Notes from the MAMAs
What the hell?
Reviewing Saturday's Madison Area Music Awards ceremony at the Barrymore Theatre would be like reviewing a concert, a charity event, and a few long stories told by your embarrassing dad all at once. Plus, it would sort of reinforce the feeling of, well, "playing awards ceremony" the way kids play house. So instead of trying to recap the whole event, I'd like to simply share a few of my notes from the evening. (Winners are listed here.)
-At the end of the day, the MAMAs accomplished their stated goal as a charity that provides kids with musical instruments, and the nonprofit's board unveiled a proclamation from Governor Jim Doyle that thanked MAMAs founder Rick Tvedt for his efforts.
-The first thing I saw when I walked up was State Street goofball Art Paul Schlosser, armed with his usual guitar and kazoo, and a woman dressed as Marilyn Monroe. Inside, attendees could either walk up a little red carpet or step around it. At the end of the red carpet was a woman with a microphone, who stopped those in the procession for a few seconds of silly banter. You could also watch this inside the theater, as the whole thing was aired live on a screen above the stage. So that passed the time before Clyde Stubblefield got the show off to a fun start with his band, looking cool and commanding behind the drumkit as he presided over a horn section, a busy-fingered bass player, and a couple of vocalists.
-According to a piece in last week's Isthmus, I was supposed to be "entertained" by MAMAs host John Urban.
-The best set of the night came from blazingly well-dressed rappers Lucha Libre, who swaggered onstage with a libidinous leer that was delightfully out of place. With lyrics like, "Bills hangin' out my anus / I'm talkin' Preparation H," the group came off as the cool crazy uncle who got drunk at your First Communion. Blueheels' set included a meaty, lumbering tune called "Landmines" that branched out successfully from the band's familiar roots-rock sound. Whore Du Jour's "Deep Sea Diver" (and its name, of course) added a bit more fun to the evening.
-Constructive Suggestion No. 1: How about a program that includes some more info on the nominated artists?
-The Lucas Cates Band won Artist Of The Year, Country/Bluegrass Song (in a tie with The Rowdy Prairie Dogs), Folk/Americana Song, Pop Performer, Pop Song, and Rock Song. I don't wish to trash Lucas Cates' music (it's decent if over-produced and not especially original pop, plus his dad, accepted the awards because Cates was on tour, looked like he could eat me with a side of lumberjack chips), but where was the line between sweeping and hogging?
-Felicia Alima won in the Urban/R&B Album category for Trade, which, as far as I know, was actually a "maxi-single" comprising several different mixes of one song. I wouldn't have minded seeing that win the Urban/R&B Song award, but could we figure out what an album is? I voted for Stink Tank's Books On Tape, and that's a fucking album—14 songs, stories, characters, and a larger concept and vision that actually make it an interesting listen from start to finish.
-There was a little reel of nominees that ran before each award. Before the announcement for the Unique Album award, everyone was treated to a reel that included a dignified recitation of fellow nominees, including Butt Funnel (Subliminal Boner). I was glad that bands like this (it's a bunch of guys who pretend to be German and sing these bathroom-humor pop songs) could crash the awards for a few amusing, stuffiness-breaking seconds.
-When Josh Harty won the Folk/Americana Performer award, shortly after lending his Strat skills to a nice set from Jentri Colello, he walked out looking rather surprised and bewildered, mumbled a few gracious words, and walked back offstage. No "playing awards ceremony" with a silly pompous speech about thanking god and all that stuff. Just a modest unassuming quality, which also happens to be one of the best things about Harty's music.
-Constructive Suggestion No. 2: Tvedt told me recently that he was thinking of changing the MAMAs' name. Well, how about a name that puts more emphasis on music education? That'd accomplish two things: It would help more people understand what's really important here, and it wouldn't sound as if the organization's claiming to represent Madison music as a whole. (It represents those who make a donation to participate.) After all, the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award—for Marvin Rabin, the founding conductor of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras—felt like the big centerpiece of the show, as a big band of amazingly skilled young musicians (one of the violin players can't be older than 5, if that) serenaded him with a set that included a cover of Soulja Boy Tell Em's "Kiss Me Through The Phone."
-Reggae group Natty Nation and its album Reincarnation took all the "world" categories, and it also played the last slot of the night. And here was where some strange irony came in: I sat there watching and thinking that I probably should've been more complimentary toward Natty Nation's music in the past—the way Jah Boogie held down his vocal melodies and played bass at once couldn't be easy—but except for a few dancers up front, a lot of people in the audience decided to treat the short set as exit music. Are these the same people who just got done patting themselves on the back for how much they support local music?
