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ARTS
The Michigan Daily:,
Tuesday, March 16, 1,982
Page 5
Daily Photo by BRIAN MASCK.
The Hall and Oates concert at Hill Auditorium on Monday night proved that intelligence and success can mix.
Duo make pop
B Mark Dighton
My critic's instinct tells me not to
give Hall and Oates a good review.
They're such easy targets for criticism
that it's almost a knee-jerk reaction.
They're not only lightweight, but
seriously and sincerely lightweight.
Talk about asking for it!
However, I can't help myself. Call
me a sucker if you want, but I liked
their show Sunday night at Hill
Auditorium a lot. Besides just being
cute and nice, which seem the prime (if
not the only) qualifications of most pop
bands, Hall and Oates strike me as one
of the smartest pop bands around, but
smiart in a way that never turns into the
sort of intellectualism that has killed
many a pop band.
Their intelligence ;shows mainly in
their assured familiatity with their
miusical roots and personal strengths.
In a time when most bands care only
about the other bands on the charts and
on the radio, Phil Spector and Smokey
Robinson seem infinitely more real to
Hall and Oates.
But that pop classicist approach
works so well only because they
ingeniously maintain its purity with a
sharp insight into modifyiing it just
enough to fit into modern music patter-
ns. That's why Private Eyes has the
tougher sensibility and high-tech
production that it does. Their softer
love ballads were fine in their time, but
just wouldn't make it these days. So,
they get mean whenever they have
to-just to get the point across, you un-
derstand-but stay nice as much as
possible.
In concert, Daryl Hall (the lanky,
blond one, remember?) shines as the
real crucible for this inventive syn-
thesis. While John Oates' performance
was quite adequate, he simply did not
project vocally or visually the way Hall
did. Daryl Hall is without a doubt one of
the most stunning singer-songwriters of
the day, bar none. The Philly soul
stylings of his vocals are very bit as
proud
light and fluid as Smokey Robinson or
Todd Rundgren at their best. And yet,
at the same time he easily mustered the
raunchy bravado to carry off the James
Brown-"Please Please Please" shtick
in the middle of "Sara Smile." In con-
trast, Oates' rendition of Wilson
Pickett's "Funky Broadway" was
comparatively so forced that it's a bit
rude to mention it.
But while the spotlight was on Darly
Hall, the show never faltered. The guy
is so wonderful that he can get away
with anything, but such a professional
that he never even comes close to
abusing that privilege. The couple of
Oates tunes we heard during the
evening weren't exactly disappinting,
but largely relied on memories of the
vinyl versions to leave much of an im-
pression.
The only time the concert got
seriously off track was during the ex-
tended oldies section where the back-up
musicians got to strut their stuff on
their faves. It seemed like a great idea
at first, showing how much Hall and
Oates appreciated their contribution to
the show. (Nice guys, see.) However,
halfway through this epic ramble I
desperately wanted to hear Hall and
Oates again. By the time we got to the
drummer's song (Oh no, not a drum
solo!), I was fatally bored (and they
were even playing "Wipe Out;" I love
"Wipe Out").
Gradually, though, they won me back
with a couple of slow ones from Hall. By
the time he did the James Brown bit,
the oldies section was just a bad
memory fading fast. Immediately
after "Sara Smile" they launched into
"Private Eyes" and all was instantly
forgiven.
In short, except for that (extended)
indiscretion, Hall and Oates' perfor-
mance Sunday night was flawless in
both attitude and performance. They
are definitely the kind of band that
could make you proud of pop music
again. I went away very happy ... and
they didn't even play my favorite song!
Now that's saying something.
tonight
as electric), and this should be a fine
show. The local band Nada will open the
concert. Tickets are still available at
the Michigan Theatre. Strongly
recommended.
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Festival
By Richard Campbell b
F OR MANY people, the thought ofn
attending a 16mm film festival is
like watching dad's home movies alla
night. But Sunday's winner's night
showed that 16mm is quite capable ofd
going up against anything thata
Hollywood cranks out, and quitee
frequently is on the cutting edge of ther
avant-garde.r
The aspect of the festival that alwaysz
amazes first timers is the consistentlyt
high quality of the entries. By the time
winner's night rolls around, the films1
(many of which do include clips from
dad's home movies) are altogether un-
believable. Enough praise. Here's a
look at Sunday's show:
Winner of the Tom Berman Award,
to the most promising film maker in the
festival, went to An Acquired Taste
(Ralph Arlyck). This fresh, humorous
mini-autobiography reminded me of an
earlier Film Festival winner, Frank
Film. Both films were personal in-
trospections on a life dedicated to
making movies, a life that very well
might be futile. Arlyck visited his high
school to watch the finals of the
cheerleader selections, to his college
fraternity, and to the World Series in
Yankee Stadium to relive boyhood
dreams. The movie was noteworthy for
its amiable style, an individual glimpse
at a filmmaker's life.
Condom Sense (Jim Locker/Steve
Faigenbaum) was a hilarious look at
the serious subject of birth control. It
starred Michael Pritchard as the
ubiquitous, disarming host, who took on
several roles (Condo the Magnificent, a
TV news reporter, etc.) all for the pur-
pose of raising the awareness of males
to this simple method of birth con-
trol-no deposit, no return.
The most bizzare film of the evening
was Songs For Swinging Larvae
(Graeme Whifler). Starting in a distor-
ted kitchen, a three-year-old is kidnap-
Saturday
h ig hlig hts
THOSE ATTENDING Saturday's
7 p.m. session of the Ann Arbor
Film Festival may have been disap-
pointed by a series of original but not
always interesting movies. The evening
started out well enough, but the films
seemed to get worse as time went on.
Some highs and lows:
A Day at the Races: An inspired and
humorous work in which free-falling
skydivers are magically transformed
into airborne racing machines. Com-
plete with vicious competition, smoke-
trailing disasters, and the sound of real
motors. This may be one of the winners.
No Salve: A tryingly intellectual and
dreary excursion into a world of rocks,
monuments, and puddles. Narrated by
a little girl who is at her best reciting
the numerical value of "pi" with ab-
surd accuracy.
No Genital Response: Composed
largely of excerpts from the movies
Bonnie and Clyde and Some Like it Hot.
One can't help thinking it somehow un-
fair that the director didn't come up
with more on his own, but the effect
here is nevertheless both humorousand
disturbing.
Fecundation: Clay-animated
sexuality made effectively painful with
razor blades and lacerations.
Remembrance of a Journey to the
Village: The dullest and, unfortunately,
longest of the bunch. This documentary
of a village in rural Greece deserves
recognition for its technical expertise
and occasional moments of emotional
contact, but nothing else. Pleasant
scenery and music lull you to a peaceful
sleep.
No Action : No action. -Chris Case
The Michigan League's a domain
Where the meals are fit for champagne.
But don't be contrite;
Because the price is just right:
Your wallet will never complain!
D.M.
TheMichigan
L&3 Next to Hill Auditorium
Located in the heart of the campus.
it is the heart of the campus
awards
ped from his obsessed-with-red mother
by a strange hillbilly character. Sorry,
that's as coherent as I can get. Lots of
nice colors, though.
There were several extremely good
animated films at the festival. Com-
muter (Michael patterson), utilizing
drawings based on frames from a live-
action movie, was a visual and aural
examination of the life of every working
man. Flying Fur (George Griffin)
reworked the music to an early "Jaz-
ztoon" replacing the original charac-
ters with a square-headed man, Mickey
Mouse, and a big bad wolf. A
breathtaking look at the world of bike
winners
riding was afforded by Boccioni's Bike.
All of these animated films were
marked for their high production
values and startling art.
A personal favorite of mine was
Strong Willed Women Subdue And Sub-
jugate Reptiles. This film, in brilliant
greens and blues, used a stop-slow-
motion effect to transform footage of
synchronized swimmers and qn
alligator farm into a symphony df
images.
Thanks are due to the Ann Arbor
Film Festival for another wonderful
fest, and kudos to all the entrants fot
their always interesting films.
Lunch 11:30 to 1:15
Dinner 5:00 to 7:15
SPECIAL LOW PRICES FOR
STUDENTS
Send your League Limerick to:
Manager. Michigan League
227 South Ingalls
You will receive 2 free dinner
tickets if your limerick is used in
one of our ads.
i
t
Doily Photo by BRIAN MA5CK
Daryl Hall was definitely the bright spot of the performance.
Bene it concert
Jorma Kaukonen, former lead
guitarist for Jefferson Airplane and Hot
Tuna, will give a benefit performance
for the Military Awareness Coalition
(MAC) at the Michigan Theatre tonight
at 7:30.
Kaukonen and bassist Jack Cassidy
left the San Francisco-based Jefferson
Airplane to form Hot Tuna (originally
named Hot Shit) ower ten years ago. He
recorded his most recent album, Bar-
beque King, with the Vital Parts, and is
currently touring as a solo acoustic act.
All proceeds will go toward MAC
which is also sponsoring a teach-in on
militarism on April 16-17, featuring
keynote speakers. Julian Bond,
Leonard Woodcock, and Michigan State
Representative Perry Bullard. The
teach-in will concern the adverse
political, social, and economic effects
of escalating U.S. militarism.
Kaukonen is generally recognized as
a premier guitarist (on acoustic as well
2nd Annual
LENTEN SERIES OF
BROWN BAG CONCERTS