Interesting Andy Statman gig

[Scott Tichenor]

Thought this worth sharing from the barbes web site (http://www.barbesbrooklyn.com/calendar.html) web site, 376 9th St. (corner of 6th Ave.) Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY - 718.965.9177.

Sunday Sun 01/30 @ 9:00 PM

A tribute to DAVE APOLLON featuring ANDY STATMAN. Russian-born Dave Apolon is often considered the greatest Mandolinist of all times. His very personal mix of Latin, Russian gypsy and American ragtime brought him immense popularatiy in the 30's - and makes him more than relevant to this day. He was a master of the soundies (the music videos of their times) which will be projected along with other rare footage.

Andy Statman is another Mandoline great. He studied and performed with David Grisman, went on to study clarinet with the legendary Dave Tarras and became one of the main architect of a Klezmer revival which started out 30 years ago and has since informed and influenced folk, Jazz and improvised music forms. He has collaborated with Izthak Perlman, regularly plays clubs and synagogues and seems to be re-inventing his approach to tradition and musical exploration on a daily basis. $8

[John Flynn]

I would love to see that. I think that going onstage and trying to do justice to Apolon is about the "ballsiest" thing any mando-performer could do. I hope there is a live CD someday!

[Glassweb]

This should be a fantastic evening for all mandolin lovers... Apollon and Andy on the same bill - too much!
By the way... I saw Andy and his trio perform an impromptu "Tribute to Bill Monroe" last night at their twice weekly gig at the 53 Charles Street location. Unreal! They blasted off on such Monroe classics as Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake, Roanoke, Cheyenne, Bluegrass Breakdown and Fire on the Mountain. Although it was an absolutely frigid night in New York City, the musicians sure put a meltdown on the breakdowns. So y'all "get down" and come and see Andy's gang this Sunday at Barbes and next Monday and Thursday nights at the 53 Charles Street synagogue in Greenwich Villiage.

[mandobob]

Sounds great, please note date is 1/30, not 1/3.

[Glassweb]

Yes... thanks to Mandobob for pointing that out... the correct date is this Sunday, January 30th at 9pm. So if you live in the vicinity of New york City and you love amazing mandolin music come on down to Barbes.

[Scott Tichenor]

Sounds great, please note date is 1/30, not 1/3.
Oops, my mistake. Corrected above now. Thanks for catching that.

[Garrett]

Did anyone here get to see this?

[HowardR]

I did.

Let me prefice this by saying that Andy Statman's mandolin playing was exciting, innovative and technically flawless. I do feel, however that this "tribute" could have been organized and put together much better. It basically went like this:

Thirty minutes after it was supposed to begin, a fellow gets on stage and announces that there will be a half hour of Dave Apollon film footage after which Andy Statman and his trio will perform. An hour later, Andy Statman gets on stage and plays clarinet for practically an hour before he picks up his mandolin and plays for about 45 minutes.

I guess it was assumed that everyone in the room knew who Dave Apollon was. IMO, there should have been some kind of monlogue or dialogue as to who Dave Apollon was, and some history of his life and his accomplishments, instead of just directly showing four 15 minute Vita-Phone films. Two would have been enough. Dave Apollon, a fantastic mandolinist, hardly played the mandolin in these films, as he was mostly a Vaudeville entertainer and dancer. Each film was the same thing, same "schtick", and although funny and amusing, became predictable and boring. When he did play the mandolin, it was easy to know why he was billed as "the world's great mandolin player", but those were few and far between. People in the audience were becoming restless and even called for the music. I think if these films could have been edited for more mandolin and less Vaudeville, and 30 minutes tops, it would have been perfect.

After the films, Andy Statman and his trio took over the stage. For almost an hour, he played the Clarinet. I was pissed. I'm sorry but I was. I really was not interested in listening to long, drawn out Jewish songs written by this Rabbi and that Rabbi, and I'm Jewish. I was at the verge of walking out when he finally took out his mandolin. I think that he's more expressive and creative on mandolin than the clarinet, and I really enjoyed that part of the evening. Andy played a variety of music at length, although not anything related to the music of Dave Apollon. Larry Eagle on percussion was also simply amazing and creative.

To me, this was barely a tribute. I think that some discussion about Dave Apollon was needed and I think that the live music should have been more related to Dave Apollon. There was also way too much time waiting for mandolin music both in the films and the live music.

I learned more about Dave Apollon after returning home and "googling" him. I also ordered a double cd set from CD now. I guess I'll have my own tribute in my own living room.

Sorry that this review was not all a bowl of cherries, but, those are my feelings and opinions.

All right now! Cheer up!
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[J. Mark Lane]

Honesty is rare enough around here...it is much appreciated. I almost made the trek in from the suburbs. That would have been a major commitment of time and effort for me, and a rare opportunity out of the house (with two small children and lots to do at home). Now I'm glad I didn't go. I will still catch him at the Temple in the Village, when I can get out on a Thursday night. Thanks.

Mark

[HowardR]

It was definately worth going to. I wouldn't have seen the Apollon films otherwise and I had never seen Andy Statman live before.

It just had a lot more potential and could have been better.