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[Future Events]

ABBA-ESQUE: It’s true! Mamma Mia!, a musical based on the songs of ABBA, is indeed a smashing box-office success on at least two continents, and it’s heading for our own Colonial Theatre in August. Included: 22 ABBA hits! Including "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "Super Trouper," the title track, and, of course, "Dancing Queen"! Added bonus: a plot! We’ll let the press release take it from here: "Through the story-telling magic of the songs of ABBA, we meet Donna, a feisty fortysomething single mom who recalls distant memories of carefree days and careless nights while her daughter Sophie dreams of tradition, romance, and a big white wedding." Even better, the musical is set on a "tiny mythical Greek island" — apparently, Sweden was already booked. Mamma Mia! opens August 17 at the Colonial Theatre, 246 Tremont Street, for a "limited engagement." Tickets are $25 to $75; call (617) 931-2787.

VICIOUS CYCLES: You’ve perhaps heard the term "wearable art" in fashion: now meet "ridable art." Later this month, a dozen or so local artists will be exhibiting their "ArtBikes" — recycled two-wheelers that their owners have super-customized and given names like Tetanus the Lockjaw Monster and Forgiveness Cycle. The bikes will be on display June 13 through 15 before being auctioned off at a reception on the evening of the 15th to benefit Bikes Not Bombs, a Roxbury-based non-profit that trains young people in the art of bicycle mechanics — and has sent its trainees to Haiti, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic, where they work to provide sustainable transportation. The exhibit and auction (which had been scheduled for Somerville’s now-defunct Gallery Bershad) take place at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, 41 East Second Street. Tickets to the auction, including a performance by Neptune, are $20; call (617) 442-0004. Or visit www.bikesnotbombs.org.

 

NEXT WEEKEND

Robert Randolph’s
sacred steel

Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, and Al Green are among the many African-American musicians who have made the leap from the Church to the concert hall — from sacred music to secular. Add to that list pedal-steel guitarist Robert Randolph, a young gospel virtuoso who is becoming a hot item on the improv-rock circuit (he’ll be at Lilli’s next Thursday). Over the past six months, he’s jammed and recorded with keyboard guru John Medeski and slide-guitarist Derek Trucks; his first album, with input from Medeski and the North Mississippi All-Stars, is due in August.

The rise from gospel sideman to jam-band draw has been quick and startling for the 23-year-old New Jersey native. One year ago, Randolph had never performed outside of his church, the House of God, an African-American Pentecostal denomination distinguished by its style of sacred music. House of God services center on the pedal steel guitar, a style of slide guitar associated with weepy country tunes and instrumental Hawaiian music. Introduced into the House of God services in the 1930s, the “sacred steel” sound remained a little-known tradition until 1997, when roots label Arhoolie Records released the first in a series of sacred-steel collections. Randolph is the first House of God member to make sacred steel go pop.

“Until four years ago, I never heard of nobody, only the sacred-steel forefathers of my church,” he recalls over the phone from a tour stop in Los Angeles. “Then I heard Stevie Ray Vaughan and I fell in love, because he had that go-out-and-get-’em attitude. Then I got into jazz guitarist Norman Brown, a little bit of Red Hot Chili Peppers, but until a year ago, I never heard of the Allman Brothers, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, none of them. I wasn’t into that music, only the church thing.”

Inspired by the sound of blues and classic rock, Randolph began absorbing the past 50 years of guitar playing into his traditional sound. A flurry of favorable publicity, including a two-page profile in the New York Times, led to a handful of choice gigs in Manhattan rock clubs. Not long after, he secured a record deal with John Medeski’s imprint, Ropeadope Records.

His secular debut, The Word (due August 7), a collaboration with Medeski and the North Mississippi All-Stars, proves that Randolph is indeed hype-worthy. Taking on a mix of traditional gospel and self-penned instrumentals, his playing combines the virtuosic flash and speed of Stevie Ray Vaughan, the soaring tone of Duane Allman, and the relentless rhythmic drive of Bo Diddley. But the gospel sound is never far from his fingertips. His single-note lines have an eerie, human-voice-like quality as they bob and weave from note to note; plus he’s fond of call-and-response vamps, uplifting chord changes, and hand-clapping rhythms that charge straight for the pearly gates.

Although Randolph is excited about his new career, many House of God parishioners aren’t so enthusiastic. “The church don’t really condone me playing in bars,” he admits. “But I see it as a great thing. It’s not like we’re singing about screwing women and worshipping the devil, we’re inspiring people to make them feel good.”

Robert Randolph and the Family Band perform at Lilli’s, 608 Somerville Avenue, next Thursday, June 7. Call (617) 591-1661.

BY MICHAEL ENDELMAN

Issue Date: May 31 - June 7, 2001