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THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Saturday, October 16, 1971

Page fV~'o THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Saturday, October 16, 1971

Just warming up at the Alley:
Albert King forgiveably tired

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By BERT STRATTON
Albert King came to the Alley
last night, but he was tired
from driving all day from Ala-
bama, and he didn't have fami-
lar musicians for sidemen-sur-
prisingly the show turned out all
right. It wasn't the greatest
thing, but it wasn't as bad as it
could have been; the one thing
that saved the show was Albert
King's considerable presence,.
musically and physically.
It was the first set of the week-
end and the band wasn't at all
tight; they'd never played to-
gether before; King was not in-
>::;>>- spired by the small crowd, and
the entire set didn't last more
than an hour. Which gets to the
point, if it wasn't good and it:
wasn't bad, then it was me-
diocre.
If Albert King had his own
band things would be a lot easier
to understand; after all, Albert
has played in all the rock ball-
rooms and all the festivals, but
for some reason he still doesn't
travel with his own musicians.
Albert King is an unvarnished'
bluesman-he doesn't have any
of the polish that B.B. King has;
Daily-Jm wallace he is gravelly where B.B. is
smooth. He is cliche where B.B.
B3luesman Albert King __ ______
is innovative. Comparing Albert
Sister George: Nervous humor'

King to B.B. King is rough on
old Albert, as it would be on
anybody, but you can't say he
doesn't ask for it. His show, his
mannerisms, and his guitar style
all exude B.B. King. His voice
isn't B.B. King, so you get the
picture-Albert King is not as
good as B.B. King. But Albert
King is definitely better than he
was last night.
King plays a left-handed gui-
tar. As a self-styled musician
from the Sotith, he plays the
urban blues with a lingering
country feeling, which means
like so many black bluesmen,
he's taken his country-to-city ex-
perience and put it into music.
The irking part of last night's
performance is that it was so far
short of what it could have been.
With a powerful bluesman in a
small place like the Alley and
some audience rapport, it could
have been a great set. But there
weren't enough people there;
the last song was played; the
crowd filed out and there wasn't
- even an encore..
It's a case of blues saturation;
with B.B. King here last week
and Muddy Waters here last
month, only the die-haird blues
freaks are going to pay the price
every week to see the' 'second.
line' of the bluesmen, the> ones
with the smaller names.
Albert King is going topget
better 'as the weekend progress-
es, as his energy makes its come-
back, and as his sidemen figure
For, the student body:
FLARES
by
Levi
Farah
Wright
SLee
SMale
State Street at Liberty

out what's up. Tonight's show
should be a good blues show
with some "blues Power" in
Albert's vocal chords and it
should be worth the $2.50 to see
a good bluesman.
It would be nice to see Albert
King getting down like he has so
many times before, tonight with
An interview with Albert King
will be broadcast Tuesday at
8:30 pm. on WCBN.
a mellow crowd asking for more,
and Albert giving them more
and still more, wringing out the
sounds, making the whole idea
of putting a big man like King
in a small place like the Alley,
making that brilliant idea into
something you can feel, some-
thing huge-like Albert King.

swae$1.50 8:30
from England
LOU
KILLEN

HEAR:
Black Manifesto
Advocate and
Vice-President of WC-Black
Economic Development League
HANK BRYANT
attack local Ecclesiastistical Corporations
for their role in oppression of Blacks and
the Poor.
Sunday, Oct. 17-7:00 P.M.
801 S. Forest at Hill
LUTHERAN STUDENT CHAPEL
The Actors Guild
regrets to announce
The Killing of Sister George
the controversial play
that murdered
censorship in England
The Bereaved May View the Deceased on:
FRIDAY, OCT. 15-7 and 10 P.M.
SATURDAY, OCT. 16--7 and 10 P.M.
SUNDAY, OCT. 17-Matinee 2 P.M.'
Evening 7:30 P.M.
Residential College Auditorium
TICKETS $1.25 available only at the door

4

w concertina
"unusually subtle and sen-
sitive . . . grand and vigor-
ous . . ."-Rbt. Shelton,
N.Y. Times

The Michigan Daily, edited and man- B euA
aged by students at the University of 14 iII STR ET
Michigan. News phone: 764-0552. Second
Class postage paid at Ann 'Arbor, Mich-
igan, 420 Maynard Street, Ann Arbor,
Michigan 48104. Published daily Tues-
day through Sunday morning Univer-
sity year. Subscription rates: $10 by
carrier, $11 by mail.
Summer Session published Tuesday
through Saturday morning. Subscrip-
tion rates: $5 by carrier, $6 by mail.

I

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M

WAS

By RICHARD SALE
At the closing line of The
Killing of Sister George, a wo-
man in front of me began to
laugh. Until this point, although
I had recognized some fine mo-
ments, I had not realized how
much the play, and particular-
ly- Harriet Winkelman's strong
performance, must have affect-
ed me. Later I wondered if the
woman had laughed because
she found the 'ptay' sdesolate
ending genuinely funny, or if
she had laughed, as embarras-

sed children sometimes do, be-
cause she was frightened.
As much as we pride ourselves
today on our open-mindedness,
on our ability, like "niature
adults," to accept others, I have
serious doubts as to whether we
only feign tolerance when faced
with difficult, gut issues, like
homosexuality or lesbianism. For
although the "subject" is never
really discussed in Sister George
it is the backdrop for the action.
In a black-comedic way we are
forced to consider where we

Folk lovers sway with
Killen's ancient chanties

By ABBY MILLER
When Lou . Killen tosses back
his head and belts out a sea
chanty, you can see him as a
chantyman on board ship.
When. he sits back with his
sleeves rolled above his elbows,
eyes closed, singing of the death
of Lord Nelson, you can almost
mourn with the -patriots of Eng-
land.
Killen talks and sings of sail-
ing, of fishing, of the British
Navy. But his songs aren't sung-
as a performance. They flow
out of the tradition he portrays.
His audience is caught up in
history - not dates and battle
names, but the feelings of the
people and times. He speaks
with conviction and sometimes
humor. He sings with a sensitiv-
ity appropriate to each song.-
Sometimes Lou accompanies
himself with a concertina, play-
ing in harmony with his voice.
It comes out in beautiful melan-
choly. At other times he sings
unaccompanied, his voice ring-
ing and rolling. His deliveries
are allwith energy and tightly
controlled.
Last night at the Ark. Killen
began with sea chantis and
songs of the sea. By the end of
the set he had covered a wide
range of- subjects and feelings
that enabled one really to sense
something about life on the En-
glish seaboard in times past. He
sang b-autiful sweetheart's
lament and the rousing chanty,
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
CHANGE OF
SCHEDULE:
DUCK
SOUP
DIR. LEO McCAREY, 1932
WITH
The MARX BROTHERS

"Row Bullies, Row." Talking
and singing of the trials of
sailors, he didn't neglect their
exploits. "The Shoals of Her-
rin'," Evan McCall's song of the
life of a fisherman, spoke beau-
tifully of another aspect of
coastal life.
Killen comes from Northum-
bria, and his accent lends any
superficial authenticity , one
might desire. He has worked
aboard the Hudson sloop Clear-
water as a chantyman. When
he draws a picture of a ship, he
can point out the bunting line,
explain its function, and then
sign a bunting chanty.. He can
tell you how it feels to bunt and
why the song is sung as it is.
It was a really enjoyable eve-
ning. At times the Ark rang
with singing, and at others
there was silen'ce behind Lou's
voice. But in one way or an-
other the audience was always
involved. Joking and singing
and talking, Killen paced the
performance well.

stand in regard to the people on
stage; are we really as far de-
moved from, them as we would
like to think ourselves? Surely
the play is, to a certain extent,
shocking, and it is to the direc-
tor's, Terry Lemude's, credit
that this shock value was not
exploited. The p r o d u c t i o n
achieved a level of wry humor
without sacrificing any sym-
pathy the audience feels for the
characters.
As Sister George, a soon to be
terminated soap opera personal-
ity, Harriet Winkleman, com-
plete with constant swilling of
gin and smoking of cigars, cre-
apes a wholly credible charac-
ter. Her performance gives an
impression of a deep under-
standing of the role; she could
be sadistic and gentle, violent
and subdued. Always sitting
with her legs solidly apart, her
slip showing, Sister George is
far more than a butch stereo-
type. She has a rare brand of
cynicism that allows her to
transcend any stereotype, and
Miss Winkelman successfully
conveys almost every nuance of
that cynicism.
Cynthia Katz as Childie,
George's fey lover, performed
adequately but failed to go be-
yond the high shrill level of
emotion with which the play
began. I got the feeling that
she relied more on varying the
pitch of her voice than trying
to get at the meat of the char-
acter. She gave the impression
of vacant innocense in her style
rather than on a sense of child-
ishness that the role requires.
Barbara Peacock as Mrs.
Mercy, the BBC executive ulti-
mately responsible for writing
Sister George out of the soap
opera, excellently portrayed all
See THE, Page 8

Warner Bros. presents:
LAZARUS
produced by P. Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary)
appearing with: Poco, Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey,
J. Denver, John Conyers and Eugene McCarthy
at U. of D., Monday, Oct. 18-8 p.m.
anti drug-abuse benefit 50c admission


THE ALLEY
330 MAYNARD
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
ALBERT KING
"MR. BLUES POWER"
SAT.-2 Shows 7:30 & 10:00
SUN.-1 Show 8:30
TICKETS ALL SHOWS $2.50
COMING: JIMMY REED AND THE
CHICAGO BLUES BAND


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510 E. Liberty
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lc of on Whoppers with this coupon
I ~OFFER EXPIRES OCTOBER 29u
- - ~

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UNIVERSITY REFORMED CHURCH
E. Huron at Fletcher
10:30-"Monument or Launching Pad?"
CALVIN MALEFYT speaking
5:30 p.m.-Student Supper
6:30 p.m.-2000 Languages-A Job for This
Generation
ILAH-FLEMING speaking

WARREN
BEATTY
JULIE
CHRISTIE
McCABE &
MRS. MILLER
PANAVISION@ TFCHNICOLORt
From Warrir Bros. A Kinney Services Company
Next
"DANCE OF DEATH"

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"INCREDIBLE !"
-MICH. DAILY

'THE DEVILS' is an incredibly
ambitious film.) conceived not
simply as a historical document
but as a visionary work. Rus-
sell's terrifying, fantastical night-
mare images have astonishing
psychological power. Russell re-
fuses to be iItimidated by offi-
cial pieties. His audadcity is what
makes his work original; he
breaks the rules of good taste,
obliterates the tired naturalistic
conventions that most filmmak-
ers cluing to. 'THE DEVILS' is an
allegory for our time. Reed cre-
ates a character of tremendous
stature and digninty, one of the
few convincingly heroic figures

Groucho
Minister

as
of

the Prime
FREDONIA

I

holds up a documentand
says to his assembled
council, "Why, it's so sim-
ple a child of 10 could

VANESSA REDGRAVE
OLIVER REED
IN KEN RUSSELL'S
Controversial
mtpor ,y-up

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