Ferron to Give October Give October Concert

Oven Productions begins its fall schedule October 6 with a particularly exciting event, when it presents Canadian singer-songwriter Ferron in concert. Runter Davis will perform as the opening

act.

The concert will be held on the Case Western Reserve University campus at Allen Memorial library, Adelbert Road and Euclid Avenue, at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $7.00 in advance and $9 at the door. As usual, free child care and work exchange will be avail-

able.

Ferron, who took her professional name from a friend's dream, has drawn outstanding reviews in major newspapers and magazines, often from male critics, apparently nongay, some of whom are not enthusiastic about women's music.

While reviews stress her individual qualities, they often invoke such names as Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell for comparison.

Critics have described Ferron as a "boisterous, indulgent pioneer," "a renegade feminist," "a devastatingly effective songwriter, "one of the best acoustic folkies I've seen in ages, "the future of rock and

roll," "an acquired taste, no doubt, but one worth developing," and "hard to describe, but harder to ignore."

The "renegade feminist" label was applied by Stephen Holden, reviewing her performance at the third New York Folk Festival for the New York Times. He noted that although many of her songs deal with romantic love between women, Ferron does not idealize these relationships. Other reviews suggest that her songs about love, although lesbian in context, speak to everyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

Ferron herself qualifies Holden's description by calling herself "something of a renegade." She adds, "I feel there must be a common-denominator audience of both men and women."

Ferron, who began performing for small gatherings and coffee houses in Vancouver when she was 1b, produced two "woodshed" albums during this period when music was her avocation.

In 1978 Gayle Scott, American photographer working in Canada, persuaded Ferron to become a full-time professional musician, with Scott as her manager, promo-

Take Back the Night

From page 1

all men of the community to come downtown and support the march. Help is needed in many areas, as well as simply general support along the parade route.

Explaining why men are not invited to inin the march. Ms. Koster pointed out, "We have to stop the violence against us. Men can't come in like some knights in shining armor. Real men can stand back and support us while we stop the violence.'

After the success of the

Summerfest '85 AIDS benefit, where many members of the gay community showed their support, it is hoped that many men will come, to show they understand that violence against anyone must be stopped.

The "Take Back the Night" Group raises most of its funds through donations and sales of T-shirts.

If you would like to donate or to help the march in any way, please call 4817033.

West Side Women to Organize

West Side Women, a new social group, is forming as an alternative to the bars. Its first meeting will be Wednesday, Sepember 11, 11, 7:30

October 6

October 25

October 26

November 16

February 15

p.m., at the Gay Community Center 2100 Fulton Road: For further information, call Bobbi, 631-3819, or Linda, 238-3814.

OVEN PRODUCTION'S

FALL LINE-UP

Ferron & Hunter Davis

Diedra McCalla *

Diedra McCalla **

Wildflower Brigade (formerly called Wallflower Order)

11th Annual Women's Variety Show

* At Kent State University

** Co-sponsored with the Women's Coffeehouse

at the civic

ter, and business partner.

By 1979 Ferron was playing concerts throughout Canada. Critical praise for her first commercial album, "Testimony" which made several Top Ten lists, led to tours in the U.S. that established her as an important figure in the women's music circuit and the acoustic folk scene.

Her most recent album, "Shadows on a Dime,"produced with jazz/pop singer Terry Garthwaithe, also received critical acclaim. Rolling Stone writer Don Shewey called it "a feast of excellent musicianship and fine songwriting."

Noting that Ferron "has received some of the most glowing notices of any young up-and-coming folk performer in recent years, Stephen Holden of the New York Times said her "clear, quirky alto ...has drawn comparisons to the young Bob Dylan. And her unabashedly poetic lyrics, which describe emotional landscapes in language that runs from the earthy to the mythological, are filled with striking natural imagery."

When Ferron made her New York debut, Holden called her "one of the most powerful lyric voices to emerge

Shana Blessing Executive Director

out of the lesbian-oriented post-folk genre known as women's music."

Ken Tucker, in the Philadelphia Inquirer, called her "intelligent, adventurous and often sharply funny." Describing her singing as "beguiling," he said, "She growls phrases and sings with an eloquent sneer that reminds you of Bob Dylan in his prime.

Opening act performer Hunter Davis hails from North Carolina and brings with her a classic blend of jazzy folk, rhythm and blues. Her quick wit keeps audiences coming back for more. Davis shows her talent for songwriting in all the lyrics of her original compositins. Her style is as versatile as her music. She has released two albums, "The Horse Show at Midnight" in 1977 and "Girls' Best Friend," 1982.

Oven Productions, a collective of eight women, is now in its tenth year of producing women's culture.

For information about_the Ferron concern, write Oven Productions, P... Box 18175, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118, or call 321-3054.

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