Buffett enchants Hill fans
By STEVE 1100K
" HELLO ANN ARBOR ... little
sunshine comin' your way!" With
these words, Jimmy Buffett cast off the
lines that sent an enthusiastic crowd at
a packed Hill Auditorium on a two hour
musical cruise Friday night.
There are those who have dubbed him
"margarita man" while others call him
"God's Own drunk" but now, he has
adopted a new nickname:
"cheeseburger in paradise". Somehow,
after witnessing his performance, the
absurdity of this nickname, based on
the name of this 1978 tour, "The
Cheeseburger in Paradise Tour",
makes sense. As one T-shirt salesman
explained, " Jimmy loves
cheeseburgers."
The warm-up band was far from
stimulating. The Mark Jorden Band
provided some relatively pleasant
music similar in nature to Buffett and
the Coral Reefer Band's, although it
lacked the magical touch which so
feverishly excited the crowd later in the
evening. Most of their work was laid
back, which ironically, aggravated the
audience's growing energy: they wan-
ted Buffett. The noticeably loud level of
conversation among the audience
maintained throughout their set was a
sure sign that the crowd was merely
waiting for the main event. The
ovation, however, was gracious - c'est
la vie.
WHEN HE FINALLY did appear, the
supressed excitement exploded like a
balloon; the evening had really started.
Beginning with the title song from his
new album, "Son of a Son of a Sailor",
and continuing throughout the perform-
ance, Buffett wove a curious web of'
emotions. The moods, ranging from
melancholy to comical to fierce and
furious, were all felt strongly.
In "Landfall", Buffett created a let-
loose feeling that caught on spon-
taneously with the audience. During
his favorite tale, "God's Own Drunk",
and in his irreverent but seemingly ap-
propriate "Let's Get Drunk and
Screw", he had the audience possessed
with laughter.
At times, Buffett slowed things down
by transforming the emotional lyrics of
"Come Monday", "Banana Republics"
and "The Pirate" into conscious feeling
among the audience. It is this spectrum
of emotions that makes an evening with
Buffett so enjoyable.
Buffett has a lot in common with the
two other male vocalists coming to
Ann Arbor this spring. Careful listening
reveals that his music neither conveys
a message nor any personal
philosophy; Buffett sings about a king
of life, a way to live. He. presents an
overall image: an ocean, a sailboat,
palmtrees, and his everpresent bottle of
booze. Just as John Denver sings of the
mountains and Jackson Browne sings
The Michigan Daily-Sunday, March 26, 1978-Page 5
THE OBERLIN COLLEGE CHOIR
DANIEL MOE, Conductor*
A*C Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre
Monday, March 27, 1978
* 8:00 PM -
OSERLIN COLLtt General Admission: Students, $1.50*
s I I I Others, $2.00
CONSERVATORY Or MUSICPhone 7612991 or at the door.
Works of Bach, Mozart,
Sweelinck, Bruckner, Messian
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WORKSHOP ON
MEDITATION AND HEALIING 1
* SATURDAY, APRIL 1st, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. I
* led by STERN MORGAN, psyhic healer I
j Fundamentals of meditative techniques which enable people to go down to a j
quiet level or meditative state where they can heal themselves and/or others.
j $5 optional donation. Will be held at Canterbury House, 218 N. 1
1 Division Street, corner of Catherine and division. t
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SUNDAY - Italian Buffet . .........
MONDAY - Spaghetti .............
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Daily Photo by JOHN KNOX
Jimmy Buffett
of the road, Buffet paints a picture of
himself through the consistencies of his
lyrics. This self-portrait is what makes
him the popular attraction that he is
today.
It was a rare and memorable evening
as Buffett, who writes halfway between
Nashville and Jamaica, brought war-
mth and happiness to a town on a
gloomy March evening. When he left
the stage for the last time, the at-
mosphere which had been subdued and
apothetic during the warm-up had
changed to one of euphoric animation:
the crowd had truly been enchanted.
His second encore, as wildly
welcomed as any Ann Arbor audience
could have,. was a fitting conclusion as
Buffett sang the appropriately titled,
"It's Been a Lovely Cruise." And so it
was.
TUESDAY- Barbecue Chicken or
Beef Ribs ................... 3.65
WEDNESDAY-Seafood Buffet ........... 4.25
THURSDAY - Smorgasbord ............... 3.75
All above specials include unlimited trips
to our soup and salad bar
2.25
2.75
2.25
Prime
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY DINNER SPECIAL
Rib Au Jus n.............................
c? includes unlimited trips
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5.95
HUED8'S
to soup and salad bar, potato and bread
Open Sundays at 1:00
114 E. Washington -Downtown
665-323 1
aMaizin'Blues show unamazing
-r-
...
w
By BILL BAR BOUIR
- PtA lff T i E'Tt'WrTC' o*1 -- +V11,~J~N.,2 i aewnu-- T-
A i""31VAL 'UEla a '"re"hin. ~s
ually, one either likes or dislikes
something - usually. Friday night's
aMaizin' Blues
>woerCener
March 24. 1978
Guest artists William Albright,pianw;-
Donald Sintasopone
John Smith, dwnevior
Presented by the University of
Michigan Alumni Association
'AMaizin' Blues concert made me feel
conflicting emotions (i.e., ambivalen-
ce). The soloists were, with few excep-
tions, very good. The ensemble was,
with few exceptions, not as good.
The group opened the concert with
"That's When the Music Takes Me", a
slickly choreographed version of the
Neil Sedaka hit. It was a weak opener
because the stage microphones were
positioned in such a way that the group
sounded out of balance. The next num-
ber, "Jumpin' with Symphony Sid",
featured Al Taplin, a bass. On this tune,
the vocal group's accompaniment was
fine, but Taplin's scat singing sounded
somewhat affected and artificial.
Most of the remainder of the first half
of the program was devoted to
featuring soloists, most of whom were
good and two of whom were excellent.
One of the two soloists who stood above
the others was Daniel Hurtade, whose
performance of "Loves Me Like A
Rock" showcased his fine range, con-
trol, and style. The best vocal in the fir-
st half of the program was "Good Mor-
ning Heartache", sung by Kathy Van-
der. Her bluesy rendition of the song
(and Craig Nelson's terrific bass work)
gave Power Center a relaxed, night-
clubbish atmosphere that is often con-
ducive to good performances.
"HEARTACHE" and "Coney Island
Baby", a well-known barbershop quar-
tet, were the vocal highlights of the first
half, which concluded with solos by
saxophonist Donald Sinta and pianist
William Albright, two School of Music
professors who proved that those who
can do teach too. The numbers they
played showcased Sinta's beautiful
tone and amazing technique, and Al-
bright's impressive interpretive skills.
Though the solos in the first half were
good, the vocal ensemble as a whole
was troubling. Many of their
arrangements, such as the "Rain
Medley",are reminiscent ofelevator or
dentist's office music (a.k.a. muzak)-'
such music is, technically, perfectly
performed but emotionally barren. In
general, the group as a whole failed to
move me at all during the first half of
the concert.
Fortunately, the ensemble was bet.
ter during the second half of the show.
It opened with "Oz", a well-arranged
medley of tunes from the movie The
Wizard of Oz and from the musical The
Wiz. The medley was energetically per-
formed and well-choreographed. Then,
rather unexpectedly, came the best
number of the evening. The combo
which played back-up for the Blues did
a feature called "What Can A Miracle
Do?" with a vocal solo by Richard
Pickren, the combo's lead guitarist.
Pickren has a dynamite voice, and has
a real chance to make it as a
proftessional if he gets the right breaks.
The vocal group, to my chagrin, then
proved that they had not divested
themselves of the faults apparent in the
concert's first half. "Try to Remem-
ber" served as a painful reminder to
this effect. Luckily, the program ended
on a good note with two good numbers:
"Burgers and Beer", an effective,
humorous medley of songs from beer
and burger commercials, and "One",
from the musical A Chorus Line.
There were many good things about
the concert, but mixed in were too
many faults for me to give them a com-
pletely favorable response. Balance
seemed a consistent problem; the
microphones were placed in such a
manner that the group was not shown
off to its fullest; the orchestra, a group
of fine players, was suppressed too
much, adding to the balance problems.
The aMaizin' Blues should stick to
their strengths (solos, songs from mu-
sicals, and combo numbers) and
eliminate faults such as elevator-music
arrangements. Their Friday night per-
formance was good, but I know they
can do better.
FALL HOUSING
in
w Residence Hall
Applications will be available
MONDAY, APRIL 3, 1978
THE HOUSING INFORMATION OFFICE
1011 STUDENTACTIVITIES 61111DING
A drawing will be used to
establish priority for assignment.
Apply anytime between
8:00 AM and 4:30 PM
April 3, 1978
,Do NOT Line Up Early!
Do NOT Camp Overnight!
Minstrels rollick Ark
BY LILY PRIGIONIERO
T HE FIRST NOTES that came out of
John Rtoberts and Tony Barrand's
mouths rang with tightly knit harmony,
and the immediately receptive audien-
ce remained attentive throughout the
night. The two Englishmen brought a
touch of Britain to the Ark Friday
evening, creating a tavern-like at-
mosphere that made the audience part
of toe performance.
One couple, who met Roberts and
Barrand in New York around seven
years ago found the best word that
could describe the singers -
"rollicking". From English ballads to
American lyric songs, Roberts and
Barrand presented a varied and im-
pressive type of entertainment. So
much talent is accumulated in these two
people, not only in singing, but with in-
struments such as the accordion, banjo,
guitar, bodhan drum, bones and spoons,
concertinas, and the extremely in-
teresting bowed sautery, which was
used in one of their sadder songs,
"False Bride."
In an Easter celebration, they played
what they called "Infant Gospels",
humorous take-offs of biblical stories.
Each story that their songs told was ex-
tremely charming and reflected their
foreign personalities.
The two came off as great comedians,
enchanting everyone with spon-
taneous light-hearted humor. Tony
came off as the more arrogant and wit-
ty character, whereas John, with his
incredibly low alto voice, seemed like
the shrewd and cheerful supporter. One
of their songs was -a spoof on an old
cowboy tune. The humor came from
seeing an Englishman imitating a
westei'n cowboy. It was a sort of
Americanization of the English ballad
- and the audience loved it.
Many of their songs were accom-
panied by different kinds of instrumen-
ts, which added variety. But their a
capella voices were so fantastically in-
tertwined that the instruments seemed
unimportant. These musical
storytellers, who stood on their feet for
three sets and an encore, held their
mugs of beer and imported a note of
cheer from England into an American
coffeehouse.
THE BREAD ANre
PUPPET THEATER
TO&E THER wrth TH E
WORD OF MOUTH
CHORUS PRESENTS
Avg MARLS
STELLA
DESPRES
M..delssohnTheatreSunday March 26, 2 & 8p.m.
_ I~tOaz
ii g:
I
******In the heart of-
Ann Arbor's theatre district
300 S. Thayer
A Gourmet Performance
Weekdays 7 a.m. - 2 a.m. Weekends 8 a.m. - 2 a.m.
' There's No Business Like. .r
the exciting world of Show Business in our Theme Parks
KINGS ISLAND - Cincinnati, Ohio
KINGS DOMINION - Richmond, Va.
CAROWINDS - Charlotte, N.C.
Shows are presented with complete scenery,
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SINGER/DANCERS AND MUSICIANS
$155 to $200 a week (Plus round trip airfare to the park)
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