By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

Bravo! DMMO celebrates 35th anniversary

Thirty-five years ago, Dr. Robert Larsen founded Des Moines Metro Opera with the late Douglas Duncan. Over the years, the artistic director and conductor has seen a lot of changes: the company’s budget has grown from $22,000 to nearly $2 million; critics and fans from around the United States, Canada and Europe are no longer surprised to find first-rate opera in Central Iowa; and thanks to the apprentice program Larsen founded, a number of young Iowans have become nationally-known opera artists.

Yet despite the changes, the original goals of the company remain the same: to provide a stage for young American singers, to showcase American repertoire not usually found in larger opera houses and to recruit new fans.

“We didn’t have an idea what we were getting into when we started,” Larsen says. “But I’m thrilled about the outcome.”

Like he did during the DMMO’s first season, Larsen has selected three operas with wide appeal for the DMMO’s 35th anniversary festival: “Carmen,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Otello.”

“We chose a repertory that interested critics and fans,” he says, adding ticket sales have been brisk for the 2007 season. “We did that the first year and we were able to get people to come from around the country to see the productions. The three we have this year are great as well.”

“Carmen,” in particular, resonates with Larsen who grew up in Ames. When he was 10 years old his parents took him to see a production of Bizet’s famous opera in Omaha and it solidified his passion for the genre. “Nothing was the same after that,” he says. “I love that combination of music and theater.”

The DMMO Festival takes place at Blank Performing Arts Center on the campus of Simpson College. On occasion, the DMMO has hosted operas at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines and Hoyt Sherman Place. Larsen’s goal is to continue to do so in an effort to introduce opera to new audiences.

“We know that when we show opera to children they eat it up,” Larsen says. “It’s harder to reach adults, but once we do I’ve never found an audience that didn’t like it. If we can get people here we can keep them coming back.”

Single event tickets for the DMMO’s 2007 Festival range in price from $40 to $78. Call 961-6221 or visit www.desmoinesmetroopera.org. The DMMO’s 35th anniversary season includes the following events:

• “Carmen” — June 22, 29 and July 7, 12 at 7:30 p.m.; June 24 and July 15 at 2 p.m.
• “A Midsummer Nights Dream” — June 23 and July 6, 10, 14 at 7:30 p.m.; July 1 at 2 p.m.
• “Otello” — June 30 and July 3, 11, 13 at 7:30 p.m.; July 8 at 2 p.m.
• “Otello Opening Night Gala” — June 30. $125. Black tie optional.
• “Stars of Tomorrow” orchestral concert and reception — July 5 at 7 p.m. at Sheslow Auditorium, Drake University. $10-$20.

Blues solo/duo acts wanted; CIBS to host new fest

Solo and duo blues acts have until July 16 to apply to the Central Iowa Blues Society to compete in the 2007 Solo/Duo Iowa Blues Challenge. Prizes include the chance to represent Iowa at the 2008 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, as well as cash and gigs. A local preliminary round of competition will be held Aug. 16 in Des Moines and the finals will be held Sept. 2 at Blues on Grand. Last year’s winner was Bad Luck City. To apply, call 225-6638 or visit www.cibs.org.

In other blues news, the Central Iowa Blues Society is in the planning stages of hosting its first Summer Festival to be held Sept. 2 at the Western Gateway Park at 15th Street and Grand Avenue. The event replaces CIBS’ longstanding Labor Day weekend pub-crawl formerly known as the Court Avenue Blues Festival, which featured local and national blues bands at Court Avenue venues and an outdoor stage. The new Summer Festival will feature three national acts (no local bands) starting at 4 p.m. and will tie in with the finals for the 2007 Solo/Duo Iowa Blues Challenge to be held that night across the street at Blues on Grand. After the Challenge, Blues on Grand will host a jam at 10 p.m. Guitarists Lonnie Brooks and Jimmy Thackery are reportedly among the acts being considered to play the festival. Stay tuned.

Scene notes

Blues-rockers Indigenous, led by singer-guitarist Mato Nanji, plays Nitefall on the River on Thursday at 7 p.m. Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts open. Admission is $8. … Seniom Sed’s comeback continues Friday with a performance by Faculty Lounge from 4 to 7:30 p.m. at Nollen Plaza in downtown Des Moines. Admission is $5 and includes two drink tickets. On June 29, the summer’s third and final Seniom Sed event will include a concert by the Backstage Boogie Band. … The 25th annual “Celebration in Brass,” featuring four competing Division I drum and bugle corps as well as Iowa’s Division II Colt Cadets, will be held Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Ankeny High School Stadium, 1302 N. Ankeny Blvd. Tickets are $12-$25. Call 964-0685 or visit www.ankeny.org. … Singer-songwriter-pianist Scott Stilwell, founder and coordinator of The Lighthouse Coffeehouse in West Des Moines, told Cityview a few months ago that 2007 would be the last season for the coffeehouse so he could spend more time writing and performing his own songs. On Saturday, Stilwell opens for John Burns at Café Diem in Ankeny at 6:30 p.m. where he will perform his original material. … Before Kool Keith, Dirty Old Bastard and 2 Live Crew, “The Dirtiest Man in the South” Clarence Reid a.k.a. Blowfly was singing X-rated songs with funky grooves and rapping before there was rap. Thirty-five years and 40 albums later, the hip-hop pioneer makes his way to Des Moines where he plays the House of Bricks on Monday at 8 p.m. for a 16-and-over show. Tickets are $10. Blueprint of Soul Position and Johnny Reeferseed and the High Rollers open. … Speaking of the House of Bricks, when its owners J.C. Wilson and Nancy Wilson aren’t running their East Village live music club they’re busy selling homes. The former husband-wife duo maintains a business partnership and recently joined Burnett Realty as sales associates. J.C. Wilson says he has been a licensed real estate agent for three years, having worked for First Realty before moving to Burnett. He says he and Nancy list a small volume of homes together. “It’s the perfect thing,” he says. “Burnett is real down to earth and I like the selling element of it.” … Weezer-meets-Elvis Costello three-piece New York rock band Breaking Laces plays Drink on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Call 270-6274 for tickets. … The Civic Music Association Board of Directors on May 29 named Carrie Clog as the group’s new executive director. Clogg, who holds degrees in music business, vocal performance and education, joins the non-profit group that specializes in promoting jazz and classical concerts and education workshops after working as director of government and foundation support for Simpson College. … Local blues band Hot Tamale and the Red Hots recently finished recording their new CD “Hot Off the Grill” (their lead singer is Cindy Grill) at Kaleidoscope Sonic Lab in Des Moines. …The annual Johnny Cash Tribute Show returns to Prairie Meadows Sept. 8 and features performances by Cash’s brother, Tommy Cash, as well as The Tennessee Three and The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash. Tickets, $13, go on sale Wednesday. CV

Mayer’s continuum links his abilities as pop singer, blues guitarist

By Michael Swanger

Though it might alienate some younger female admirers, it appears as though John Mayer is on a musical adventure that is leading him away from the soft, pubescent sound of his early hits like “Your Body is A Wonderland” and is headed for the male-dominated world of the blues — though no one is mistaking him for his idols like Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton as evidenced by his well-orchestrated performance June 18 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

With one foot firmly planted in pop music and the other in the less commercially viable world of the blues, Mayer walks a fine artistic and commercial line every time he steps on stage. The challenge for the young musician is to find a way to bring along his female fans, especially the younger ones with disposable incomes and romantic crushes — the likes of which comprised the majority of the nearly 7,403 fans in attendance at Wells Fargo Arena — as well as attract males who prefer guitar solos and could care less about his boyish good looks.

But if anyone can pull off such an unthinkable fete it is Mayer, who at Wells Fargo Arena was the very definition of the word that serves as the title for his latest blockbuster album, “Continuum,” from his melodic sound, to his humble stage presence and non-descript wardrobe [black T-shirt, jeans, white tennis shoes].

With the help of a stellar seven-piece band that included drummer extraordinaire J.J. Johnson, Mayer seamlessly linked his equally impressive identities as a singer-songwriter and guitar-slinger without anybody noticing the transition during his 90-minute show. Uptempo songs like “No Such Thing,” “Good Love is On the Way,” “I Don’t Need No Doctor” and his latest and hit, “Waiting on the World to Change,” all of which included melodic guitar solos that served each song’s tight arrangement and positive imagery, were good examples of Mayer’s expansive artistry, as were his bluesy and jazzy ballads like “Gravity,” “Dreaming With A Broken Heart” and “Wheel.” Only the acoustic encore versions of “Slow Dancing” and “Your Body is A Wonderland,” both of which drew screams from female fans, seemed out of place and outdated in Mayer’s continuum.
Mayer isn’t the first young musician yearning to break free from the artistic limitations of success at an early age. But judging by the tasteful musicianship he displayed at Wells Fargo Arena, he might be one of the lucky few to sustain a fan base for years to come as he continues on his promising musical adventure.

Set list for Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, June 18, 2007
Belief
No Such Thing
Good Love is On the Way
Gravity
Bigger Than My Body
Dreaming With A Broken Heart
Vultures
I Don't Need No Doctor
Wheel
Why Georgia
Waiting on the World to Change

-- encore --
Slow Dancing (acoustic)
Your Body is a Wonderland (acoustic)
I'm Gonna Find Another You

http://www.johnmayer.com/

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