Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 31

(3 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1999 EDMONTON JOURNAL ENTERTAINMENT Spirit eludes Spirit of the Wests prance with ESO CONCERT REVIEW Spirit of the West With: Edmonton Symphony Orchestra Conductor: George Blondheim When: Tuesday Where: Winspear Centre the front of the stage. Even conductor and part-time pianist George Blondheim seemed to be having more fun, cracking jokes and making goofy faces as he per- Lv and quirky lyrics about death: "She flew home in the hull of a jetBetween the bags and the family pets." Not every moment of the show was infused with death, either lyrically orphysically. There were pockets of pep throughout the 90-minute show particularly during the second set, as Spirit of the Westwere closing in on thefi-nal number a rousing rendition of Home for a Rest, which lured about 30 younger fans to the front of the stage for a group session of jumping jacks. Yet, for the most part, the band looked as if they were lost without the familiar surroundings of a bar or at least a few pints of beer within reaching distance. In fact, the band only started to show its true form 75 minutes into the show when they pulled out a drinking tune, The Crawl and a bottle of beer.

Drummer Vince Ditrich emerged from behind his drum kit, bounced around manically with a tambourine in his hand and then chugged the bottle in five seconds. Move over Mann let Ditrich take centre stage more often. Apart from his drinking skills, Ditrich possesses a set of pipes and a charismatic stge presence. As he trilled and boomed through That's Amore he paced the stage likeacrazy Italian waiter starring in his own opera. No doubt about it.

Ditrich can take my order any time. As for his bandmates, they need to brush up on their waitering skills. And maybe ditch their stylish threads. I 1 5 5 i "For the most part, the band looked as if they were lost without the familiar surroundings of a bar or at least a few pints of beer within reaching distance." formed a number from Bye Bye Blues. It must have been his white, casual running shoes.

Musically, the mix of Celtic-folky pop and symphony arrangements came off quite well even though Frank's accordion was drowned out for most of the evening and Blondheim's tin-klings were only partially audible on Christmas Eve, a three-part reel instrumental. Those criticisms aside, the ESO added wonderful flourishes to Political, If Venice Is Sinking and The Miller's Daughter, an instrumental Highland number dedicated to the wife of Spirit's guitar and flute player, Geoffrey Kelly. DaisfsDead was also a highlight, thanks to its Bacharachian vibe ft fl fl rt Flashy clothes cant hide this lacklustre performance SANDRA SPEROUNES Journal Music Writer EDMONTON Clothes don't always make the man. In the case of Spirit of the West, fewer clothes make John Mann. As soon as the lead singer and guitarist took off his light blue pin-striped jacket, he seemed to morph from a fence post into a pogo stick.

At least every so often and more than the band's stoic multi-instrumentalist Hugh McMillan. But for most of Tuesday evening, Manndidn'tlookallthatpsyched up. Strange, considering he was onstage performing with 50-plus members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. While the five members ofVan-couver's Spirit of the West certainly passed Jean Fraser's fashion assassin firing squad with their fancy, flamboyant duds, they pretty much failed the Sper-ounes test. Whether it was their duds, the lack of room on the cramped Winspear stage or the fact the band was playing with the esteemed ESO, Mann and his cohorts failed to put any real, lasting spirit into Spirit of the West.

Bassist and accordion playerTo-binFrankshowed some flair early on into the show, but soon gave up after trying to wedge himself between George Blondheim's grand piano and the monitor at There's no Hoyt Axton starred in the musical A I 1 uhi i i jJ3 I I of Spirit of the West with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Joy to the musical World today: Hoyt Axton is If i ill CAN DACE ELLIOTT, THE JOURNAL dead sniff it no more. Fm tired ofwak-ing up on the floor." Butin 1997, police found slightly more than 450 grams of marijuana at Axton's home. Deborah Hawkins, whom Axton wed later that year, said she gave him marijuana because it re-Ueved some of the pain, anxiety and stress he suffered after his stroke, her lawyer said. Axton was given a three-year deferred sentence and fined 15,000 US for marijuana possession.

Hawkins got a one-year deferred sentence and a $1,000 fine. A large man, Axton as an actor specialized in playing good old boys on TV and in films, including Gremlins and The Black Stafc lion. He sang the Head to'thgr Mountains jingle used to advertise Busch beer in the Survivors include Axton's and five children. T. Baritone wrote songs for Elvis and Three Dog Night The Associated Press HELENA, MONT.

Hoyt Axton, a folksy baritone, songwriter and actor who wrote Three DogNighfsNo. 1 hit Joy to the World and songs that were performed by artists from Elvis Presley to Ringo Starr, died Tuesday. He was 61. Axton died at his ranch in the Bitterroot Valley, surrounded by family and friends. He moved to the area after playing a sheriff in the movie Disorganized Crime, filmed there in 1988.

He suffered a heart attack two weeks ago and another during surgery, said Jan Woods, a longtime friend in Nashville, Tenn. He had never fully recovered from a 1996 stroke and used a wheel THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Country Christmas Carol in 1983. Anna Nicole sues for inheritance f. John Mann (left) and Geoffrey Kelly chair much of the time. Axton also had advanced complications from diabetes.

Axton's mother, Mae Boren Axton, had her own spot in popular culture history as the writer of Presley's Heartbreak Hotel. "When Mae died three years ago, she left me Hoyt," Woods said. "He was probably one ofthe mosthonest, humorous kids that never grew up." "There was nobody that didn't like Hoyt," said Fran Boyd, executive director ofthe Los Angeles-based Academy of Country Music. "Oh God, was he fun." Three Dog Night's recording of his novelty Joy to the World wasabullfrog was on top of the charts for six straight weeks in 1971, making it the top hit of the year. Axton pitched the song to group members when he was their opening act in 1969-70.

He also wrote AfeverBeen to Spain for the band, a song also record Mil mis The Associated Press LOS ANGELES months later at age 90, Smith claims he had promised to give her half of his estate. During a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court onMonday, Smith'slawyer says she should have gotten at least $535 millionuponhis death. However, Smith alleges there was an illegal revision to his will made three weeks after their 1994 marriage which gave control of the oilman's estate to his 60-year-old son. Anna Nicole Smith isn't taking any chances: She has filed motions in courts in California and Texas in her battle to get half of her late billionaire husband's estate.

The actress and former Playboy Playmate was 26 when she married J. Howard Marshall n. Before he died 14 ed by Presley. Axton's own singing hits include Boney Fingers your fingers to the bone, what do you get? Boney and When the Morning Comes. The native of Duncan, started out singing folk songs in the clubs of San Francisco in 1958 and a song he co-wrote, Green-backDoUar, was a 1963 hitforthe Kingston Trio.

He wrote hits for Starr (No No Song) and Steppenwolf (The Pusher.) Others who performed songs he wrote included Joan Baez, Waylon Jennings, John Denver and Linda Ronstadt. Steppenwolf The Pusher and Snowblind Friend were rare forays into a more serious theme. The Pusher was a powerful, passionate song that condemned drug sellers. And 1975's No No Song included the lines "No no no no, I don't 008 (l 1 1 The Citadel 35TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON popcorn JL i BY BEN ELTON A NEW COMEDY OCTOBER 23 NOVEMBER 21 mm mm -1 1 pitmvmw CAST Jessica Earie Tara Hughes Christine Maclnnis Jeff Page Steve Pirot Janice Ryan )an Alexandra Smith Tim Sell John Wright DIRECTED BY Bob Baker DESIGNED BY Bretta Gerecke SOUND DESIGNED BY Darrin Hagen CALL 425.1820 OR TICKETMASTER 45I-8OOO TICKETS $25 CALDt RATEMAN.