet between a little boy and girl that had a park bench as a prop/set piece.

From a stage tech stance, the lighting was really great. The lighting design really added to the performances and was a subtle, but important touch that added a feel of professionalism to the show. The young performers will get a real treat seeing how cool and professional everything looks when they see themselves on the DVD.

If I were to give any advice for next time, I’d ask the organizers to consider presenting a piano accompanist and offering every singer, dancer, and instrumental soloist the chance to perform with a live musician.

Maybe this opinion is just my old-school classical training showing, but I would hate to see live music become a lost art. Live music has a very organic and rich sound to the audience member.

As a performer it is a different and more refined skill to collaborate with live accompaniment as opposed to memorizing an exact timing of a recording.

In that same line of thought, I would also encourage future participants to experiment with collaboration. Sing duets and trios. Get instruments together. Choreograph a dance to your friend’s piano solo. Ask someone to accompany you on guitar. Dance teams offer a great avenue for collaborating and working in groups, but I think it can add more variety and a stronger learning experience if you work with other performers.

All in all, I found the entire show quite enjoyable and entertaining. I went to watch and support one of my private voice students, and I fully expected to be bored during everything but her song. However, I learned not to underestimate the young talent in this town. It was fun, and we should all look forward to next year.

Magnficent Seven Part II, March 2, 2013

The Magnificent Seven show returned to Montana Actors' Theatre-Great Falls last night and although I had to leave early, I do have a few thoughts about the evening.

The first thing I noticed was the giant spread of food as we walked into the theater, which Joe Ryan's mother provided. Her deviled eggs were delicious. So were the meatballs. The food was a serious upgrade this time out, most definitely.

Tales from Ghost Town

As for the show, most of the acts we saw killed it.

The first group, Lucky Valentines had a tight sound that perhaps only two people who understand each other intimately can have.

Lana said the melodies they sang were some of the hardest to perform, and they did them well. They did several Patty Smith covers and mostly originals.

Plus, I always love me some fiddle songs. They did several. It was a great way to start the show.

Another of the highlights for me was Tales from Ghost Town from Bozeman.

The guy, a one-man band who played drums, guitar and harmonica, and also singing, got it done with some upbeat down-home barn dance anthems that had the whole room rocking. He could have played for much longer than he did and no one would have minded.

I also must say that Tyson Habein did an excellent job at organizing the artwork behind the stage. Each of the pieces were both separate but fit together in a theme with similar shapes and colors. Whether the artists were the same or not, it was a cohesive display of art that made the stage shine.

Moving on, I was a little torn on Patty Hearse and the Mortician.

Saif Alsaegh performs poetry

Yes, at times the vocals got drowned out by the instruments and yes it was loud. But, as their set progressed I kind of got the feeling that was the point. Like I told Lana, you don't listen to Metallica for the amazing vocals. You listen to them to hear them rock the f@*$ out. Patty and the Mortician had that feel to them. Hopefully they can get the vocals to come across better in the future.

Plus, Joe Ryan did a decent job of adjusting the levels to help Paisley's voice project.

Before Patty and the Mortician, Saif Alsaegh performed some of his best spoken word poems.

The original plan, as I gather, was to have Joe Ryan play with him on guitar and Josh Wilkinson on drums. Before Saif started, Joe apologized and said he had to help one of the bands set up so he couldn't play..
I was a little bummed, mostly I feel he does a better job of playing behind a poet than Josh did on this night.

I'm not saying Josh did a bad job. His sound is so unique it's always a treat to hear. I'm just not sure it worked with Saif for some reason.

And, before Saif came up, Josh did a good job with his own set. It was fun, interesting and included several songs I've never heard him do before. I would have loved to hear "Jessica Simpson," but I suppose that's kind of an "Open Mic" song. Josh still has a little of that Open Mic sound, meaning when I hear him I think of the times I've heard him play there.

Aside from "Jessica Simpson," which really we wanted to hear for nostalgic reasons, perhaps, it might have been fun to hear him play a few other different songs than ones we've heard a lot in the past.

Then, with his playing together with Saif, all I'm saying is I felt like they weren't quite on the same page last night. At times Saif would be performing a dramatic piece about his relationship with god and religion, and at the same time it felt like Josh was playing it a little too positive and a LITTLE too loud for my liking.

Perhaps it could have used some more minor chords, I'm not sure. If they had more time to prepare together it might have worked better, but, it was by no means a bad performance. Anytime Saif reads it's a treat because his poems are so good!

All and all it was a fun night and the room was packed during the entire time we were there.

One final thought is that I think people still aren't quite sure how to dress for the event.

Some people dress casual, some people dress up and others still wear semi-casual clothes. And indeed, that's true of almost all events in town, it seems. It's not a huge thing, but I suppose Tyson and Joe could give people a dress code guideline for next time. I might suggest giving a gentle suggestion so folks have an idea of what to wear, (or what not to wear.)

Finally, I look forward to seeing what the Habeins and Mr. Ryan present next month. :-)

Quick clarification about this blog

I'm sure that most people who read this can connect the dots here, but if not I'm taking this chance to make it explicitly clear if it ever becomes fuzzy in the future.

This blog is 100 percent mine and mine alone. I speak for myself here, that's it.

If anyone has a problem with anything written in this blog, which no one has yet but it's certainly possible it could happen, the views expressed here come from me, Jake Sorich. I do not speak for any other party either implicitly or explicitly stated.

When you visit this site, you're doing so understanding it's a place where I state my personal opinions about cultural events and releases I find interesting enough to write about.

I'm also not trying to compete with anyone else's opinions about the same types of things happening around town.

 I'm of the opinion that the more opinions we can bring to the table about any given subject, especially as subjective as art and culture, which very much leans more subjective than objective, the better.

Finally, I'm not profiting from this blog at all, either. I write these views as a way of promoting arts in our community with the attempt to help raise awareness, and create an honest dialogue about what we're creating. The more we can be honest with each other about our creative undertakings, the better. We can never grow until we learn where we must improve, first.

Hydr8 (Gabriel Vasichek)'s album "Empower Now" (with video)

Gabe Vasichek's new album "Empower Now," offers a collection of dense, unique and worldly songs.

The first thing to hit me was the diversity from track to track.

It's almost as if each song is a room decorated differently but with enough similar items that you know it belongs to the same person.

 Some tracks, such as the first one, even feels as if it's two songs in one. If we're using the house analogy, the intro to the first track is the porch that leads directly into the rest of the home.  

The intro starts with Didgeri-Dan's didgeridoo playing. Brothers Dan and Gabe have been known to jam out at a few open mic nights bringing something that's unlike anything else, maybe anywhere.

After about a minute, the song switches gears and gets into the main riff that Gabe sings over. It's memorable and funky.

Michael Gilboe, who produced the album at his Copperhead Production Studio, has created multiple layers in each of the songs that all seem to fit together.

Gabriel Vasichek

The didgeridoo returns for several more of the tracks, as does vocals from Nikki Brown, who easily has been one of my favorite performers to hear sing at open mic.

Even if you're not into the rest of the songs, hearing Nikki sing is worth getting the album alone. Like Gabe told me during our chat last week about the album, "It's sweet like honey."

She sings alone on "Moving Forward," and with Gabe on "Blue Skies and a Rainy Day."

Another highlights for me was on "Send Me Back Home," during the chorus where the backing music changes dramatically to an almost march-like beat. It's chillingly effective. The bridge gives the track a nice touch, also.

Finally, everything about "So Many Ripples" makes me giddy inside. It might be my favorite track aside from "Moving Forward."

While there's a lot to like here, every album has it's flaws -- this one included.

Gabe and I talked about this in my Tribune article, which you can read here, about how the album doesn't shy away from it's weaknesses. We talked a lot about how if you never do something out of fear of missing perfection, you'll never achieve anything.

With that in mind, Gabe's vocal range is rather small. He's a great songwriter and performer, but he's never going to hit the high notes that stretch a voice's range. He's also a little off key in a few tracks.  I think the most pronounced instance is on his duet with Nikki mostly because she's singing in one key and while Gabe is almost in that key, it's a LITTLE off. It's still a good track but that pitch difference is noticeable.

Dan and Gabe Vaishcek at a recent open mic. 

One also could argue that the album's density is too dense.

I happen to like it, though. I think it gives the album a real meaty sound that offers listeners some exotic flavors.

If you're looking for an album that has one concept or one sound with variations of that sound, this might not be the one for you, though.

 I think that diversity speaks to the type of performer Gabe is, though, so I have no problems with it.

 If anything I would say it makes trying to explain what kind of music it is difficult. That's not a bad thing, though, as you just really have to listen to it to understand.

At the end of the day, the album has many tracks that seep into your consciousness. Upon listening to them I can still hear them in my head. Plus, given that Gabe is such a literary songwriter, I'm sure each song has layers of meaning I might not get unless I listen to it again and again.

I would have loved to hear more of Gabe's insanely amazing throat singing. He gives us tastes of it on a few songs, but I would have loved to hear him just rip into it for a full track or two.

If you enjoy big sounds with thoughtful lyrics, this album is for you. Gabe's an intelligent performer who takes his songwriting/singing and playing seriously. He and Gilboe assembled a strong cast of local talent around him.

This album's rooms all come alive and are well worth visiting.

To order the album, visit www.hydr8music.com.

"I Hate Hamlet" at UGF, Feb. 14

Lana and I went to the opening of "I Hate Hamlet," last night, and I can say with confidence that the show is as funny and entertaining as advertised.

If I were to sum up the plot in one line, I'd call it a love letter to theater, which I find ironic in that the name proclaims a hatred for the most famous theatre writer's most well-known work.

For anyone unfamiliar with the show,  it's the story of the character named Andrew Rally, a recently unemployed TV actor.

Clay Vermulm and Wally Bossie in a scene from "I Hate Hamlet" 

Rally and his girlfriend Diedre move to New York after his TV series where he plays a young doctor is cancelled.

The story starts with Rally being led into a retro-looking apartment by his real estate agent. The apartment formerly belonged to John Barrymore, a well-known Shakespeare actor with a colorful history. The story is centered around Rally's decision to play Hamlet or to go back to Hollywood and take a cheesy part on another TV show. Barrymore comes back from the dead in an attempt to guide Rally to take the Shakespeare part.

For the UGF production, Barrymore is played by Wally Bossie, Rally is played by Clay Vermulm, Diedre is played by Kristi Doll, . Tianna Harland plays Rally's real estate agent Felicia, Tim Stoddard plays Gary, Rally's Hollywood producer friend who presents him with a unique opportunity I'll explain more later, and Joanna Kauffman plays Lillian, Rally's agent. As Joanna was sick on Thursday, her understudy Krystine Wendt stepped in to play Lillian.

The show is directed by Ed Moran.

The best part, to me, was the onstage relationship between Wally and Clay. The way they worked together as a teacher showing the world of theater to his student seemed real, mostly because you could say it was real. This is Clay's first foray into acting while Wally has been an actor/director in many stage performances over the years.

Wally made the role his and his timing on his lines, his positioning on stage and his ability to ham it up like an actor such as Barrymore would, is worth the price of admission alone. 

When I say "ham it up" like a Barrymore actor would, that means being a person who's lovable but also totally controlled by his impulses. Barrymore drinks, he flirts with multiple women, he over acts, and yet you end up loving him almost BECAUSE of his impulses. It's a unique role and Wally pulled it off nicely. 

Then, when I talked to Clay last week for an interview in my Tribune article, which you can read here, he told me that the role was a great one for him because in it he plays a person who's learning to act, much like himself. Also, Wally's character Barrymore helps teach Clay the finer points of acting, which again mirrors the student/teacher role between Wally and Clay as people and not just their characters.  

The story, however, isn't just about a man learning to act, however. That'd be dull and I really doubt anyone would care to watch that. 

Clay Vermulm and Tianna Harland in a scene from "I Hate Hamlet"

The conflict comes from Barrymore and Diedre pushing Rally to take the Hamlet role and Gary's urging that he take the Hollywood gig, a role in which he plays a teacher with superpowers, for fame and fortune.  

It raises questions about what it means to be an actor, what it means to pursue art vs. fame and how actors deal with this conflict regularly. It's a fascinating dynamic. 

I also credit Ed for working with the actors and the tech designers to pull the show together. He's been doing theater for a long while and he knows how to make it work on stage. This show is more proof of that and he really gets the most out of everyone. 

Finally, I credit Clay for pulling this off and making it seem like he's acted in plays before. His dialogue with all of the characters, his internal monologues, the way he comes across as a hot-shot TV actor who knows how to go through the motions but fails to understand the craft of acting, all were presented with grace and ease. 

When I heard Clay was cast in the production, as he was new to acting I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Having seen it now, though, I feel he played the role the way it was intended to be played. I look forward to seeing him in more roles in the future. 

Now, though, that I've got all that gushing out of my system,  seeing as this blog is called "Good, Bad, Great (Falls)," though, I can't simply go on with praise without pointing out a few weaknesses. 

Here they are. 

Firstly, let me say that I thoroughly enjoyed Kristi's portrayal of Diedre. She was sassy, came across as a believable character, and projected her lines wonderfully. She's a talented actress and I'm willing to say she will make any role given to her interesting. 

Kristi Doll plays Diedre in a scene from "I Hate Hamlet"

My critique is of the character she plays. Diedre is in love with innocence and the pageantry of the theater. Her ideal man is one who is strong and sensitive, bold and reserved and willing to put up with her craziness.

And is she crazy. 

Part of me wished Diedre had more redeeming qualities. By the end of the play, I was asking myself why Andrew stayed with her as long as he supposedly had. 

She's a 29-year-old virgin, she lives off her parents money, she urges Andrew to do something he doesn't want to necessarily at first, (even though it turns out he does,) and this part is worth repeating -- she won't have sex with Andrew, even though he's been the best kind of boyfriend a girl could hope for. It's fine to want to keep your abstinence, I'm not trying to make a political statement here, I'm simply commenting on how that seems to be the center of Andrew's frustrations with Diedre. It does help drive the plot, so I can appreciate that.  

I think the fact that Diedre's role works in the scenes she's in without making it grating speaks to how well Kristi plays the part. She brings a certain kind of glee to Diedre. She's a happy girl, even if she's slowly driving Andrew bonkers. If she complained about things or brought any kind of negativity with her character, she would be totally unwatchable. 

Before I start on my second point, I will say that knowing the situation behind how this happened, I'm willing to look past this.

 At the same time, a typical audience member who doesn't know what happened isn't going to know that Krystine was playing Lillian because Joanna was sick. 

Last night, I felt that the scene between Barrymore and Lillian lacked chemistry. Lillian was Barrymore's old flame and the scene sees them reuniting and revisiting those past memories and, perhaps, past physical connection. 

If the chemistry works, in situations like that you, as an audience member, want to urge the characters to get together. You hope they get closer and closer until they finally embrace and kiss or what have you. 

With Barrymore and Lillian, I was left expecting that Lillian would leave and we as an audience would be OK with that. 

Tim Stoddard as Gary and Clay Vermulm as Andrew in "I Hate Hamlet"

Also, I wish Krystine would have either gone with the accent in full, making it either as over the top as possible, or simply not have used one. Her slipping in and out of the accent made me feel like I was taken out of the play for a moment. 

I like Krystine as an actress. She's a versatile performer who has plenty of energy and personality. She's also a great improv performer. 

This wasn't her best performance last night, but like I said, I'm not sure how much prior preparation she had with the role. 

When I received the cast list last week, her name wasn't on it. I was a little surprised to see her there because I didn't even know she was involved. 

It will be interesting to see where Joanna takes the role when she feels better. 

Another misstep, to me, was after the scene with Lillian and Barrymore. We're subjected to a little TOO long a period in darkness. I don't know, I started to wonder if maybe there was a problem or if the lights were broke or what.  Maybe that was done on purpose, but like I said, it started getting near the point of "um, what's taking so long?" territory. 

Then the scene after the lights came back on confused me a bit. 

Before the lights cut out, we watch a scene where Gary explains a commercial offer to Rally where he plays a guy who's selling nuts along with a hand puppet. It's a funny bit because of the absurdity of the commercial and how silly commercials can be and how low actors stoop to find work. 

Then after the break, Barrymore is sitting on the couch watching the TV and that ad comes on with what sounds like Andrew's voice. 

That made me wonder if the darkness was supposed to indicate a leap forward in time and Andrew had gone back to Hollywood to do the TV show and commercial, or what. It was never explained, so I'm not sure what that scene was supposed to mean. Rally soon comes back into the apartment  and I realized where the setting was supposed to be and that we were still in present day. 

In conclusion, I recommend seeing "I Hate Hamlet." 

The humor is sharp, the costumes all looked great on the performers, the set designers made it LOOK like a place where a John Barrymore type would live, and all of the actors projected their lines well. There was never a moment where I stopped following because I could not hear them. 

It's markedly different from "Chicago" but in a good way. There is more than one way to pull off a great show. When I think back to last year's shows, the improvement has been stark. 

This show at times surprised me, at times made me laugh and made me ask philosophical questions about what it means to be a performer. 

Thanks to Katie Pipinich for the photos! :-) 

Magnificent Seven, Montana Actors Theatre-Great Falls, Feb. 2

I'm finally on the mend after nearly two days of being sick but if you've been wondering where my critique of the Magnificent Seven show has been, it's been stuck in my flu-stricken fingers.

But, anyhow, onto my thoughts of the show. 

Saturday's Magnificent Seven show at MAT-Great Falls featured six acts in front of a large collection of artwork on a small stage surrounded by people on three sides. 

I like the format mostly. I think the more popular this thing gets, the more creative the folks there at the theater are going to have fitting everyone in. 

It worked on Saturday, but part of me kept wondering what they'd do if an influx of people came later. 

I wouldn't say that was a problem for Saturday, but in the future it may be.

But, onto this night's entertainment. 

The performers were as follows -- Dan Dubuque of Polson, Jeff Scolley with Joe Ryan on guitar, Ryan Johnson, Melanie Pool Hauer and Joe Ryan, Risa Alvarez fire eating/fire dancing and the Coexistence Band minus their lead singer from Helena.

Each of the performers, at least the ones I've watched before, gave some of their best shows I've seen from them. That doesn't mean they were without problems, except for the performance by one Melanie, which was perfect in every way from a singer who most definitely did not bribe me to write that. Kidding. 

The show started with a bang with Mr. Dubuque performing his slide guitar.

 You really had to sit in amazement at the talent he has with his instruments. He also played a South American ukulele of some kind for a few songs, but the real point of wonder was his work on the slide. 

Ryan Johnson at MAT-Great Falls' Magnificent Seven

I particularly enjoyed his rendition of Tool's "46&2" and Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name." Both pieces put me in a trance of amazement. 

My critique of Dan's performance is a bit strange even to me, but I thought it went on a bit too long. 

I kept waiting for Tyson (Habein) or Joe (Ryan) to come bring the next performer on stage. 

It's strange because one, the guy was an incredible performer and two, he was playing an instrument I really enjoy hearing. 

I think his problem came in the fact that he was just playing his instrument. It got a bit stagnant to me. I would have loved to hear him performing with someone singing along with him or perhaps if someone had a drum, or some other element to mix it up. 

I think if anything Mr. Dubuque shows how hard it is to keep the audience's attention with just one person playing an instrument. It can be done when you have insane talent like he does, but even then, for me, at least, I started to feel a bit complacent. 

After Dan's set, Jeff Scolley took the stage with Joe Ryan and read some of his favorite recent poems. He and Joe have this cool symbiotic thing going where whatever Jeff is reading, Joe can somehow make it sound better with his guitar playing in the background. Even the fourth poem, which Jeff read without preparing beforehand, Joe seemed to find the right groove for. 

Jeff is a natural performer, plain and simple. He loves reading his poetry and expressing his thoughts on stage. The words he uses, the phrases he delivers, all leave a bit of a lasting impression on you. 

Art from Rachel Kaiser at Saturday's Magnificent Seven

Jeff also mentioned his new spoken-word album he's working on at Michael Gilboe's recording studio. I look forward to hearing how the progress is coming on that. 

 Perhaps my only critique of Jeff's performance was that I've heard at least one of the poems before delivered in a similar way. 

I didn't tire of hearing it, though. I think mostly because you believe what Jeff is saying when he's speaking it, particularly in the poem about his sister. He talks about raising her and how she means the world to him. That's an admirable sentiment and even if I've heard him recite those words at least two or three times before, the feeling still seems fresh. 

Perhaps it might be nice to see Jeff take some more risks in his poetry and try things he's never done before. I say "perhaps" because he knows what works for him. The saying goes if it ain't broke don't fix it. 

At the same time, though, I'd kind of like to see how he'd do at something out of his comfort zone. Because he's such a strong performer, I think it'd be interesting to see how he'd react to something out of left field.

I didn't expect him to do something unproven on Saturday, though, as it wasn't that kind of show. He reached his goal for the night and there's really not much bad you can say about what he did. 

After Jeff came Ryan Johnson who did a mix of covers and original songs on his guitar. 

Listening to Ryan and I'm always impressed with his range of vocals. I always tell him how I enjoy his songs when I see him, so I must really enjoy hearing him play. His original songs were great on Saturday, and his rendition of "Bennie and the Jets" really brought the house down. It was fun and upbeat. Elton John would've been proud. 

My main critique with Ryan's set was that several songs didn't appear to have endings. The songs would go on just fine until the end and then they would just stop. 

Several times people weren't sure if the song was over or if they were supposed to applaud yet. 

It's just a small thing and a simple one to solve. Ryan's got one of the stronger musical packages both in his performing and writing and it was nice to see him in the mix. 

Risa Alvarez at MAT-Great Falls' Magnificent Seven

Ryan's performance was followed by Melanie Pool Hauer and Joe Ryan. Since Melanie bribed me to just say nice things, I guess I'll have to or I might have to give her money back.

Honestly, I thought she did a great job. Like Lana, my girlfriend, said afterward, she and Joe are reaching an intriguing point in their musical development. They're either getting to the point where they just explode, or it fizzles and dies. Their potential for great things seems to be within grasp. That's really exciting to see. 

If I could find one fault with their performance was that the hip hop song didn't really do it for me. Melanie can rap, something I did not know beforehand, but to me I kept thinking about the time Madonna tried to rap. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you always should.

You could say it was a fun distraction, but it seemed to stick out from the rest of the set. Guess I'll be giving Melanie her money back that she never gave me, after all. Oh well. 

After a brief excursion outside to watch the fire-dancer/fire eater, which I didn't get to see because it was too cold for me to stand out there very long, the reggae band Coexistence from Helena capped off the night. 

It would have been nice if their lead singer, Carli Karlson, could have made it to the show, but I felt the guys did a stellar job in her absence. 

The group played some reggae covers and some original tunes and it was fun to hear how the saxophone meshed in with the rest of the more-traditional instruments. Like I told Lana while we were listening to them, it's not every day you hear a band around here play with a saxophone. 

The group played mostly some upbeat songs and really played well with the atmosphere of the evening.

Because they are a five piece, or four piece on Saturday, band, they had to squeeze onto the stage on the very back of the theater. 

Not an ideal setup, maybe, but they made it work. Even if you were seated in the very front of the room you could hear them just fine. 

Jeff Scolley reads poetry at the Magnificent Seven

Overall, I think my main critiques are things that can be ironed out in future shows. Like I said at the top, each of the acts gave great performances and you never felt like you weren't seeing the performers give it their all. 

Also, it would be nice if they could find a way to accept credit for drinks. I would have loved to have gotten a few drinks but didn't have any cash. Hopefully they'll get a way to make that happen in the future. 

Finally, I liked the way Joe and Tyson used the door prizes to keep the action on stage moving and let for some small break between acts. 

I will be interested in seeing next month's lineup and if there are more out-of-town artists who try out to perform. It's a great way to discover some new performers and to see ones you might have seen before raise the bar to new levels. 

Both Lana and I enjoyed ourselves and it sounded like  many others who attended did too. I recommend checking out the next one on March 2.

Photos courtesy of Tyson and Sara Habein. Video courtesy of Gabriel Vasichek.