PLAIN FOLK

by Les Pearson

All writers for this column are members of the Medicine Hat Folk Music Club. Their individual tastes and insights will vary as widely as the folk music genre itself. In the weeks and months that follow, writers will celebrate these differences by discussing CD’s, recordings, concerts and festivals that feature a wide range of folk music traditions. All opinions and perspectives expressed in this column are personal; they are not meant to reflect the views of all Club members.

PLAIN FOLK
by Les Pearson
What Happens When Folk Stars Gravitate to Black Holes?

When is it time to quit? When is the right moment to retreat from centre stage? These are weighty questions for celebrities like Michael Jordan, for politicians whose last names begin with hard "c," and even for pop musicians like Mick Jagger. It is a dilemma for folk musicians too. What is their "best before" date?

Sometimes it seems that greed or addiction to the psychoactive powers of applause provide the only reasons for stars to stay. They linger like Limburger on not-so-subtle summer sandwiches. Are they afraid of oblivion's black hole?

Ashley MacIsaac is proof that these questions pertain to all performers, not just the geriatric. His career consistently flirts at the vortex's brink. Jokes about SARS and race at his recent Ottawa show? (Somebody has to tell that boy that his celebrity is all about the fiddle music--not his voice, not his lyrics, and least about his mind.)

But star status is impossible to cancel once it has been conferred. The proof? MacIsaac made Monday's national news! How long before Ashley is simply ash? Never? Even bad press keeps his flame alight. Besides, he still plays well!

Some stars fade, but never go away. Harry Belafonte and Nana Mouskouri are currently touring together. They are coming to Calgary soon. In the seventies they were red hot stars. Harry's moves and sexy calypso songs made grown women drool. And Nana's vocal range dwarfed the Rockies. Her demure presence--with its hint of European exotica--charmed international audiences.

These stars were traditional folk wonders. Now Harry is old, really old. And Nana's latest Christmas CD lacked force, range, and vitality. Those who take a nostalgic trip to their joint concert in Calgary will worship at an altar built by performances from a distant past. They will pay tribute. But reverence is not a satisfying substitute for original ecstasy.

Not everyone wants an open-casket funeral. Is it really enough to marvel at how "natural" and "life-like" old stars appear?

I know life is full of disappointments. But PBS retrospectives of The Beach Boys or the Bee Gees are sometimes just too cruel. A heart can break when Barry Gibb's falsetto cracks like antigue glass when he tries for the high notes in Stayin' Alive. Or Brian Wilson hits a B sharp when he should have wailed a high C in Wendy.

The Medicine Hat Folk Music Club is booking acts for its five-concert series that begins next September. One act that we considered is Stringband. They were a star-studded Canadian folk act in 1978 when they released "The Maple Leaf Dog" album. But Dief won't be Chief Again. Ever.

If concerts are about the music, it must be music at its best. Hopefully, we will book no act after its prime! I only wish these groups would allow us to remember them at their stellar best. Close the casket. Prevent starlight from being swallowed by infamy's black hole.