The Michigan Daily-Thursday, March 22, 1979-Page
arts & entertainment
FORBER T'S DETROIT SHOW SPLENDID:
Ptti rocks hot and cool
I
NOON LUNCHEON
Soup and Sandwich 75,
Vice President Harold Shapiro,
Academic Affairs:
"Students and the Tenure Process"
Friday, March 23
GUILD HOUSE-112 Monroe
By MIKE TAYLOR
Dream rock 'n' roll bills are not
always made in heaven - sometimes
you have to create themself.Tuesday
night, for instance, you could have
driven 30 miles to a gaudy new pleasure
dome just outside Detroit called Center
Stage to see Steve Forbert, an up and
coming rocker who's been compared to
Lou Reed and Woody Guthrie, and then,
leaving before the headliner, Nicolette
Larson, came on, returned to Ann Ar-
bor just in time to catch the Patti Smith
Group at Second Chance. Sounds
crazy? Sure, but it was worth it.
It was ironic that Forbert, who got his
start a few years ago as the sole folkie
at New York's CBGB's, was' playing at
a place that reminded me- of the
musical theaters that regularly bring in
the likes of Pat Boone, Phyllis Diller,
and Perry Como. Everything was per-
fectly in place, from the armies of
neatly uniformed attendants who seem
to have nothing better to do than
parade, blocking your view, every few
seconds, to the twinkling lights and red
velvet curtains, to the V.I.P. booths,
where executives of the company and
their friends can watch the music
protected by glass. -
"THIS PLACE looks like a
discotheque," Forbert remarked half-
way into his set, but when the comment
brought on boos, he just shrugged it off
and went into his next song, a punchy
version of "Thinkin':" /
Don't you go thinkin' and thinkin' and
thinkin'
Don't you go thinkin' so much that you're
fallin' behind,
Don't you go thinkin' and thinkin' and
thinkin',
Don't you go thinkin' till you're losin' you
mind..
"Thinkin'," like many of the songs he
did Tuesday night, is on his first album,
Alive On Arrival. As the title implies,
it's a bundle of optimism, although that
doesn't mean all the songs are happy
ones. "Tonight I Feel So Far Away
From Home," which he performed as a
meditative, almost haunting dirge, wa
so powerful that almost everyone who
was talking at the beginning of the tune
was staring at Forbert in awe when it
ended. Loneliness, according to For-
bert's scheme, is just a passing thing,
so that in every darkest moment,
there's always plenty of hope.
Opening the show with just his
acoustic guitar, Forbert was able to
create a riveting rock 'n' roll presence.
Here, as we saw him carrying the show
all by himself, the street imagery of
Lou Reed merged with the classic
melodic spirit and simplicity of Woody
Guthrie to form bright, refreshing
music that hasn't forgotten where its
roots are. Indeed, Forbert sang Sam
the Sham and the Pharoah's great
"Wooly Bully" with "You Cannot Win If
You Do Not Play" as an encore,
marking the evenig's most
exhilarating moments.
THE LAD from Mississippi sang
several songs from his next album, in-
cluding the rambling "Song on the
South," the upbeat, aggressive
"Romeo's Tune," and the funny, gutsy
"It's Been a Long Time." From Alive
On Arrival came tunes like "Steve For-
bert's Midsummer Night's Toast,"
"What Kinda Guy," and "Big City
Cat," as well as his two best songs to
date, which he used to close the show,
"It Isn't Gonna Be That Way," an ab-
solute knockout in terms ofboth melody
and lyrics, and "Going Down to
Laurel," a positive charmer.
My only complaint is that Forbert's
band lacked the spunk of the musicians
he' used on his album. A guy with For-
bert's talent deserves a rock 'n' roll
band with drive, stamina, and
creativity, and this one was lacking in
all three. In any case, I'm sure we'll be
hearing a lot from Steve Forbert in the
future.
MInutes after I arrived at Second
Chance, Patti Smith mounted the stage,
dressed in a black coat over a loose
shirt and jeans, looking healthier than
I've ever seen her before, yet full of all
the angry passion her piercing eyes
have ever shown.
"WE'RE GOING TO do two sets
tonight," she hesitantly announced, "so
I hope you don't mind if we break in a
lot of new material in this first set." I
didn't hear any complaints, just a roar
of recognition as the band tore into the
Byrds' "So You Want To Be a Rock 'ii'
Roll Star," to be included on Smith's
forthcoming album, Wave. It was laid-
back and fiery at once, as languid
guitar solos by Smith and Lenny Kaye
sprang into hot riffs, and back again.
From there it was to tight, precise
versions of "Ask the Angels" 'and
"Redondo Beach," from Radio
Ethiopia and Horses respectively.
Miraculously the crowd seemed to ac-
cept the rest of the set, which consisted
almost entirely of tunes from the up-
coming album, every bit as much as
they did these two great old songs.
Most of the new songs were slow,
melancholy epics, full of gripping in-
tensity. Some featured Patti's earthy
clarinet, almost all included heavy
doses of mid-sixties, Animals-inspired
organ from Richard Sohl. "Frederic"
sounded strangely like Bruce
Springsteen's version of "Because The
Night," which she wrote, of course,.
with Springsteen.
"I HAVEN'T HEARD this song on the
radio," she said as she began "Pop-
pies." "What's the problem? I think
you're the problem! They'll give you as
much shit as you'll take."
It was a slow, almost hypnotic set,
broken only at the end by a revved-up,
ready-to-go "Jailhouse Rock." "ELVIS
PRESLEEEE. ." she shouted when it
finally ended, bounding off the stage.
Second Chance is the perfect place
for Patti Smith to play, providing the
intimacy good rock 'n' roll requires
without seeming overly formal, like
New York's Bottom Line. Smith
recognizes this, and that's one of the
reasons, I'm sure, why this week's
string of performances mark her third
Ann Arbor appearance in a year's time.
One of her letters, plastered firmly on a
downstairs wall, reads:
Dear second Chance guys ...
Still on the road... We done a few jobs
since you but none as wonderful. . . Thank
You for the flowers . . . I was really touch-
ed . . . I sared the card ...
SMITH OPENED the second set with
her "Pledge of Allegiance' to Free
See PATTI, Page 9
for your summer trip
a guide to
M AG ICAL&-
MYSTICAL
SITES '
Europe and the British Isles
Paperback CN 656 $4.95
Elizabeth Pepper
and John Wilcock
A fascinating tour guide to some of
the great enchanted places of the
Western world. "A delightfully be-
witching tour of Europe's strong-
holds of magic and mysticism...
Wild and wonderful tales abound:'
-Los Angeles Times
HARPER & ROW
Paperback Dept.
10 E. 53rd Street.
New York, N.Y 10022
SOUNDSTAGE
COFFEEHOUSES
Thursday Nights 8 p.m.
Main Floor Lounge, Michigan Union
FREE entertainment from
talented local musicians
For audition or general info.
call 763-1 107 Union Programming
-r----- -- -
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TTTTTTTWArea rfilT hed7.triI
WEDNESDAY IS MONDAY I'ADULTS FRI., SAT., SUN.
"BARGAIN DAY" "GUEST NIGHT" EvE. HOLIDAYS 13.50
$1.50 until 5:30 TWO ADULTS ADMITTED MON.-THURS. EVE. 3.01
FOR PRIKE OF ONE ALLMTNEES$1.56
CHILD TO 14
CHEECH & CHONG'S
FRI & SAT
STATE LATE SHOW "UP IN SMOKE"
F,
I
so
V
CHARLES BERLITZ'S
THE BERMUDA
TRIANLE
1
kk
SAT. 1-3-5-7-9:25
SUN. 1-3-5-7-9.
MON. to THURS. 7 &19
NO WEDNESDAY MATINEE
No Posses
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now"
Daily Photo By MAUREEN O'MALLEY
Patti Smith asks the angels at her show Tuesday night with the Patti Smith
group at Second Chance. The group will perform there through this evening.
Alam Resnais'
1959
HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR
A French actress meets Japanese architect in post-war Hiroshima while
making an anti-war film. This inspired ironic set-up is just the beginning of
this uniquely beautiful film made by the director of LAST YEAR AT MAR-
IENBAD and starring Emmanuelle Riva and Eliji Okada. Short; DEPUTY
DAWG (In French).
FRI: DISNEY'S DUMBO (plus cartoons)
SAT: MURDER BY DEATH (Peters Falk,& Sellers)
CINEMA GUILD
TONIGHT AT
OLD ARCH. AUD.
7:00 & 9:05
$1.50
The Ann Arbor Film Cooperative presentsotf Aud A
Thursday, March 22
BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
(David Lean, 1957) 6:30 & 9:15-AUD A
Filmed in Ceylon, this epic story of British prisoners forced to build a vital
railroad bridge for their Japanese captors won seven Academy Awards,
including Best Picture, Director, and Actor. ALEC GUINESS is the ramrod-
straight British colonel whose principles overshadow his reasons. The ending
of this film is sheer irony. With WILLIAM HOLDEN, SESSUE HAYAKAWA.
Tomorrow: THE KING OF HEARTS
JUNIORS
Don't be left out
of your
1980 MICHIGANENSIAN Yearbook!
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Sign up for an appointment TODAY by call-
ing 764-0561, weekdays from 7 p.m.-9
p.m. Or stop by our office at 420 Maynard
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