The Michigan Daily Wednesday, November 19, 1980 Page5 As solid as a rock By MICHAEL KREMEN Rockpile (Dave Edmunds and Billy Bremner, guitars; Nick Lowe, bass; ;Terry Williams, drums), is a very efficient mobile, music machine. A sleek, four cylinder unit, Rockpile's modular construction permits them to create a surprisingly diverse range of music from a very basic, beat-combo con- struct. Rockpile's 3 guitar front isn't a configuration I associate with sonic and stylistic diversity. 'The presence of three lead vocalists as well as two flexible guitarists capable of both solid rhythm accompaniment and con- trasting lead attacks expands the parameters that normally limits genre- combos like this one. They also succeed in imparting an overall "Rockpile" flavor to a diverse repertoire which consists of rock 'n roll oldies, obscure and not-so-obscure, as well as familiar-sounding originals friom the bitch- witty pen of Nick Lowe. SUNDAY NIGHT'S performance at Harpo's, a large Rockclub on Detroit's Eastside, was a triumph from stem to stern. They began with the pop-a-billy of "Sweet Little Lisa" with Dave Edmunds taking the vocal, as he would on all of the first-generation-rock style tunes. Even better was "A Knife and a Fork," from the new Seconds of Pleasure LP, which is about a woman whose fondness for food is jeopardizing her physical attrac- tiveness. Dave possesses a trebly baritone that evokes Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers, while fellow guitarist Billy Bremner is available to provide the necessary hi-whiny harmonies to complete the picture. Nick Lowe was surprisingly reticent, apparently content to sing a few songs and help to anchor the beat. Lowe's vocal contributions on his own compositions like "Switchboard Susan", "So It Goes" and "They Call It Rock" were so tasty I wanted to hear more from him. These four distinguished gentlemen comprise Rockpile-drummer Terry Williams, bassist Nick Lowe, guitarists Dave Edmunds and Billy Bremner. They pat on is hot show of traditional, heartfelt rock and roll on the Detroit stop (at Harpo' of their curenta tor ,.: ',,w V . When Lowe is center, the character of the band is altered, shifting to a mid-1960s second-generation pop. Two strong songs in this vein from the new LP, "Teacher, Teacher" and "Heart" (a Lowe original), were perfor- med tonight. On the former, the jaded Mr. Lowe manages to actually sound innocent and wistful as he urges his Teacher, Teacher to instruct him in mat- ters amorous. On "Heart", a rocking 60s re-creation, we find the key keyboard riff from The Chiffons' "One Fine Day" colliding with the drum and cymbal intro from the early Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love" to create an instantly familiar and memorable hook that is carried to its scrat- chy conclusion by sparkling work from Dave Edmunds. Concentrating on the bass strings, Dave sounded like Duane Eddy at the service of an instant tangy-pop classic in the mode of Nick's AM radio success, "Cruel to Be JKind", curiously not performed tonight. FURTHER VOCAL variety was provided by Billy BremneO, Rockpile's "other" guitarist-vocalist, who communicated a charming exuberance on Carlene Carter-Lowe's "Cry", a country inflected song that is quite reminiscent of George Jones' "Why Baby Why". He also delivered the requisite rockabilly energy to Lowe's "You Ain't Nothing But Fine", also from the new LP. The presence of Bremner should not be underestimated. As an excellent rhythm player, he allows Edmunds total melodic freedom. He is also a terse soloist whose lead style complements Lowe's mid-60s stylistic plundering. On "What Did I Do Last Night", a rockabilly raver, Bremner and Edmunds each took sub-compact solos, providing maximum variety while still satisfying this mainstream.crowd's guitar hunger. Drummer Terry Williams is an aggressive but tasteful (yes, it's possible) rock and roll drummer whose explosive snare sound guarantees that there is no danger of lethargy on the front line. The drum sound was superb and all rresponsible are to be congratulated. In sum, no real complaints except that Lowe, Edmunds and Co. have recorded so many great songs, I would have liked them to perform more, more, more. Until they return, I recommend listening to their excellent new recording. FELD CO. RETURNS Music realized in dance By AUDREY KRASNOW One can dance to music, but, in dan- cing, to become the music is a magical transformation. Classical ballet is often too structured and modern dance is frequently too concerned with its message to facilitate such a transfor- mation. Fortunately, Eliot Feld skillfully combines the techniques from all areas of dance so that the dancer is free to transcend whatever limits any one aspect of dance may impose and "become" the music. Feld's choreographic instinct, coupled with his company of talented dancers, produced a truly magical concert Mon- .day night. This opening night of The Feld Ballet's three-night run at Power Cen- ter presented a combination of both the old and new works, spanning eleven years of choreography. Each of the three dances were quite distinct in design and intent, yet they shared cer- tain qualities of "contemporary ballet"-a term often used to charac- terize Feld's work. Contemporary ballet is basically ballet technique that does not adhere to the conventional structure of classical ballet; it is traditional ballet technique infused with modern dance and jazz. This frequently means jazz with pointe, shoes; however,Feld's fusion of the three styles of dance results in jazz isolation of movement with ballet poses, modern feel for the earth with classic leaps, and seemingly classical ballet with dazzling jazz swings. CONSISTENT WITH this concept of contemporary ballet was Anatomic Balm,a 1980 work and a fascinating study of patterns. Danced to a selection of ragtime music, as recorded by violinist Paul Zukofsky and pianist Peter Longiaru, the piece was marked by repetition of jazz shoulder rolls and wave-like body movements. It was. danced by 12 women who originally worked in groups of three, weaving in and out of each other, single members of one. group acting in concert with a different threesome to create a cap- tivatiig body of movement. Throughout the seven part dance, the feel of the bluesy, often lazy, ragtime, was con- veyed by rolling isolations and effective use of turned-out and parallel leg progressions. Christine Sarry, listed as "assistant to Mr. Feld," has been dancing with Feld since he founded his first company, Ameri- can Ballet Company, in 1969. She has been praised as one who dances Feld's creations the best. Undeniably, Sarry emerged as the "prima ballerina" of the concert, though whether this is due to her admittedly impressive talent or the fact that'she danced a majority of the leading and most personable parts is undeterminable. Her two solos in Anatomic Balm clearly evidenced that she does have a special feel for the dance and the music, and the dance and music as one. Her special ability was particularly showcased by the ragtime violin which she effectively embodied, rising and falling in perfect unison with its every slide. ANOTHER 1980 piece, Scenes For The Theatre, followed Anatomic Balm. Set to Aaron Copland's "Music for the Theatre," this dance seemed a lot more of a "slice of life" theatre piece than a dance, per se. It depicted Depression- era life through five vignettes. Rather than traditional dance clothes, the dan- cers wore street clothes, as they assumed the various roles, from Rich and His Wife to Workers and Stripper. Given the limitations of the real-life costumes and the Depression at- mosphere, the dancing was not ex- plosive, but slower-paced and often very erotic. Eliot Feld himself danced the flashiest part as the City Slicker, leaping, sliding and dancing cheek to cheek with the Glamour Puss. Challenging Feld and all others for the spotlight was The Rich Man and His Wife's Dog - a standard-size black poodle. Never has a person so convin- cingly portrayed a poodle. Prancing, squatting, scratching and especially going to the bathroom (numerous times), the poodle was startlingly believable. The final dance, Intermezzo, was created by Feld in 1969. It has been hailed as one of his best works, and deservedly so. As part of the overall concert, it provided a dramatic change. Pianist Peter Longiaru played Brahms on a grand piano placed on stage. The costumes were in classical ballet tradition, with the women in layers of chiffon and the men in tights and velvet tunics. It was a pas de six, which was mostly comprised of classical ballet movements-women on'pointe assisted by men in turns and various holds. Yet. perhaps as a result of the beautifully played Brahms and the special rapport between each couple, a certain magic seemed to build. As each couple per- formed rotating pas de deux, they became increasingly integrated into the music. The music twinkled playfully and the dancers danced playfully, one man throwing a kiss to the audience. And, as the music crescendoed, the couples performed dazzling holds and throws, all within the classical ballet traditions. The dan- cers were caught up in the music and became the music. The only low point came when one male dancer, while swinging his partner, unfortunately, swung too low, causing her to smash her foot on the stage. Though this tem- porarily broke the momentum of the dance, it was quickly regained. The concert ended on an utterly en- chanting note, as all three couples came to rest, delicately ending their movement as the music, too, came to rest. Although Feld has been criticized for overly repeating a certain movement throughout a dance and for not allowing such dances as Scenes From the Theatre to break character and burst with excitement, these com- plaints do not suggest any major flaws. His purpose is to convey an idea or feeling, and he is successful. His repetition and consistency help forge the dancer and music into one. And that's the magic. the ann arbor film cooperative TONIGHT TONIGHT presents t THE MAN WHO FELL. TO EARTH 7.008 9:30 DAVID BOWIE, CANDY CLARK, BUCK HENRY star. In 35mm stereo. AUD. A, ANGELL HALL ADMISSION: $2 C Inema'11 presents WOMAN IN THE DUNES (Hiroshl Teshigahara, 1964)* This film represents the most significant trend in Japanese filmmaking in the last two decades. It is a haunting allegory, probing fundamental questions of existence and the meaning of freedom. A strange, exotic tale about an en- tomologist on a remote beach who is trapped into living with a woman ifs a deep sand pit, it is a moving representation of a man's forced search for self. Japanese, with subtitles. (123 min.) Wed., Nov. 19 - MLB (not Angell as listed in schedule) 7:00 & 9:15-$2.00 THE LONG GOODBYE (Robert Altman, 1973) In Altman's version of the Raymond Chandler novel, Elliott Gould plays Philip Marlow, adrift in the chaos and corruption of modern Los Angeles as he attem- pts to clear a dead friend's memory of the charge of murder. Gould is, in some ways, an anti-Bogart, bumbling and clumsy, but like Bogart, his inherent romanticism and moral code force him to search out the truth. (112 min.) 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