The Michigan Daily-Thursday, November 16, 1978-Page 7 THE HEAT byc lan rubenfeld MHE AGE OF-DEVO is here. It is on the assembly line at G.M. You find it on television, in your classes, in the elevator in the Grad. It is, according to Devo guitarist Bob2, "a 300-pound woman in an aqua-blue pants suit driving into a McDonald's in a Mustang II." Devo is "the important sound of things falling apart," attempting to function in a world that fails to operate. Where did this off the wall conception come from? Would you believe ' Akron, Ohio? Devo came into being several years ago, at Kent State University, home of one of the Devo events of all time. Initially, the group became known as one of the best jokes ever to come out of that section of 'Ohio. The were a good laugh. Thoroughly castigated by the mainstream rock crowd, the group found that only punk venues opened their doors to let Devo perform. EVEN THE SAFETY pin set, however, could not fully relate to these "weirdos." Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys, a group not generally known for their docile tendencies, physically assaulted the group one evening after , attempting to take Devo's music seriously. About two years ago, Devo's members immigrated to California, hoping to latch onto the burgeoning punk scene there. In L.A, they did their first two singles for Booji Boy records, their own label. "Jocko Homo" and "Mongoloid," their first release, defined the group's sound as a combination of such elements as Roxy Music, the Residents, and Neil Young's spiritual nihilism (listen to Tonight's the Night again). Unique, to say the least. Luckily, Devo escaped the great punk penchant for self-destruction. One of the few survivors of the L.A. scene, they realized that the sensationalism aspect of punk led to Devo's early success. Bob2 adds, "Punk was real kamikaze from the start. They were the enema bag; we're the fluid." It is hard to extract a working definition of Devo from the group, but bassist Jerry Casale offers his interpretation of the whole thing: "Devo is an idea whose time has come. Today, people see things in terms of size. Devo Jimmy Cliff returns to reggae By KEITH B. RICHBURG It was in 1971 when Jimmy Cliff vowed that he would never again sing reggae music. He was discouraged by the music world's general disdain for reggae, and he was disappointed when his superb protest song "Vietnam" didn't even make a dent in the American pop music charts. That was when Cliff introduced his Another Cycle LP, and summed up that point in his career with the moving "Sitting in Limbo"-a song of disillusionment and despair. He wanted the success and fame of the American pop superstars, but his native reggae style was never accepted in the lucrative market in the states. TUESDAY NIGHT at Hill Auditorium, Jimmy Cliff came home to Jamaica. With the release of his new Give Thanx album, Cliff-the wanderer of "Sitting in Limbo" searching for his musical self-seems to have at last found a sound and a style he can call his own. And he found it not by cracking the American pop charts, but by turning back to the roots of his native Jamaica. While he once sang naive pop songs like "Wonderful World, Wonderful People," Cliff's music now stresses the back-to- Africa sentiment of Jamaican blacks, and the overthrow of an oppressive capitalist system. Cliff then, has finally discovered himself politically, as a Jamaican and as a black man, and Tuesday night he let the near-full house at Hill hear his philosophies on life, love and his own struggle for identity. THE AUDIENCE was warmed up by the Detroit area's own Prismatic band, an exotic six-member Santana-like group combining jazz saxophone riffs with south-of-the-border percussions. Performing all original material, fusing traditional Carribean melodies with a jazz-rock beat, Prismatic showed that they have the potential to set a new trend in music, once they tighten their ensemble and realize that an array of exotic percussions can be just as distracting as impressive; if over-used. But it was Jimmy Cliff the audience came to see. Opening his act with the percussion-heavy Afro-Carribean "Bongo Man," Cliff set the tone of his new musical self all the way down to his African-style Deshiki. Followed with "Johnny Too Bad" and "By the Rivers of Babylon," a back-to-Africa call for a return to Zion, Cliff seemed to be more preaching to the audince than enter- taining-"But the wicked carried us away, captivity, require from us a song." Cliff has traditionally considered himself a philosopher in his music, and he introduced each song Tuesday night by relating to his own vision of the world. Starting into "Lonely Streets" Come," but one was left with the im- pression that Cliff could have played that one song over and over for the full hour and a half and the audience would have been satisfied. If there was any disappointment with the concert, it was only from those who thought he didn't perform enough of the songs that made him something of a pop hit, songs like "Wild World" and "Wonderful World, Wonderful People." As a concert, Jimmy Cliff's perfor- mance at Hill was by most traditional indicators a success. From "Turn the Tables" on through the encore, the crowd was standing and singing along to the simple refrains. But if the inten- tion of reggae music is ,to expouse a philosophy and send the listener a message, then one can only wonder whether the point was all but lost. But Jimmy Cliff has at last established himself as a reggae music force to parallel Bob Marley. After flir- ting with English rock and reggae ren- ditions of Ameircan top 40 singles,. Jimmy Cliff has finally returned to reggae. Keith B. Richburg is the assistant Editorial Page director. Christmas Music for Piano & Organ rKING'S 115 E. Liberty-663-3381 Open Monday and Friday Evenings Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG Jimmy Cliff had his fans up and dancing soon into Tuesday night's Hill Auditorium concert. from his new album, Cliff told the crowd "I'm a country man. I'm not a city man. But that does not mean I have not experienced walking the lonely streets." WITH "UNIVERSAL LOVE," Cliff challenged the audience to put aside the traditional boundaries, to look "beyond tribal boundaries, beyond social boun- daries, beyond racial boundaries." Yet, too often the message was lost in the pleasant hand-clapping reggae rhythms. With "Turn the Tables," Cliff was in a sense challenging the very values of the largely white middle-class audience that seemed too caught up in the beat to listen to the words. And "Stand Up and Fight Back" was calling on oppressed peoples to fight against repression of the mind and soul, but the audience was on its feet in the aisles, not emotionally angered but dancing skank (Jamaican-style) to the heavy bass and drums. After "Meeting in Afrika," Cliff hnd his band left the stage, but the audience wanted their Tuesday night Carribean cruise to continue. For an encore, Cliff returned to his familiar "You Can Get It If You Really Wank," a hit from The Harder They Come. And from there, he stuck to his proven hits, with an ex- cellent ten-minute rendition of the haunting "Many Rivers to Cross," with solid organ accompaniment from Paul "Pablo" Smith lending an eerie gospel quality to the story of a lonely man on the brink of "committing some dread- ful crime." BUT THE AUDIENCE came to dan- ce, not be preached to. Cliff closed with the ever-popular "The Harder They I COSTA-GAVRA'S 1973 s STATE OF SIEGE Based on the actual kidnapping of a U.S. official, revolution- aries uncover the discreetly concealed function of the American "Special Advisor." A gripping portrait of the stealthy role the United States has played in Latin America's development, star- ring YVES MONTAND. In Italian (with English subtitles). Fri.: Ruffaut's STOLEN KISSES CINEMA GUILD TONIGHT AT 7:00 & 9:03 OLD ARCH. AUD. $1.50 Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG Devo lead singer Mark Mothersbaughgot closer to the people at the Akron band's recent concert in Grosse Pointe. sees total systems . .. matrices . . . we see information. The picture that most people percept to see reality in is totally outmoded." DEVO, ACCORDING to Casale, is "just a re-programming technique that uses music as an avenue for communication. The reason music is important is that its the most total, most widely disseminated art form.'It is the most immediate, relevant." What makes Devo more than just another group out to make it in the corporate music world is this commitment to communicate. Music is but one of their means, as they have produced several films, including the famous flick, "The Truth About De-evolution," recipient of an award from last year's Ann Arbor film festival. They have also created films for their songs "Satisfaction" and "Come Back Jonee." Devo is the antithesis of all that makes music sweet, pleasurable, and all so boring. It opts for abject paranoia. Instead of providing a social anesthesia that music can easily deliver, we hear songs like "Too Much Paranoias," an ode to the fast food malady of the mind ("hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don't upset us, just as long as we can serve it your wayyyyagh!). Instead of/tranquil sequences, we find out that we're - going to "shrivel up and die.. . it's a God-given fact." Instead of love, there is that "uncontrollable urge." It all sounds quite primal to the unaided ear, but one must remember, this is not Pat and Debbie Boone. Devo strips down -the superfluous schlock that travels unchecked in America and exposes the emaciated corpse that once represented creativity and spirit. BESIDES PROVIDING their record company with a very marketable product (nothing sells better these days than eccentric artists in flashy yellow chemical wetsuits), they give the listener a challenge on vinyl. Devo is just beginning. The group plans to sign up their own roster of talent to their Booji Boy label. We can expect some more Devo films next year, now that their music has been met with some financial success and artistic recognition. aBut we'll never know for sure what the De-evolution band will offer next. The group has a large repertoire of unreleased songs (including the rocking "Mr. DNA"), and they are featured on film in the forthcoming Neil Young film, Human Highway, where they play a Devo version of "Southern Man" with the "Grandfather of granola" himself. One fact stands tall, assures Casale: "We didn't blow our wad on one album. We got a lot to say. We want to do as much as we can as fast as we can." The new, unreleased Devo tunes continue to show their vision of civilization undergoing social entropy. One of the great paradigms of the seventies, disco, might be the next pinnacle for Devo to conquer, as they intimated they've been working on several hot dancing tunes. Studio 54, however, need not worry. Not yet. i Now Showing Central Campus Butterfield Theatres ._ :>: WEDNESDAY IS "BARGAIN DAY" $1.25 UNTit 5:30 1011,161iiiil I- MONDAY IS "GUEST NIGHT" TWO ADULTS ADMITTED FOR PRICE OF ONE ADULT MAT. 2.50 EVES. & HOL.. 3.00 CHILD 14 & UNDER. 1.25 E ; U CONTINUOUS TICKET SALES - COME WHEN YOU WANT GIANT SCREENS - LARGE SPACIOUS THEATRES GOOD SEATS AVAILABLE AS LATE AS SHOWTIME SPECIAL ADMISSION PRICE DAYS -,:c I TONIGHT! People are L .iving There. A Play by Athol Fugard University Shcwcase Productions N ov. 15-=18 8P.M. Trueblood Theatre Tickets $2.00 at P.T. P. Of f ice in The Michigan League 764-0450 This production has been selected for entry in: AMERICANCOLLEGE THEATRE FESTIVAL Xi, presented by The John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts, Alliance For Arts Education produced by American Theatre Assoc. sponsored by the Amoco Co. I I I 1 Mon-Tue-Thor 7 & 9 Fri 7 & 9:25-Sat 1-3-5-7-9:25 Sun & Wed 1-3-5-7-9 Richard Dreyf uss. Moses Wine Private Detective . ... sogo figure Bie Fix Mon-Tue-Thur 7 & 9 Fri 7 & 9:25-Sat 1-3-5-7-9:25 Sun & Wed 1-3-5-7-9 JAMES CAAN JANE FONDA JASON ROBARDS P __ UnitedA ttS 11 O NE OF THE Midwest's great unsigned bands played East Quad's an- nual Halloween party, adding an electricity to an event that is undoubtedly a favorite happening among Ann Arbor's schizoid community. Forget all you heard about the other Detroit area rock groups. The Romantics are the best band within 10,000 watts of Detroit. It is incredible that the Romantics have yet to cop a major label contract, with their 99.9 per cent pure rock vitality. Sooner or later, the group won't be denied. The Romantics are simply too good to escape national attention. Everyone at the East Quad Halloween dance will attest to this fact. The Romantics should be playing the Second Chance later this month. Don't talk to me if you pass up this opportunity. to see them. There's no excuse for missing the Romantics. Now get outta here. CONSUMER NOTES: New imported 45's in these days at Schoolkids include previously unreleased wax from Elvis Costello, Johnny Rotten's new band, Public Image, and Devo. And alums to be released before Christmas include new discs by the Clash and Elvis Costello (his third in little over a year). 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. Smith, Tom Stephens, Keith Tosolt, Dan Weiss, Carol Werzbicki, Timothy Yag, Bruce Young, Eric zorn. aiCIait3a is preserved on 4mmMfl@ERUO AVIAIL ABLE AT: I Mediatrics presents: - THE HAUNTING (Robert Wise, 1963) The setting for this superb study of terror is a decaying mahsion that dominates the lives of four people. They are terror stricken by uncanny noises and strance manifestations. "The true terror here is primeval and it requires no made-up monsters. It is the hint, just the hint of the unknown or supernatural, the fearsome mystery just beyond lite. . . a sense of things unfathomed."-LIFE Thurs., Nov. 16 Mich Union 7:00& 9:00 THE GROOVE TUBE (Ken Shapiro, 1974) The all-time favorite Boobe Tube spoof. CHEVY CHASE, BUZZY LINHART and CHRISTINE NAZARETH lead the pack and the rating in Defilers and the legendary International Sex Olympics. Irreverent and obscene com- mercials that would make any TV junky blush. Fri., Nov. 17 Nat Sci Aud 7, 8:30 & 10 MON.-TUES.-THURS. 7 & 9 FRI. 7 &9:25 SAT. 1-3-5-7-9:25 SUN. & WED. 1-3-5-7-9 ENDS TONIGHT! 11 If ALFRED HITCHCOK NIGHT MURDER (1930) One of the rare whodunits from the master of supsense, MURDER shows Hitchcock already in command of his