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Taken from dirt music (October 25, 2005)
Everyone's a Critic:
Michael Franti at the Boulder Theater
by Gil Elhart, for dirt
Michael Franti at the Boulder
Theater on Oct. 13. |
Michael Franti kicked off the 16th annual Bioneers Conference earlier this month with an amazing show at the Boulder Theater.
It was a special evening for those in attendance. The University of Colorado students who opted to spend their fall breaks working toward sustainability in Colorado by attending the conference, along with others in the community who share this same vision, were the first to view the complete version of Franit's new film "I Know I'm Not Alone."
This special advance screening was followed by an opportunity to ask Franti questions about the film and where he thinks the situations are headed in Israel and Iraq. Other questions involved the crisis closer to home - Hurricane Katrina.
The general sentiment from the audience was, "We want to help, what can I do?" What I thought was going to be just a show turned into an open forum and community meeting. Franti is about doing and making things happen. When asked how to raise funds for a benefit concert, Franti sent a box around the venue for donations. He blended his passion for music, a sense of humor and his desire to create positive change to inform and motivate the audience to believe in the greater cause.
Then came the music, and the man we call Spearhead knows how to speak his mind. The majority of his songs this evening were from an upcoming album. The music was Franti at his eclectic best, serious and fun, hopeful and foreshadowing, sexy and sentimental. He dedicated songs to people he had met during his travels who were killed in suicide bombings, to the four directions to help guide us in our relationship with the creator, and to his deceased father whom he has a deep love for, despite their original rocky relationship.
Franti got the crowd involved in the music with each song, once bringing two interpretive dancers from the crowd on stage. Franti engaged and enchanted the audience simultaneously, pumping up the energy, which was otherwise provided by wind power this evening.
When he finished playing, as always, Franti hopped down from the stage to be united with the people. The man is 6-foot-6, but he prefers to be standing on the same level with every one he comes in contact with. He hugged and spoke with the people, continuing to share the positive energy that had been cultivated throughout the evening.
Gil Elhart is a 25-year-old Boulder resident who loves to rock.
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