Culture November 6, 2002 Concert Review The Tea Party Explores New Territory Jordan Cripps OP Contributor The Tea Party Ani Difranco: A rare solo concert Stacey Tyers OP Contributor Ani Difranco © page 12 On October 30th, The Tea Party returned to Vancouver for the second time this year. This time, though, they came with a very different vision. As part of the du Maurier Concert Stage, they brought more than the gui- tar, bass, drums and keyboards ordinarily used to create their sound. Joining them on-stage at the Orpheum was a 42-piece orchestra conducted by Marc Ouellette, a tabla ensemble led by Ritesh Das, soprano Christine Williams, and assorted performance artists. When I first heard that the band was going to be tour- ing with an orchestra, I was certainly intrigued, but also a bit worried, since I’ve heard some other attempts to use orchestral music and they just don’t work. I must say that I was quite impressed with the way that the band and Marc Ouellette integrated the orchestra into the existing songs, rather than trying to re-arrange songs to fit the orchestra in. For almost the entire show, the orchestra felt like it belonged. The host for the evening, Thea Andrews, promised a spectacle and certainly didn’t disappoint the packed house composed of an eclectic mix of people. They began the concert by launching into a spirited rendition of their most familiar song, “Temptation” while lurking behind a thin white curtain. As the song kicked in after a long intro, the curtain flew away, exposing the band and waiting Extending “Transmission” greatly, they immediately went into another crowd-pleaser “Psychopomp.” It was interesting how the first two songs were from Transmission, the album that seems to do the best job of blending all of the band’s different influences: rock, electronica, and world music into a cohesive package. After these two songs, frontman Jeff Martin addressed the crowd for the first time, saying “I’m a bit nervous tonight with all that’s going on here” as he gestured at the musicians that cluttered the stage. He said that he could- nt think of a better place to start this tour than Vancouver. For the entire concert, he seemed to be in an orchestra to the crowd. Opening for Ani Difranco was a woman by the name of Toshi Regan, another politically aware, very talented folk singer. I had never heard of her before, but you can be sure I’m going to run out and buy her CD now. When speaking to those seating around me, it was pretty much the consensus that their next paychecks would be going to buy new CD’s, thanks to being exposed to such new amazing talent. Difranco jumped in and joined Regan for one of her songs, which made the crowd how! even louder, and then voila — she disappeared. Difranco did arrive back on stage and the whole the- atre rose to their feet. Her presence has such an impact on those who love her. In true Ani Difranco style she started strong, leading the set with “Fuel” and moving into “Rock a bye.” She conversed with her fans between songs, praising Vancouver. She proudly shared some new songs with the crowd who loved them as much as the tried and true, like “Anticipated” which she played 5th in the set. the other press unusually upbeat mood, a real contrast to his usual sullen, focused demeanour. For me, the concert had many highlights and only a few minor problems, mostly related to the size of the stage. For me, even though there are certainly songs that I don’t really like too much, it was really interesting to hear the band take a different perspective on their music. This was most evident in theiperformance of “Walking Wounded” from their Tangents greatest hits album. The song, which already has orchestral and classical under- tones, was given a very different treatment by the orches- tra and was further developed by using a soprano in place of a sample that is used on the album version. Martin’s voice, which I wasn’t sure would fit well with Williams’, was revealed to be powerful in its own right, and certain- ly wasn't drowned out by the soprano and, at times, over- shadowed the other singer. The absolute highlight for me, though, had to be their decision to play what Jeff Martin called “the most twist- ed song we've ever written, “Transmission.” The song’s original version is already elaborately arranged, creating a strong atmosphere but every note and sound was empha- sized by the orchestra's presence, and gave the song an even darker, more creepy feel, no easy task considering the original. I felt bad for the performance artists, a gymnast and a dancer really, because there was very little room for them to manoeuvre. The gymnast, or aerobat as Ekaterina Arnaoutova, is called, overcame this by using a red rib- bon for her routine, climbing, flipping and twisting her way up and down the rope as “Samsara” blasted over the speakers. I was relieved that the band didn’t play during this performance, as it seemed to be an accident waiting to happen, anyways. All in all this was, by far, the best performance I have ever seen The Tea Party give as the songs were all given new life, and I felt like I was entertained the entire time they performed. I saw Difranco perform at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle Labour Day weekend, so I sat waiting to see if she would perform her “WTC” poem, hoping she would understand that Canadians were just as politically aware and equally impacted by George W. Bush and his war- hungry ways. She understood the vibe, and commented on an invisible line drawn not affecting the relationship between the people. After playing “Independence Day”, she left the guitar behind and started the “WTC” poem. “Us people are just poems, we’re 90% metaphor’. It ended the performance with the bang it deserved. It was a strong performance, solid, and true to Ani Difranco. This was a show I was honoured to attend, like all her other performances. When she returned for her encore, she proudly displayed a sign she had received about a peace walk on Nov. 17th at the Burrard Street Bridge to stop the war on Iraq. The crowd left more than satisfied, more politically aware, and filled with the essence of Ani.