The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, December 6, 1978-P, e 5 AMERICAN ROMANCE" by mike taylor A ROCK'N'ROLL CONCERT should be a party. Your host is one of your favorite artists or groups-someone you're willing to pay good money to see. For stimulation and relaxation you've got some joints, a six- pack, or maybe a hip flask of your favorite whiskey. The lights go out, the music hits center stage, and you're off-searching for the heart of rock'n'roll ecstacy. I For many people, including myself, that means plenty of moving around. You jump up in excitement. You dance to the frenzied rhythms. You rush the stage. You celebrate, with everyone else who came to the concert, the vibrance of life itself. You all came to the same party-so let yourself go and have some fun! Unfortunately, there are some people who do not believe that a rock con- cert should be a party. Some of them are the hefty guys you are strutting through the aisles and circulating round the stage before the show begins. Ask. one of these ex-wrestlers what their job is, and invariably they'll say, "I'm here to protect the safety of the patrons." Actually; we all know why they're there-it's to prevent us from having fun. SOME OF THEM are the people who sit behind you and scream "SADDDOWWNNN! ! !" whenever you rise with a surge in the music. You try to dance, you try to have fun at this party, and they say we should all sit down instead. I can think of three recent concerts where my friends and I tried to enjoy the party, and some others insisted on not having fun. Last spring, Elvis Costello and the Attractions came to Royal Oak for a concert. We had heard his albums and read articles about him, and deter- Doily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG DE VO mined that Costello was one of the "New Wave" artists bopping around. We assumed that meant plenty of dancing and rushing the stage-but boy were we wrong! The bouncers pushed us back whenever we stepped out of our seats, and one 6 foot5 inch monster tossed two of my pals out the door. DEVO CAME TO the Punch & Judy theater in Grosse Pointe in October. This time, it definitely seemed like we were in store for some fun. Devo had been on The Midnight Special and Saturday Night Live, and Newsweek had written a story about them. Everyone said they were certified kooks. You've got to dance to certified kooks, don't you? Not according to the powers that be atthe Punch & Judy. The bouncers made it quite clear that Devo should best be appreciated by spuds sitting still in their seats. Some of my friends were sitting way in the back, so no one prevented them from having fun. Bruce Springsteen came to East Lansing last month. We knew all about Bruce. We knew that you just had to jump up and down and wreck havc at a Bruce Springsteen concert. We knew you have to sprint up to Springsteen during his habitual dive into the crowd during "Spirit in the Night." We knew you must do everything in your power to get up to the front of the stage, hopefully before the end of the first song. But the bouncers disagreed. A Bruce Springsteen audience ought best to sedated, they seemed to say. But it's impossible not to have fun at a Bruce Springsteen concert. While we couldn't rush the stage at will, we could rush half-way up during each fast song, realizing we would have to creep back to our seats in shame in just a few moments. We could hide as bouncers strolled by, ready to pounce when Springsteen came into the audience. For me, this was the essence of fun-blasting through three guys twice the size of me to get to Bruce, win- ning through the madness of my eyes and the determination of my soul. And in the end, fun won out. By the encores, everyone who wanted to have fun was up in front, having a blast. We had found that ecstatic heart we call-rock'n'roll. Handel's Messiah: a reflection By GERARD PAPE The Messiah is an institution in Ann Arbor. The first University Choral Union performance devoted to this work was in 1886. Since 1929, perfor- mance of Handel's oratorio has become an annual affair. The performance of The Messiah usually roughly coincides with the Christmas season though the work itself is only half about Christ's birth. The second half of the work is about Christ's death and resurrection as well as the resurrection of all the dead at the end of time., What is there to say about The Messiah that has not been already said? It is truly a beautifully written work, unfailing in its inspiration. There is no musical filler within it; the music is of equal interest from beginning to end. Its performance last Friday at Hill by the University Choral Union was certainly a good one. the orchestra played well, the chorus was excellent, and the soloists inspired. All this I take for granted. I WOULD LIKE to reflect a little on the religious sentiments expressed in this work. It is clear when the audience is asked to join in and sing the Hallelujah chorus that this is meant to be more than just a sing-a-long, though certainly, in the modern times that it is now performed, this is what it mainly is. The custom of the audience arising during the Hallelujah chorus came about in 1743 when the work was in- troduced in London. The King of England, George II was supposed to have been so moved that he arose during the Hallelujah chorus and had to be joined by his subjects who were not allowed to sit while the King stood. Standing, of course, is a gesture of respect as well as approval. The King of England in standing for the Hallelujah chorus was thus showing respect for the music as well as no doubt approval of the sentiments expressed. What were these sentiments? Just previous to the Hallelujah chorus, the tenor sings, "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces. . ." This is followed by the chorus "Hallelujah for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." Certainly George II, ruling by the divine right of kings, could have no trouble with these sentiments. The. enemies of the King- are the enemies of God. What of the wider religious philosophical and historical tradition that Messiah's text arises from? The text is a combination of Jewish and Christian history. Throughout the work one has a sense of the seething rage of the religious community, There is first the important rage of the powerless Jews turned against themselves. Sub- jagted and persecuted by countless historical powers, the Jews awaited their deliverer. However, first God must "purify the sons of Levi." It is un- clear who is evil. Is it the Jews or those that subjugate them? It is clear from the Bible that the Jews regard them- selves as being punished for their sins as well as looking to the day of the destruction of their enemies. Feeling powerless and subjugated, the biblical Jews took comfort in their punishment and thus the possibility of their forgiveness and return to power. In the second portion of the work, the deliverer (Christ) has come. However, he is still impotent and powerless "despisedand rejected of men." Again it is unclear who is evil. The religious chorus sings "Surely he hath borne our griefs... He was wounded for our tran- sgressions." Yet, not too long later it is "the kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together against the ;Lord." The Christian religious com- munity celebrates the victory of God, when the tenor sings "He that dwelletl4 in heaven shall laugh them to scorn. The anger of the Christian community towards its persecutors is finally ex' pressed by God's laughter. This is con- fusing in that the Christians were lamenting that Christ had to die for their sins and yet it is the non- Christians who are punished. Again, it would seem that the Christian guilt like the Jewish is more of a powerless self- directed anger. At the end of Messiah power is restored to the believers. "And though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." The impotent. become ominipotent and immortal. It is interesting that The Messiah with its religious dynamic of power and impotence, rage and guit, should so move King George II. In some ways, men of his power are identified in the work as the enemies of God and true believers, and yet the historical trend of divine right of kings overturned this original sentiment. RECORDS Live Bootleg Aerosmith Columbia By TIMOTHY YAGLE Afer a quartet of solid studio albums and a single mediocre one Draw The Line, the five-man band from Boston, Aerosmith, has finally released their first live LP. Live Bootleg is a .great album, for it excellently depicts what this heavy metal band is all about: a wrenching, thunderous good time., But it is far from perfect. Like a genuine bootleg recording, the sound is sometimes abysmal, and, like their other recordings and live performan- ces, they often fail to live up to their potential-making mouch mediocre music., Live Bootleg culls most of the biggest hits that appeared on the group's studio albums, recorded during their 1977-1978 tours. The hit parade includes "Walk This Way," "Draw The Line" (by ac- cident not listed on the album's plain green cover), and the classic "Train Kept A Rollin'," which was recorded at their concert in Detroit last April. The only song not done live on the album is their top-twenty version of "Come Together," which was recorded at the band's studio in Waltham, Mass. Although a fine one, it is surprising how slow this album gets off the ground. "Back In The Saddle," "Sweet Emotion," and "Toys In The Attic" all show'* plenty of energy, but are squelched by either their sloppiness, unintelligible lyrics, ill-pacing, or some multiple combination of all three. Furthermore, on side two there is lit- tle that is special, except for lead guitarist Joe Perry's great work on his talk box during "Walk This Way," which is one of the best things on the LP. But things pick up-fast. A slow-starting "Dream On," ends up as an impressive song, and an always strong "Chip Away The Stone" and "Mama Kin" all highlight side three. And with a flip of the disc a different side of the band crops up on the hard- rocking R and B flavored "I Ain't Got You" and "Mother Popcorn," recorded in a tiny Boston club near the beginning of the group's career in 1973. At the very end of the recording, ex- ploding noisily, are a string of firecrackers someone tossed up on stage: not rare at an Aerosmith show. It is an apt capper for the album, for, like a string of firecrackers, some Areosmith songs crackle, and there are always a few that fizz out. Luckily on Live Bootleg, there are few that don't go off with a bang. Art sale planned The Union Gallery will hold an art sale by Marson Graphics, Inc., of Baltimore, Md., Dec. 12 and 13, the University announced. Etchings, woodcuts, lithographs, and seriographs by ancient and modern masters will be available from 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. on Dec. 12, and from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Dec. 13. The gallery is on the second floor of the Michigan Union. The U-M SCHOOL OF MUSIC PRESENTS THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN nce- ~~pan " 0 e 0 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8 at 8 PM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9at 8 PM SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10 at 3 PM POWER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS PREMIERE PERFORMANCES OF WORKS BY GUEST ARTISTS GUS SOLOMONS, JR. (performing in his own work) LAURA GLENN (funded in part by the Nat'l Endowment for the Arts) GARY LUND Special performance of Jose Limon's THE EXILES Tickets available at the P. T. P. Box Office in the Michigan League Mon.-Fri. 10 am-I pm, 2 pm-5 pm (313) 764-0450 Power Center Box Office opens 2 hours before each concert AVOID THE RUSH' BooxsRorE c I ยง i: ,, L I ART STAFF Arts Editors owen gleiberman mike taylor staff writers; May Bacarella, Bill Barbour, Mark Dighton, Patricia Fabrizie, Diane Haith- man,Katie Herzfeld, Steve Hook. Mark Johans- son, Eleanora DiLiscia, Marty Levine, Rich Loranger, Dobilas Matunlionis, Anna Nissen, Joshua Peck, Christopher Potter, Alan Ruben- feld, Will Rubino, Anne, Sharp, Renee Schil- cusky, Erick Smith, R.J. Smhh, Tom Stephens, Keith Tosolt, Dan Weiss, Carol Wierzbicki, Timothy Yagle, Bruce Young, Eric Zorn. There once was a freshman named Nate, Who, while in the dorm never ate. He grew weak with fatigue, Then discovered the League. Now Nate runs like a power V-eight. L.K. Lunch 11:30to 1:15 Dinner 5:00 to 7:15 SNACK BAR Lower Level 7:15 AM to 4:00 PM Open TheMichigan LA 9Ue Next to Hill Auditorium Located in the heart of the campus, it is the heart of the campus .. . Send your League Limerick to: Manager, Michigan League 227 South Ingalls You will receive 2 free dinner tickets if your limerick is used in one of our ads. Buy, sell or trade your books through The Michigan Daily BOOK EXCHANGE A two line ad will cost only $1 50C for each additional line. All BOOK EXCHANGE ads will appear in The Daily Saturday, December 9, 1978. Come in personally to The Daily, located next to the Student Activities Building, on the second floor. All ads must be turned in before 5 p.m. Thursday, December 7, 1978. Or fill out the form below and mail it to: BOOK EXCHANGE 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor MI 48109 1 Mail to: BOOK EXCHANGE 420 Maynard St. 1 I Ann Arbor, MI 48109 I 1 - ;I 12 3- - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - -.I 14 I I I 1 Name I Address WE ARE LOOING FOR A FEW 0000 PEOPLE Wde.Tit& Rgoditer, i . I 25185 Goddard Road Taylor, Michigan 48180 313 291-5400 Edmondi Engineering, Inc. 1501 W. Thomas Bay City, Michigan 48706 517-686-3100 Gronger Engineering. Inc. 314 Haynes St., Cadillac, MI 49601 616 - 775-9754 Impact Improved Planning Action 25185 Goddard Road Saks Fifth Avenue's Christmas Store Hours For your Christmas shopping convenience, we'll be open on weekdays from 9:30 a.m. till 8:30 p.m., and on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. till 5:30 p.m.