ARTS

he Michigan Daily

Friday, October 30, 1981




Fooling around

By Michael Huget
MASTERFUL mime, jocular jester,
raunchy comedian. Jango Ed-
wards is all of these and more. With his
unique talent and energy, Edwards has
revitalized international interest in the
art of clowning.
Jango regularly draws large crowds
to his revues overseas, but he has yet to
achieve popularity in America.
Tomorrow night, however, he will
return to his native area with the Jango
Edwards Garbage musical comedy
production.
Edwards might be described
as the modern equivalent of
the court jester. He's certainly not the
clown we are commonly exposed to
today: the slapstick fool, the typical fall
guy, or the clown Barnum and Bailey
has bastardized for commercial gain.
Edward's fool is the kind that forces
us to consider the normal by reflecting
on the abnormal. This clown helps us
ease the tensions created by our en-
vironment and understand the con-
ditions responsible for those tensions.
"The clown's first job is to make you
laugh, relax and be entertained," ac-
cording to Edwards. "The second job,
while doing the first, is to present in-
formation and reflect what is happen-
ing around us ... a clown must create
laughter with love in mind; this is the
key of giving."
Edwards has transcended the
limitations of the conventional clown.
He combines musical parodies, baudy

humor, and outrageous costumes with
loose, effervescent delivery. In shor
he is a combination of Red Skelton
Clown Dimitri, and Frank Zappa.
The substance of Edwards' humor i
,not completely original. He often use
old vaudeville jokes, trite slapstic
routines, and vulgar-bu
hilarious-monologues. "I make peopl
laugh at things that aren't funny," h
admits.
Edwards sings songs for blind peopl
that can't see; he dives into a cupc
water from a chair; and while h
doesn't attempt to deliver any blatai
political messages, he adopts a
irreverant attitude toward moder
moral taboos.
Edwards has made three album:
released a picture book of his concert
starred in and choreographed a file
recently released in West Berlin (Rosa
in the Big City), and is scheduled to sta
in a Werner Fassbinder film, The 31s
Floor.
Six documentaries have been filme
of his performances, and he is als
scheduled to tape a special Greek an
Portuguese Candid Camera-includin
surprise encounters with such artists a
Dustin Hoffman, Brian Ferry, and Ne
Diamond.
Edwards is responsible f
initiating the famous biannual Festivk
of Fools in Amsterdam, an inte
national event that attracts thousan
of actors, mimes, musicians, an
potential clowns from around th
world. The United Nations honored th
last Festival as the Theater Festivalt
the World.

Page 7
k
is an art
k
a
t, Jango offers hope in times of despair.
n, As he says, "Clownpower is love, and
love is only another label for hope. For
is when there's no love, there's no hope, b
rs and when there's no hope, there's no t
k reason to go on."
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769-1300
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dp.

Sundance Photo by JIM DANEK
The Stage Company is presenting Meir Ribalow's 'Sundance,' a contemporary Western satire, through Sunday at the
Canterbury Loft.
Rockets take off on thi own

d
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as
Ail
or
al
!r-
ds
id
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of

UNITED R
ARTISTS LQMIDNIIE
FRI. 4 SAT.
1:15 3:20 5:30 7:40 9:50

Bargain Hours- No $1 Tusday
"Two hours of
non-stop thrills.
-Rex Reed
SOF THE
LOST ARK
P A OUNT

1:45"
4:15
7:00
9:30

4


By Michael Huget They
tract v
(1GIVEN MY current^ despondence moder
G3over the state of rock and roll, it Detroit
seems odd that any rock band-let and No
alone another Detroit band-would powerf
hold my attention for more than a fluence
minute. But any group that plays came
honest, energetic music is worthy of at stage.
least a mention. Their
The Rockets, who will perform at releas(
Crisler Arena tomorrow night, started Record
out in 1973 when drummer John "John- RSO's
ny Bee" Badanjek and guitarist Jim produc
*McCarthy decided to form their own credits
group. Both former members of Mitch Trick a
Ryder's Detroit Wheels. had grown Double
discontented with the session work they The
had been doing since the Wheels broke howeve
up. using a
* ecrds
his "hi
ning th4
Chris Spedding-Friday Sped
the 13th (Passport) tossing
Why this record? Sped- firewor
ding has proved himself a great unimpr
guitarist in the mold of Link Wray's But ev
R&B rumble in session work with not giv
Robert Gordon, John Cale, and Bryan like th
Ferry, among others. Unfortunately, hungry
his solo work has rarely done more than
prove he is not much of a songwriter or
singer.
His new solo album, recorded live,
does little more than prove he is not
much of a performer either. With Busta
Jones on bass and Tony Machine on
drums, Spedding trots through un-
moving and uninteresting versions of

eventually landed a record con-
with RSO and released three
ately successful albums: The
Rockets, Turn Up the Radio,
Ballads. All three were crude,
ul albums rich with blues in-
s, but the sound never really
alive until the group took" the
latest release, Back Talk, was
ed through Elektra/Asylum
ds, a change necessitated by
collapse. The album was
ed by Jack Douglas, whose
include Aerosmith and Cheap
ilbums, as well as John Lennon's
Fantasy LP.
Rockets' rough blues sound,
er, has suffered as a result of
a commercial producer, a fact
its," the band apparently lear-
e songs in the process.
ding refrains doggedly from
off any of his classic guitar
irks, and instead flaunts his
essive vocals and insipid songs.
en being a true guitar hero does
e one license to produce material
is. I only hope Spedding was
enough to justify this release.
-Mark Dighton

that even Badanjek realizes. "Overall,
this -is our best album in terms of
production," he said in a telephone in-
terview earlier this week. "But some of
the rawness has been taken away.
We're sort of down about it (the
album)."
But Badanjek also said he realizes
the dilemma the Rockets face because
they are essentially a blues-rock band.
"There isn't any market for the blues,
and that's where our roots are," he ex-
plained. "Our music is in the Rolling
Stones' vein, but only the Stones and
Clapton can get away with it."
Formerly a six-piece band; the
Rockets are down to five with the
recent departure of guitarist Dennis
Robbins.
Finally, after years of opening up for
groups such as ZZ Top, Bob Seger anc
the Silver Bullet Band, and REO
Speedwagon, the Rockets are getting a
chance to prove their worth as
headliners.

DAILY
1:15
3:20
5:30
7:40
9:50

WILLIAM HURT
KATHLEEN TURNER
tBODY
Fri. & Sat. HE T "

f
a
r
r
e
5
C
}:
5

TONIGHT ONLYI at the MICHIGAN THEATRE
Classic Film Theatre proudly presents
the MIDWEST PREMIERE of FRANK ZAPPA'S
A MOVIE ABOUT PEOPLE WHO DO STUFF
THAT IS NOT NORMAL
STARRING FRANK ZAPPA
3:00, 6:00, 9;00,-12:00 Midnight
603 E. Liberty 0662-8848 " 668-8480
Special admission price: $3

Double PG Featre

CARBON COPY
TAKE THIS JOB
AND SHOVE IT

1:30 5:10
9:00


3:20 7:00

2 INDIVIDUAL THEATREs
$ 50 WED. SAT. SUN.
TIL6:00 PM
ENDS SOON
RICH and FAMOUStR
CANDICE JACQUELiNE
BERGEN BISSET
WONDERFUL
DIALOGUE 1
BRILLIANT
ACTINGI
FRI,., x20,9:40
SAT, SUN-1:20, 3:40,
7:20, 9:40
"GLORIOUS!"
-GENE SHALIT

i4

I U

iizeiknch
Aeutenant6
Woman
She was lost from
the moment she
sow him ...
MERLE STREEP

(R)

ONE... TWO..

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SAT, SUN-1:00, 3:25,
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