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Friday, January 16, 1981
The Michigan Daily
Page 7
Performance Guide
MUSIC
The Plasmatics-These people have to be seen to be believed. Stunning lead
singer Wendy 0. Williams has been known to gently dissect guitars with a
chainsaw, assassinate speakers with a shotgun, and rattle off exhilarating
hard rockers with titles like "Living Dead," "Test Tube Babies," and "But-
eher Baby.'' Not for the faint of heart. Second Chance, January 19.
The Legendary Blues Band-Formerly the back-up band of blues legend and
Muddy Waters, the band has since toured with such luminaries as the
Rolling Stones. These guys have played with some of the best; blues of the
finest quality can be expected. Rick's American Cafe, January 21, at 8 p.m.
Fourth Annual Ann Arbor Folk Festival-This year's headliner for the Ark
Coffeehouse benefit is the patented eccentric blues and jazz performer,
Leon Redbone. Michael Cooney, Margaret Christl, and the Henrie Brothers
appear with Redbone in the 2 p.m. show and Andy Breckman, Stan Rogers,
Mick Moloney, Eugene O'Donnell, and Redbone will play at 8 p.m. At the
#ower Center, Sunday, January 18.
The Plasm atics
FILMS
Tarzan the Ape Man and Tarzan and His Mate-The first two Tarzan films of
the sound era are the most famous, and probably the best-these, at least,
were expensive productions (albeit with plenty of stock jungle footage)
ather than the usual cheesy one-w~eek-on-the-backlot adventure. Champ
-wimmer Johnny Weissmuller was recruited to play the Ape Man, and the
goings-on in each are as silly and entertaining as they should be. Sunday,
January 18, Ape Man at 7:00, Mate at 9:00, Lorch Hall.
Pance Shorts-At last! The dance and film mediums have always cried out
(or creative melding, but feature films have rarely risen to the opportunity
with much panache. In recent years, experimental filmmakers have begun
to realize the rich possibilities in welding physical and camera movement.;
this program of shorts should be an efficient crossection of achievements ini
the field. Sunday, 7:00 and 9:00, Aud. A
tbesign for Living-Noel Coward's drawing room comedy, rewritten
*somewhat by screenwriter Ben Hecht (who apparently boasted that he'd left
lust one line of genuine Coward in the script, and challenged anyone to find
it) and turned into another stagy but delicately carnal comedy of (bad)
mnanners by Ernest Lubtisch. Frederick March, Miriam Hopkins and Gary
,Cooper (before he became a dull icon for America) star as a wittily uncon--
'cerned menage a trois. With Krazy Kat cartoons. Monday, January 19, 7:00~
-and 9:00, Lorch Ha&
Written on the Wind'and The Tarnished Angels-Finally, an opportunity to
get a first-hand assessment of yet another filmmaker idolized by the
autourists but ignored by everyone else. Douglas Sirk, the director of these
two lavish 1950's sudsers, is in the same class with Samuel Fuller and Don
Siegel as an artist whose works were originally considered average trashy
Hollywood entertainment, but who have been elevated to cult status in
retrospective. Sirk's trademarks are a unique, lush visual imagination and
unusually sensitive characterizations within the bounds of conventional
melodrama. Stop reading about it and judge for yourself. Tuesday, January
20, Written at 7:00, Angels at 9:00, Nat. Sci. Aud.
Lolita-Kubrick's somewhat cleaned-up ve'rsion (through necessity-this
was in 1962) of Vladimir Nabokov's novel goes on too long, losing interest as
it gradually winds down from high comedy to drama and tragedy. But the
first hour, with James Mason's drolly intelligent English author rooming
with horrifying suburban harpy Shelley Winters and being stunned into
submission by her teasing daughter Lolita (played well enough by the too-old
*Sue'Lyons), is wonderfully vicious satire of American life and must be seen.
With Peter Sellers as Quilty. Thursday, January 22, 4:00, 7:00 and 9:45,
Michigan Theatre.
LONNIE BROOKS
Red-hot blues
By FRED SCHILL -
Lonnie Brooks gazed at the audience,
grinning expectantly. "Are we gonna
have a good time tonight?" he asked.
Standard fare, but the Lonnie Brooks
Blues Band was serious, fulfilling their
own prophecy in three frenetic sets of
Chicago blues Wednesday night at
Rick's American Cafe.
Brooks is an impatient man. He wan-
ts to be bluesy fast, none of this messing
around moaning and groaning about it.
Exorcise a few demons, man.
SO BROOKS plays the blues im-
patiently, like a man trying to get it out
of his system before it consumes
him-and more than a little bit like a
man who used to play rock and roll.
Brooks and his band walked a fine line
between the two, providing a textbook
lesson for anyone who is still wondering
where rock and roll came from.
Brooks plays a jumping, foot-
stomping style of blues at a pace that
would stymie a whirling dervish, with a
reckless contagion that makes the
bubonic plague look tame.
In three sets of blues he played one
slow song. One. And even then he filled
all of the spaces with fluid, staccato
guitar runs so his fingers wouldn't get
idle.
BROOKS IS blessed with a gift that
turns a guitar into an extension of his
own mood, which seems always to be at
once joyful and hyperactive. He hovers
over his instrument with a triumphant,
satisfied smile, his solos bursting forth
with a stridency and an urgency that
almost belie any sense of control.
Brooks saved his most innovative
pieces for the end of the sets, par-
ticularly an instrumental that ended
the first set. He went on a musical ex-
pedition in this number, beating the
strings percussion-like with his palms,
picking it with rhythmic choppiness,
producing soulful, reverberating
quavers with one hand tied behind his
back, and resting the guitar on the back
of his head during one solo without bat-
ting an eyelash. He even picked it with
his teeth (move over, Jimi Hendrix).
This was unmistakably blues, but it
was played with a fervor thatwould
disappoint few rockers. Brooks' band
even includes an organist, a rarity
among blues, bands, whose insistent
rhythms added depth to the furor.
IRRESISTABLE as the music was,
Brooks' voice was not.to be forgotten in
the chaos. Higher in pitch than that of
most blues singers, his voice
nonetheless is rich and capable of the
inflectional flexibility essential to a fine
blues singer. His soaring, joyful vocals
in "Sweet Home Chicago" enlivened
that well-worn standard, then took to a
grainier, more expressive texture for
grittier tunes such as "Going Back.to
Louisiana" and "You Know What My
Body Needs."
The show was not entirely without
problems, however. From where I was
sitting, it was frequently difficult to
hear Brooks' voice clearly over the
tumult of the band. The task was
(Upper Level) mun., , mu, *' iU - -
Blues singer Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri 7:40-9:50 Sat Sun, Wed
LonnierSotkSunsWed,1:40-4:40-7:40-9:50 1:05-4:05-7:05-9:30
Broos ONLSUTHERLAND
sometimes even more demanding due -WhatMs able "ATY
to Brooks' propensity to slur some of his to hit abeLTYLER MOORE
vocals during his more abandoned buildings at a
moments. single bound?
By and large, Brooks displayed his- EU EALI
craft with admirable skill that lived up AARMN C U4R
to his billing as one of the finest of the A PARAMOUNT PICTURE a.....& :
Chicago blues aficionados, mixing, '.# c
material of consistent quality fromS - ,&A N
some twenty years and several recor- }A N L T.00
dings worth of blues experience. It's not - -
subtle, but it cannot be resisted. TONITE A T M DNTE .TONITE AT MiDNITE
= His ROY SCHEIDER
the ann arbor
filmcooperativeAre All that
...Hilarious!Cr "
and x rhythm.
TONIGHT TONIGHT
PRESENTS a a:.w..
ERASERHEAD TONITE AT MIDNITE
7 :00& 1040OMLB 4 GILDA RADNER
IT'S ALIVE tstrue what
9:00 MLB 4 they say about
SINGLE FEATURE $2
Double feature: *et$3nen
$3 3 ...
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Join
Ole, DaiIg
Arts Staff
The
Fourth,
cx.,,nn Arbofo~
'Folk Festival
two shows
Sunday January 8
Power Center
2pm
Leon Redbone
Margaret Christi
Michael Cooney
The Henrie Brothers
8pm
Leon Redbone
Andy Breckman
Mick Moloney and
Eugene O'Donnell
Stan Rogers
Tickets are $8.00 for one show and
$13.00 for both shows and go on
sale TODAY at the Michigan Union
THIS
SUINDAY!O
I I
93