ARTS

Friday, February 12, 1982

The Michigan Daily


Local bands
at StateHouse

Tom Mahard and Paul Eblan: Kit Carson and Joe in
'The Time of Your Life'.
Only afair time at
Time of Your Life'

By Bethany Raines
T HE WORD is out about The
StateHouse-Ann Arbor's latest
music hall, where students and com-
munity people of all ages are flocking
every weekend. The Cult Heroes
videotaped record release party this
Friday night celebrating their new
single "American Story"/"Don't Like
It" may be a major attraction, but the
unique StateHouse's alternative to the
"bar scene" is their ultimate draw.
For 16-year-old Keir Murray, The
StateHouse is a Rock'n'Roll fantasy
come true. "My friends and I have been
waiting for a place like this to hear
bands we could only hear on tape."
LSA Juniors, who asked not to be
identified, "love the casual, less gamey
atmosphere than your typical bar and
of course the music!"
For bands like The Cult Heroes "it's
the only place for us to play our original
music and have a wild time on weeken-
ds," vocalist Hiawatha said.
Bands like The Cult Heroes can play
Second Chance and The Ann Arbor-
Detroit corridor, but neophyte bands
just starting out in town-like Service
and Sewers of Paris, sans musical
reputations-are delighted to have a
place to be heard. It also allows them to
avoid dealing with musical politics in-
volved with club bookings.
Jaded by the local bar scene, where
"liquor reigns and the entertainment is
merely a sideline," Art Tendler, State
Band guitarist and StateHouse
organizer, worked out a deal with his
open-minded landlord to produce live
music events. December 5 marked
their first show featuring legendary
Destroy All Monsters. The performan-
ces are open to all ages and showcase
local bands.
.LIFT
SOMEONE'S
~SPIRIT
4 FEB. 14
with FLOWERS
and VBALLOONS
from University
fower Shop, Inc
7 Nickels Arcade
665-6037
668-8096
~y

"We're here to further the cause of
presenting the best rockers Ann
Arbor has to offer," Tendler said.
"With more local bands recording and
See ALTERNATIVES, Page 8
The 80's are already
happening ... every weekend
at THE STATE HOUSE
416 W. Huron, 1 block west
of The Wiffletree
761-2110
TONITE
HEROS
record release party
for their new 45,
3m American Story b/w
.J Don't Like It.
Show to be videotaped
with special guests,
V Service and Dead 80's.
Doors open at 9, $3.50 adm.
Sat. NITE-
The SEWERS of PARIS


By Elliot Jackson

PERHAPS I should begin this
review by praising the set for The
Time of Your Life as one of the most
beautiful and lovingly-crafted I have
ever seen. Immediately as I walked in
and beheld it, I was,, expecting good
things from this production..
And good things I got, although I still
don't know why I liked it. The pathos
came through more or less on the right
ote. For example, the moment when
oor, unattractive Lorene (Natalie
Grinblatt), hopeful for perhaps the first
time in her life, enters in search of the
man who has romanced her over the
telephone, and leaves having spoken to
himn and not found him. Very affecting.
The comedy is, for the most part,
handled well. The scene in which the
Society Gentleman and lady, exten-
sions of ourselves, look on as Joe (Paul
Eblen) and Tom (Greg Jbara) gravely
ttempt to converse whilst ,stuffing
more and more gum into their mouths
(and to the actor's credit, both manage
to make themselves understood), is the
funniest part of the whole show. The
play is made up of these tiny tragedies
and comedies, which in their turn make
up the time of our lives, and in this
production they are well-realized
moments.

And yet-and yet-much as I liked
the production, valiantly as I thought
Jim Martin and cast had striven on its
behalf, there remains in my mind a
lingering pall over what went on.
Perhaps Saroyan himself sums up my
objection most neatly in his preface to
the play: "Ignore the obvious, for it is
unworthy of the clear eye and the kini-
dly heart", or to make it apply, "Resist
the obvious interpretation, for it is un-
worthy of the clear eye and the discer-
ning mind."
It seemed to me that the obvious in-
terpretation-dispensing with the
characters' complexity, and latching
onto their most readily apparent aspec-
ts-is the one glaring fault of this
production. All the characters suffer
upon occasion from the unfortunate
lapse, but it is most evident in the han-
dling of Kitty, Kit Carson, and the most
unfortunate of all, Joe.
Kitty (Dominique Lowell) was ac-
tually quite appealing, and I would
have enjoyed Miss Lowell's perfor-
mance very much if I had not had such
enormous difficulty believing that this
fluffy, wistful little girl could possibly
be a whore. Kitty's fragility and
vulnerability were very evident, and
poignant, but I imagined somehow a
harder, more suspicious character. If
she had been defensive rather than

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n MAPLE VILLAGE SHOPPING CENTER 769-1300
I BARGAIN SHOWS $2.50 Before 6 PM Mon-Fri Before 3 PM Sat-Sun

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When Charlie Smith went
down to the border,
he found more than
a line between
Texas and Mexico.

He found a line
within himself.

3:051
5:15

METKU-GULWYN MAYER Presents
A MICHAEL PHILLIPS Production of A DAVID S. WARD Film
NICK NOLTE DEBRA WINGER JOHN STEINBECK'S CANNERY ROVE:
Srrina Al IDRA I.INDUIFV rnifi-d. hflIOHN HI STlNN s iAK NIT7CWIP

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