Saturday, May 24, 1975

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Page Five

Saturday, May 24, 1975 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Five

Kottke,
By JOAN BORUS
There was something about
the Leo Kottke-Jesse C oli n
Young concert at Hill1Auditor-
ium last Wednesday that didn't
quite jelt. The UAC-sponaored
production, featuring two excit-
ing and poputar musicians, cer-
tainly augered wett for a suc-
cess.
Yet it wasn't until the actual
concert that one realized the
extent to which a disparity
exised between the two - and
the net result was a production
that was pleasant, but ultimate-
ly unsaisfying.
KOTTKE opened the concert
with a set that was nothing
short of amazing and certainly
the best that this reviewer has
heard him play.
He's about the only guitarist
I've seen who can take a 12-
string and convince you that it's
alive - his music is possessed
with a driving, pulsating f o r c e
that can't be contained, and it's
also the only guitar I've heard
that seems to actually sigh.
With the excellent acoustics of
Hill and a good sound system to
back him, the effect was spec-
tacular. The previous times
I had seen Kottke play, he was
victimized by a poor sound sys-
tem, yet was able to transcend
this and amaze the audience
with such compositions as "Vas-
eine Machine Gun," a now
famous number noted for its
unbelievable velocity.
THIS time around, "Vaseline
Machine Gun" sounded like an
approaching army.
The thunder that came out
of Kottke's guitar was so in-
tense that the reverberations

Young:
literally shifted the microphones
-a problem he had all evening.
Kottke seems to have several
topics that figure persistently
in his compositions. Liquor
seems to be his predominant ob-
scession; among the aphorisms
he came up with on Wednesday
was, "I've decided it's a terri-
torial imperative to puke on
your own front yard instead of
somebody elses."
ANYONE who was close
enough to the stage probably
now understands the meaning
behind a title of one of Kottke's
records, My Feet Are Smiling.
Kottke plays music not just
with his head and hands but
his whole body; he keeps time
with his feet in a way that
resembles a dog with a wagging
tail, or, in other words, a smil-
ing foot.
If the people who came to see
Jesse Colin Young expected to
hear the kind of music that had
the carefree exuberance of the
old Youngbloods variety, they
were no doubt a little disap-
pointed. The Jesse Colin Young
who appeared seemed to have
left much of that spirit behind
him and gave instead a per-
formance-that was very smooth
and professional, nut somehow
deficient.
Certainly there were several
outstanding features. Young has
put together an excellent back-
up band that plays something
of everything, ranging f r o m
jazz to cajun and dss it all
very tastefully to boot.
MANY OF their jazz arrange-
ments, featuring Jim Opperdall
on the saxophone were very
evocative and atmospheric,
suggestive of the early mornings
amongst the beautiful Cuifori ia
at 7 & 9 o.m. only Open 6:45
Guest Niht is Suspended
This Week Ony, But-Wed-
nesdav is Baraain Day
Sentenced to 28 years in
prison for a crime he never
committed. Only two things
can set him out. A lot of
money and Charles Bronson
COLUMBIA PICTURES PresentsG
Sat.-Sun-Wed. at
1-2-5-7-9 p.m.
Mon.-Tues, at 7 & 9 P.m. Only
Guest Nite is Suspended for
This Week Only-But Wed-
nesday is Baraain Day!
HIL.D UNDER A LEAF
s an absorbing experience
hat had people around me
veeping aloud"
-REx REED,N-Nw k (Nws
DYAN CANNON
CILILD UNDER
L9EAF
.la sinDONALD1'ILON
JOSEPH CVAII'NELL A

.iA Pr,,,,dbn ofI'osi.Siuictiiin In. 10

Pleasant, not satisfying

scenery that figure frequently
in Young's songs. The sound
system was excellent and pro-
vided just enough ampliftea-
tion without being overpower-
ing; in fact, Kottke probably
made more noise with his 12
string alone.
And Young certainly began
promisingly enough. He opened
with "Sugar Babe," an old
Youngbloods song, which des-
pite all the backup remained
basically unchanged.
He then proceeded to do the
"Song for Juli," a beautiful
piece written for his daughter,
featuring Opperdall on the slte
and Scott Lawrence on the
piano. For this he was joined
by his wife, Suzi, making this
number a more personalized
and touching experience.
HOWEVER, despite suchs plus-
es, there were several things
lacking with Young's perferm-
ance. For all Young's basic sin-
cerity, expressive voice, a i d
good back-up music, the effect
produced was an essentially
commercial one.
A song based upon a dream
of his about the Indians a n d-
America before the white man
lost its intent when it became
submerged in a heavily instru-
mentalized, jazzed-up arrange-
ment. Suzi's presesce, which
was a plus on "Juli" re-tly did
not do very much in later num-
bers such as "Jambaiaya."
She merely became reduced
to the level of the undulating
female we've all become familiar
with seeing at rock concerts,
whose only purpose being on the

stage is to provide a little pro-
vocation and generate some en-
thusiasm.
THE ENERGY that was gen-
erated from Young and his
band wasn't the kind of direct,
kinetic energy that emanated
from Kottke; in popularizing the
music, something was ievit-
ably lost in the process.
But the key reason why things
didn't come off was because
Young himself didn't saem to be
into what he was trying to con-
vey. As both earlier and the
newer more commercial record-
ings attest, Young comes across
as an essentially private per-
son and the things he deals with
are often of a personal exper-
ience.
Such an orientation is at odds
with the sophisticated commer-
cialized approach he has now
adopted, and the result wvsa,
ironically, an inhibirei quality
to his performance.
It may very well be that the
reason for the unevenness if. the
concert can be attributed to
Kottke's and Young's different
understanding about what their
audiences want.
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IN SUBTLE ways the orient-
ation of audiences change with
such features as music type and
geographic location; being at-
tuned to these differences is
critical to an artist's success.
The music of Kottke and Young
was disseparate enough to at-
tract two different sen of peo-
ple with different expectations.
Thus, the concert billing creat-
ed a situation where one per-
son's meat was ano'ner's poi-
son.
If you are using a regular
cake recipe is a six-cup bundt
pan that is made of heavy cast
aluminum and has a teflon lin-
ing, you may have to reduce
the usual baking time.
M z
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