THE MICHIGAN DAILY
A rts & Enterta nm ent Thursday, March 17, 1977 Page Five
®
A2
films show
Santana:
dvh~ ntht cnnt~nt
By JIM\I STIMSON
"Let the Children Play", from
9J U/~, // U// = F Wi o' =.'EW W./o' E U' rJ') ANYONE WORRIED that rL1diteuisugvpi-
!7 / v..i !L/ / V v vv , gjFestivat, started as highly per-
,,, 0 NYGE t R17ED hatcussive, with a drummer, tw,
By C. S. NICHOLS Carlos Santana is running cusie wyth andummer, two
out of gas: don't be. Last week ;conga players, and Carlos pro-
THE TUESDAY NIGHT OPENING of the Ann Arbor Film at Detroit's Masonic Temple viding the infectious rhythm.
Festival, was, generally speaking, impressive. In particu- Auditorium he played with the After the vocal section of the
lar, the technical quality of the films - which has been im-, same flair and intensity that song ended, Carlos launched
proving every year - was notable. Rarely did sloppy editing elevated him to fame as one into a soaring solo quite unlike
or unintelligible sound turn a clever idea into a disaster. The of popular music's guitar vir- his previous rhythm accompan-
apposite occurred more often: undeveloped or flawed content 'u .! twin a note as long and pure as
ruined films of excellent technique. It is fitting that this role ano te asn and in
Among those with weak structures was "Element" by Amy should be filled by a Latin fact uses the uiue sro ensi-
g a 12mnute closeup of the filmmaker f k American. Throughout musical q prp
>refed a 1-iuecoepoth fimarfolkng history, the masters of guitar
through. the mud. The texture and. gloss of mund made surpris- have been Spanish, from Fer-
ingiy beautiful images as a naked body crawled and .rolled in nando Sor 'to Andres Segovia.
i
i
Rock
ties of the electric guitar quite
unlike the mass of modern gui-
tarists.
IN A WORLD of Kiss - Aero-'
smith-Stooges thud - rock on
the one hand and George Ben-
son - Jim Hall-CTI laid-back'
jazz on the other, it's truly re-'
freshing to hear a guitarist who
doesn't play at the same vol-
ume all the time.
More important than the
above, however, is the fact that
~vih Spanish
Santana (both the band afid ample of boring-rock: repeti-
the leader) plays with feeling. tive, droning, and relying on
The show has no glitter, no pre- licks and gimmicks instead of
tense, just honest music that real music. The vocals alsor
stands on its own merit, seemed strained and contrived.
After "Let the Children Play", Some people have expressedk
Aftr "et he hilrenPla 'concern over Santana's mdst
Santana broke into one of their cocen over Ba eta , mist
early hits, "Black Magic Wo- recent albums. Borboletta, Ami-
man", accompanied by predict- gos, and Festival seem charac-
able audience entpusiasm. The terized by excessive vocals,
entire show seemed a blend of with an occasional super guitar
old and new. Some of the per- solo thrown in. In this review-;
sonnel, like pianist Tom Coster er's opinion, the more of San-
and percussionist Chepito Areas, tana's guitar, thebetter the al-
have been with Cantana since bum. This would make albums
the Wioodstock days. Others, like Abiraxis and .Caravanserai
like bassist Pablo Tellez, drum- my favorites.
mer Gaylord Birch, and Per- IN CONCERT, Santana is
comers to the band. They are something else again. Even the
excellent instrumentalists all, vocal numbers have room for
an extended solo from Carlos.
A WORD ABOUT the staging: The slender guitarist seems al-
The~~~~~ bakrpfg'h ho ok most bursting with energy, an
The backdrop for the Shaw look- irresistible rhythm that flows
ed like the courtyard of a ha- through the entire band and the
rienda, the scene of a small, audience, too. Carlos even took{
reaod afestiv alhInfro hc an occasional spell on congas.
hung the "festival" medallion, Santana is a very democratic
a colorful snake-and-altar crest. band. No one upstages the oth-
IPkn onto ,,,ets , were simpiey t r d~iUAvarvI v thir"^
flair
chance in the spotlight. This is
rare for a band with an estab-
lished leader who is an instru-
mental virtuoso. Frank Zappa,
for instance, refuses to wait in
line to play. And Jeff Beck once
drowned out Rod Stewart com-
pletely with his guitar. But San-
tana has no such pretensions to
grandeur. The Detroit show was
by far the most spirited and en-
tertaining one of the year fcr
1 this reviewer, and all there is
to add is not to miss Santana
next time around.
the slime. Then she stood ufp and. threw herself down into the Like Santana, they use the capa-
mudi. It woas humorous at first, but the action was tediously bilities of the guitar to their
repeated, and the camera seemed literally stuck in the mud. fullest effects.
More imaginative things could have been done with the situa- The guitar is a cross be-
tion. tween a percussive and a melo-
Space doesn't permit comments on each of the films shown dic instrumen t cn be strum
so the unusual will be spotlighted here. John Brister's "Spanish or plucked for a single melody.
Peanuts" was a fun film, a pixilla'tion of peanuts dressed in THE GREAT SPANISH gui-
native Mexican costumes and dancing Ziegfield-style to "Tico- tarists are also adept at pro-
tico." "Two Feet Under the Roof" by Robert Crawford fea- ducing contrasting effects with
tured' strong black and white photography, contrasting a pair the instrument. A harsh pas-
of warm, dry feet inside with the wet and dirty city outdoors. sage can follow a soft one, and
LAURELS TO "MOVING TARGETS" for its innovative tech- the resulting contrast keeps the
nique: Tim Shepard layered landscapes and other images as nunsic flowing.
a square, highlighting a given layer of the multiple exposure, absorbed this heritage, and
flickered across the frame. "Dream 733" by Paul Glabicki was , translated the ideas to electric
an artful 13-minute montage of foreboding electronic monsters. guitar.. The opening 1number,
Teen queens burn vinyl
By DAVID KEEPS This album happens to be Be Bad." She is a superb, sand-
" WAS BORN to be bad!" fantastic, a huge improvement paper - throated wailer more
. screams Joan Jett, shak- over their first entry, full of powerful, energetic and awe-
in her raven mop-top and great songs, diversity of musi- some than a symphony of chain
ig raeIO15,uvrh saws and fourteen -.speed blend-
furiously grinding her rhythm ;cal style, and bone-crunching ers. In performance, she amaz-
guitar as The Runaways, the sound. Standout numbers ar, ed an audience after finishing
world's premiere teenage-girl- "Hollywood, Born to Be Bad a adecaterfinishiy
andthetite *ut "Qeen ofa flawless vocal performance by-
rock group, blast into fever- andapologizing, "Sorry you guys,
pitched heavy metal assault. Noise. Thr lyrics and stan my fucking voice went out."
Lead singer Cherie Currie have focused more sharply on Clearly, The Runaways aren't
struts and kicks around the the tough, but exciting philoso- girl scouts. Onstage they are dy-
stage, looking incredibly small, phy of "live fast, die young and ic, capable musicians pro-
despite four-inch platforms, leave a beautiful corpse." xviding an energetic, youthful,
while Lita Ford, at 17, the old- T Tcoarse, crude, but ultimately
est group member, sneers lust- TsE MOST important im- coase, crd gutsy alternative
ily at the jam-packed audience provement, though, is the emer- to the contemporary doldrums
in the Royal Oak Theatre, a gence of Joan Jett as a lead of rock and roll. And who can
suburban Detroit movie thea- singer on songs like "Born to say what they'll be like at 18?
Hove a flair fo:
artistic writinq
If you are tnterest-
pcnpr ,and ut
or writing feature
st<ries a b ut tb
drama, dance, film
arts: cntrtact ArtS
Michigan iDaily.
i
4
{
Thte sets were simple, yet nat
cheap. In fact, the entire San-
tana show was governed with
taste and discretion.
In sharp contrast with San-
tana was the warm-up group,
Law. Law seemed a good ex-
ers, ana everyc aay gees Heir
Saii ~t~til(
TONIGHT!
An Evening of BL1UES with
MIUDDY WAFERS
JAM1ES C- 1'N
-l
ADVERTISING
IN THE
MICHIGAN
DAILY
DOESN'T
COST1.
IT PAYS
I
764-0554
.+...r.r. .w+ r
f,/
i
rr'0"" I
' .r
tre than showcases rock con-
certs on weekends.
L. A. born and bred, The
Runaways first hit vinyl with
an L. P. entitled, simply, "The
Runaways". They were discov-
ered by rock impresario cum
Frankenstein Kim Fowley and,;
after a kind word fron Robert
Plant, they were signed by Mer-
cury Records, who also produc-
ed the late, great New York
Dolls.
T HE FIRST ALBUM was not
an overhanging success, al-
though the best tunse, "Cherry
Bomb," a teenage nympho-
renegade anthem, was used in
the soundtrack of a made-f or-
TV movie called - appropriate-
ly enough -- "Dawn: Portrait
of a' Teenage Runaway."
The biggest problem with the
L. P. it seems, is that the pro-
ducers tried to soften and homo-
genize the image and the sound.
As a result, many songs sound
dull and overly familiar, like a
strange breed of muzak and car
crashes. Also, some of the ma-
terial is lame and unoriginal,
mostly the songs that Kim Fow-
ley wrote. But in spite of it
all, the Runaways exhibited a
potential for hard driving mu-
sicianship and a bold brassy
image.
Undeniably,. the best cut is the
aforementioned "Cherry Bomb"
which features , supersonic
screaming from Lead singer
Cherie, and a combination of
stuttering, guitar slashing and
shouting that explodes in a blast-'l
ing chorus of "H-elo Daddy, 4'
Hello Mom, I'm your ch-ch-ch-
ch-cherry bomb!" t
ANOTHER KILLER tune is - '
"Dead End Jpstice," a narra-
tive nightmare about a "run-
down teenage jail," which also
features the raw vocalizations of
Joan Jett. Recalling old Alice
Cooper song - eoics, this num-
ber includes vocal solos, spoken
dialogues choral harmonies and
a maniac military drumbeat:
Mounting the stage for their
first headliner concert in De-
troit, the Runaways gave an
electric jolt to their old mater-
ial and introduced songs from
their latest release Queens of
Noise.
YOU R BIRTHDAY
PRETZEL BELL.
. . . It's ELVIS PRESLEY, April 24 at
Crisler Arena.
Tickets go on sale Saturday, March i9,
10:00 a.m., at Crisler Arena. No per-
sonal checks.
_ ____________________________________________._______
DAILY CLASSIFIEDS
BRING QUICK RESULTS
..1 - _.
- I
Sat Mar°ch 19 8pm
Bowen Field House
Eastern Michigan University
TICKETS: $6.50 reserved, $5.50 general admission
Available at Wherehouse Records (Ypsilanti). Mr. Music (Briarwood),
Schoolids Reterds (Ann Arbor), and the McKenny Union (E.M.U.)
A BAMICW 0Production
IINARI4RFE1f
SCREENING INFORMATION:
Screenings are held in the old Architecture and Design Auditorium at 7:00, 9:00, 1,1:00 p.m. daily-
1:00, 7:00, 9.00 p.m. on Saturday. Winners and highlights are screened on Sunday at 7:00, 9:00.
11 :00 p.m. in both the old Architecture and Design Auditorium and Auditorium A of Angell Hell
Single admission is $1.25. Series: $16.00. Advance sales begin at 6:00 p.m. for that day only. Series
tickets are on sale on Tuesday, March 18th at 5:30 p.m.
~Yb1 H 1W1JI
X#.....####.P1#V.NNIV....:
-LECTUR E SERIES-
Humran Sexuality
MA RC H 21, 22 &23
"The Genitalia: Structure, Function, Pride & Prejudice"
Herant Katchadourion, M.D.
Stanford University
MARCH 28,29 &F30.
"Disorders of Gender Identity"
Eileen Highom, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
APRIL4,5&6
4:00-5:30
"Therapy & Management of Sexual Dysfunctions"
Herbert Leiderman, M.D.
Stanford Medical School
Auditorium A, Modern Languages Building
"
5 APPEIZERSK
British Isles
Clam Chowder . .. $1.15
Onion Soup
AuGratin.......$1.15
DINNERS
C E EF AND CABBAGEGn...s$....... r.$95
KNAKWURST AND SAUERKRAUT.............
BRAISED SHORT RIBS .....$4.35
rish parsley potatoes, braised carrots, and Kelly Green asparagus or Dublin
sweet peas.
ROAST LEG OF SPRING LAMB................$5.95
Mint sauce, Irish parsley potatoes, and Kelly Green asparagus Or Dublin sweet
peas.
STEAKS and SANDWICHES, Upon Request
Above Pretz O'Bell Dinners Include: Shamrock Salad, Choice of
Dressing, Rye Bread and Creamery Butter,
730, sat. march 26 ,rackham auditorium, $3.50
The Robert Altman Festival presens
ELLIOTT GOULD, star of M*A*SH, The Long Goodbye, and California
c I A; -r..n. T;,-la ~tnna LAC Tieket Central, Michigan Union,
I II 4