Dirtfoot & Escaped Images packed the Marjorie Lyons Playhouse Fri night at 8 pm and won standing ovations with their earthy, transpirational performances.
Dirtfoot looked comfortable in the tv studio-like set, far from the spitty saloons and jiggly festivals where they ordinarily perform. The sound, by Barry C Butler, was highly detailed.
The resined bow scraping against the thick strings of Eric Gardner's double bass has never been presented more sensuously.
Singer-guitarist Matt Hazelton was a growly Tom Wait figure, except that his voice was also Jim Morrison-like.
Dirtfoot's sound was evocative of klezmer, of Parisian jazz, of Texas swing, of a furniture-moving glee club, of a soundtrack for an indie movie about love, death and a tongue well-inserted in the external auditory meatus.
Angela Rice put it well for this fan: "I fell in love with Dirtfoot all over again."
Escaped Images' choreography, by Centenary faculty as well as students, was imaginative - envision twirling dancers on point alongside undulating belly dancers. And the ensemble work was performed with admirable precision. A tap dance sequence was amusing and fulfilling. In another dance the horizontal movement of a lithe dancer suspended from a cross-stage rope was paralleled by a dancer walking the opposite direction on a balance beam. Detail of the dancers was projected above the stage in a surprising addition of artful video.
The tall set by Alan Berry kept the eyes busy. Movement of the multitude of dancers was enhanced by the multi-source lighting designed by Don Hooper.
Conceived and directed by Renee Cheveallier, the show was Shreveport art at its best.
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