smoe.org mailing lists
ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "bob" <segarini@sympatico.ca> |
| Subject | Do Not Miss... |
| Date | Sun, 10 Oct 2004 11:43:37 -0400 |
[Part 1 text/plain iso-8859-1 (2.5 kilobytes)]
(View Text in a separate window)
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Concert series tackles classic gems
By SHERRI WOOD -- Toronto Sun
Led Zeppelin, The Clash, Bob Marley, Queen -- it's been a momentous concert year in Toronto.
All thanks to Craig Martin, producer of the Classic Albums Live series -- a sequence of monthly shows that recreate historic albums "note-for-note, cut-for-cut."
This Friday's selection is their most ambitious project yet: The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band as part of their Masterpiece Series.
"It's definitely our biggest task to date -- I mean, Sgt. Pepper's changed the world," says Martin, 43. "We have a 20-piece band, an orchestra that includes a harp player, sitarists and a tabla player -- no computers -- all the bells and whistles of the album will be performed live, note-for-note."
Martin, who says the most successful show yet has been the Beatles' White Album, is expecting a full house. Usually held at the Phoenix, this special edition show will overtake the carefully restored Carlu Theatre.
"We needed a bigger stage for this show and the Carlu is a historic theatre," says Martin. "This show's historic in its undertaking, so it's a nice marriage. Plus, it's honestly the most gorgeous theatre I've ever seen with an unbelievable art deco beauty."
It's a seemingly perfect venue for what Martin describes as more of a "recital" than a cover band performance. It's an arduous undertaking, but Martin's confident it will be a perfect recreation.
"For us, the challenge has been finding the spirit of the music -- the joy, the chaos, the psychedelia of this album," says Martin. "We're going to send the audience back in time to show the relevance of the music in this day and age."
After a hugely successful 18-month run in Toronto and tour stops in the U.S., the Classic Albums Live camp already have the next year-and-a-half booked -- and they don't see it coming to an end any time soon.
"It's going to be a North American phenomenon," says Martin. "I feel like we're doing something important -- something amazing."
But aren't they going to run out of classic albums?
"We figure we'll hit the roof and run out of (material) in about two years," says Martin. "But we'll just go back to the beginning and start again."
Classic Albums Live: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Friday, The Carlu, 444 Yonge St.
For assistance, please contact
the smoe.org administrators.