April is National Jazz Month, and Tuesday night at the Fillius Events Barn, Hamilton students were treated to the Harlem Blues & Jazz Band. They have played around the world and are gearing up for a European tour in June. Baron toured with the Duke Ellington Orchestra in the ‘70s and had some great stories about Duke’s quirky sense of humor. More ...
In a refreshing departure from Wellin Hall’s usual choral, orchestral and jazz programming, last Saturday the community gathered to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a few weeks early with an impressive demonstration of Ireland’s musical traditions from Martin Hayes and his touring company, the Masters of Tradition. More ...
It was not a coffeehouse. Or, if it was a coffeehouse, I’m not sure how to square it with coffeehouses of the past. Last Thursday night in the Barn, the audience at the beginning was the same—leisurely sipping from Clinton Pottery mugs at small tables with candles—but the band seemed to imagine a different crowd altogether, intent on throwing a booze-fueled hoedown. More ...
Hamilton College has once again found a unique way to combine academia and activism. Through a partnership with a variety of departments, including the Days-Massolo Center, the Comparative Literature Department and the Performing Arts Department, the College hosted a residency by Cultural Odyssey’s Rhodessa Jones and her partner Idris Ackamoor. More ...
Rhodessa Jones’ presentation of A Woman for the 21st Century – The Medea Project this past Monday began with music. Idris Ackamore slithered down the aisle of the Kennedy Auditorium playing an offbeat dirge with his saxophone. The notes started abstract and splattered, but he skillfully crafted a catchy lick that was easy to hum. Then he actually did start humming, and he invited the crowd to repeat after him. Being liberal arts students, Idris appealed to our sense of community—“come on! This is a community thing here, now sing!”—and so we did. The whole crowd hummed the funky line from nowhere, and he echoed with his saxophone. When this came to its natural conclusion, he pulled out his didgeridoo. I don’t think the Kennedy Auditorium has ever known such strange and beautiful sounds. More ...
A man quickly—almost carelessly—walks along the side of a railroad trestle, hundreds of feet above the rice paddies below. It’s a striking image, made all the more striking once one notices how the camera, with equal fearlessness, drifts out over the abyss, swings back over the trestle and then lingers just over the man’s head as he quick-steps his way along the tracks. More ...
Not with a bang, but with a whimper…or, rather, a whisper. So began the second event of the F.I.L.M. series this semester, a sneak preview of Jane Gillooly’s new documentary film, Suitcase of Love and Shame. More ...
As a part of Hamilton’s annual Feb Fest, Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel performed a special acoustic concert in the Chapel. The Spectator spoke to several awed students in order to share their personal reactions to the event. More ...
Before the doors opened at 7:30 p.m. there were already a few dozen students in line to enter the Barn, a sure sign that excitement was running high for this week’s special Tuesday edition of Acoustic Coffeehouse with Josh Ritter. Returning to the stage after a three-month hiatus—during which he became a first-time father and announced a new album—Josh’s excitement matched the audience’s, ensuring a special night of song debuts, intimate performances and the spirit of sublime wintertime joy that FebFest embodies. More ...
Michael Ian Black prefers uncomfortable situations. When he has the opportunity to make an awkward moment more awkward, he leaps at it. After polling a crowded Wellin Hall, nearly filled to its 698-person capacity, about who had a Valentine and who was single (the singles let out a roar), Black asked all single heterosexual women to raise their hands. Only a few brave souls volunteered, and Black selected a woman in the front row. Then he asked the inevitable next question: Any single heterosexual men? Another front-row attendee raised his hand. Black, digging deep into the discomfort, paired them off, making them sit next to one another for the remaining half-hour of his stand-up act. More ...