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GALAS

                                               November 21, 1996
                                               Rev:     May 2000

Saw Diamanda Galas perform
in Berkeley last night.

"Sedate".  Bluesy.

    But I liked it a lot.

    A week later I can still
    hear her voice in my head.          I thought the
                                        Phil Ochs cover
		   (And four years      was an excellent     "The Iron Maiden"
                    later, it's   	choice, and the
                    still there.) 	Johnny Cash worked   "22 Minutes to Go"
                                  	really well, too.

    Still, there was just
    a touch, just a vauge
    feeling of disappointment.      (Because it wasn't
				    another "Plauge Mass"?
				    But how could it be?)

    Yes her technique is
    accomplished and
    impressive.

    But is she saying anything
    with it?

    Isn't she mugging through
    this, singing deep, depressed
    and sinister by choice rather
    than compulsion?

    Is she sincere?                      Are these reasonable questions?
    Does she really mean this? 		 What do you expect?
			       		 What would make me satisfied...
    The Bay Guardian ran a cover 	 watching a sincere nervous
    story about her, with the 		 breakdown on stage?
    odd headline: "Sound and Fury."
					 All art involves some sort
    Signifying nothing? 		 of skill, practice, training,
					 technique...

					 Even if the art is employed
					 to convey a sincere idea,
					 a genuine state of mind, how
					 likely is it that the idea
					 or feeling would be genuinely
					 held at the moment of the
					 performance?

					 No one expects       (A point for
					 the actress to       improv: close
					 really be the 	      the gap between
					 role. 		      conception and
					       		      execution.)
					       No one
					       sane,               IMPULSE
					       anyway.



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