December 7, 2004
Contact: Susan Gwynne
(805) 893-2098
e-mail: gwynne-s@sa.ucsb.edu
UCSB Arts & Lectures presents sensational vocalist
k.d. lang at the Arlington Theatre
Summary Facts:
- k.d. lang
- The electrifying Grammy Award-winning singer
- lang is acclaimed for performing a wide array of styles, from torch songs to country tunes
- Sunday, January 9 / 7 pm
- Arlington Theatre, 1317 State Street
- General public: $65, $45 / UCSB students: $25 / $125 VIP seat and pre-concert reception with k.d. lang
- Tickets/information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or the Arlington Theatre Ticket Agency at (805) 963-4408
UCSB Arts & Lectures presents sensational Canadian singer k.d. lang in concert with her band on Sunday, January 9 at 7 pm at the Arlington Theatre, 1317 State Street, Santa Barbara. lang will also participate in a pre-concert reception at 5:30 pm. This concert and a performance at Disney Hall in Los Angeles will be lang’s only California dates on her current tour. k.d. lang can sing everything from Patsy Cline country to Tony Bennett crooning and her terrific live shows leave audiences “constantly craving” more. For her Santa Barbara concert lang will sing songs that span her career in addition to tunes from her latest CD Hymns of the 49th Parallel, a tribute to her favorite Canadian songwriters—Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Jane Siberry, Ron Sexsmith and Bruce Cockburn. lang’s touring band includes Teddy Borowiecki on piano, David Piltch on bass, Greg Leisz on guitar and Danny Frankel on drums. Rolling Stone writes, “Easily one of rock, pop or country’s most accomplished vocalists, lang drapes her smoky alto over lyrics with a sensuousness that throbs.”
lang asserts that its her bond with her fans that fuels her career. “You have to respect your audience,” she claims. “Without them, you’re essentially standing alone, singing to yourself. That’s not particularly appealing to an artist who craves the communal experience of sharing new ideas and sounds. The ideal scenario is to have an audience; to build and nurture and bond with them.”
The bond lang shares with her fans has deepened over her twenty year career through now-classic recordings such as her work with legendary country producer Owen Bradley on Shadowland (1988), her powerful last straight country recording Absolute Torch and Twang (1989), a turn to Tin Pan Alley pop Ingénue (1992) and Live by Request (2001), fourteen classic lang cuts sung with her usual smoldering passion.
Prior to the 2004 release of Hymns of the 49th Parallel, lang released A Wonderful World, a highly-praised collection of duets with Tony Bennett. In an interview on National Public Radio, Bennett spared no praise for his singing partner, calling her “the best singer since Judy Garland. She’s a natural in the tradition of Bing Crosby. His ears went not only to the melody but the harmony and k.d. has that wonderful gift. The minute she hears a song, she could sing the harmonies and the right notes to blend with the melody.”
After a June 2004 concert on the first leg of her current tour, New York Times critic Stephen Holden wrote: “Few singers command such perfection of pitch. Her voice, at once beautiful and unadorned and softened with a veil of smoke, invariably hits the middle of a note and remains there. She discreetly flaunted her technique, drawing out notes and shading them from sustained cries into softer, vibrato-laden murmurs. She balanced her commitment to the material with humor, projecting a twinkling merriment behind it all.”
k.d. lang is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures and sponsored by the Goleta Valley Voice, KLITE and Haagen Printing. The concert is supported by Fredric Steck and Kelly Le Brock. Tickets are $65 and $45 for the general public and $25 for UCSB students. VIP tickets with a pre-concert reception with k.d. lang are $125.
For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.
Editor: For photos, please call
Susan Gwynne at (805) 893-2098.