ARTS
The Michigan Daily
Friday, April 9, 1982
.t
Page 5
-.
Clubs/Bars
The Ark (1421 Hill; 761-1451)
Vocalist Spider John Koerner sings
ragtime and blues tonight and
tomorrow at The Ark. He hasn't
been to Ann Arbor in a long time,
and probably won't be back for quite
a while. That's if nobody shows up.
The Blind Pig (208 S. First; 996-8555)
If you are into country rockabilly,
then The Blind Pig is the place to be
Friday and Saturday evenings when
George Bedard and the Bonnevilles
perform
Halfway Inn (Church Street entran-
ce to East Quad; 764-8558)
Local rock 'n' roll with Gary Pryka
and theScales.
of nights before hitting the road,
again.
Second Chance (516 E. Liberty; 994-
5350)
'60s rock with Steve King and the
Dittilies through Sunday night. On
Tuesday, the Chance hosts Detroit's
oldest new wave band, the Mutants.
Why this band has never landed a
major record company recording
contract is beyond me. Humorous,
danceable. Don't miss.
University Club (Michigan Union,
530 S. State; 763-5911)
Jazz, tonight only, with Ronald
Shannon Jackson and the Decoding
Society. See story below.
Theater
Creative Ensemble
Wine in the Wilderness, a drama
by Aliss Childress, continues at the
Canterbury Loft. Tonight's and
Saturday's performances are at 8
p.m.; Sunday's is at 3 p.m. For more
information call 665-0606.
Common Ground Theater
At Second Sight; an anthology of
four pieces from Common Ground's
touring repertory show, examines a
male's position in modern society.
Included is an adaptation of a selec-
tion from Rita Mae Brown's
Rubyfruit Jungle; Manifest, a dance
set to the-reading of a poem; and two
other poems, Marge Percy's Low
Road, Vand Dorothy. Parrish's
Brother, Can You Deal with a
Sister are read. The performance
is Saturday, 8:30 p.m. at Schorling
Auditorium. For more information
call 994-5455.
-compiled by Michael Huget
and Richard Campbell
The Police: Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers. Daily Photo by BRIAN MASCK
Polk*
Joe's Star Lounge (109 N. Main; 665-
JOES)
This week it is Joe's turn to host the
Orbations, the hotest band around.
Sizzling, danceable rhythm and
blues originals and covers.
Mr. Flood's Party (120 W. Liberty;
995-2132)
More danceable rhythm and blues
with Blue Front Persuaders tonight
and tomorrow.
Rick's American Cafe (611 Church;
996-2747)
Dick Siegel and the Ministers of
Melody are back in town for a couple
By Michael Huget
P RETENTIOUS CRITICS' assess-
ments aside, the Police concert at
Crisler Arena was bland. Of course,
they played all of their cute little pop
hits, and they sounded nice, but
something was lacking.
Maybe it was that the Police seemed
to ignore interpretation, choosing in-
stead to reproduce rather staid ver-
sions of their hits. Songs, I might add,
that I have come to accept as quality
pop tunes. (I always liked the way they
could wrap. cute pop hooks around a
subdued reggae beat, being the sucker
that I am for catchy-riffs-with-
meaningless-lyrics).-
The problem, I guess,is that as soon
as I started liking the straight-ahead,
rock-reggae sound of Outlando
d'Amour and Reggatta de Blanc, they
smooth over the hard edges and fill in
the gaps with horns and synthesizers. I
appreciate change, but prefer innovative
growth.
In concert, it is really hard to find
many technical flaws in their individual
performing. Sting, Andy Summers, and
er Stewart Copeland are all flawless
er, musicians, and all three gave un-
nd marred performances Wednesday,
evening. Drummer Copeland was
n- steady, never rushing the pace, which
ed is crucial for a three-piece band.
he As a group, bassist Sting and
)r- Copeland form a cohesive rhythm sec-
d, tion, never over-indulging themselves
in in the beat, just laying it down clean
and hard. Together, they successfully
seize and combine rock's energy and
reggae's nuances.
The annoyances' stemmed from
Summer's infatuation with his own role
in the band. He generally preferred to
remain over on his portion of the stage,
seldom venturing about and letting
himself enjoy the music and crowd
response. He repeatedly changed
guitars and ran licks through Marshall
amps, varying the mix in an attempt to
create a slightly . disparate sound-a
penchant similar to an adolescent's
beguin with masturbation. Unfor-
tunately, Summer's homogenized
chording, although vital to the band's
ethereal sound, often buried funky,
danceable beats, especially on "Bring
On the Night." If Sting's vocals were as
weak as they are thin and lilting, the
lyrics would have been inaudible. Only
songs that rely on creating an eerie at-
mosphere ("Invisible Sun") were ac-
ceptable for much of Summers perfor-
ming.
Fortunately, Sting is the group's fron-
tman and seems less concerned with
celebrating professionalism - without
sacrificing it - than with pure en-
joyment of. the music and transferring
that feeling to the audience. But his
boyish exuberance on stage has some
inherent contradictions with the lyrics
and between song attitudinizing. It's
hard to take anthemizing - "On.e
World (Not Three)" for instance - or
between songs "Fuck off, Argentines"
seriously when a clean-cut-kid-next-
door-type who wouldn't get mad at
tcut~e
anyone }s doing the professing.
But Sting's obvious enjoyment does
little to transform album material into
a quality live show. The songs you like
on the album, you will like in concert,
and with the Police, that means most
will like the show. But good live bands
have the unique ability to make you like
songs you couldn't stand to listen to on
vinyl. Not the Police.
Uncategorizable jazz
375 N MAPLE Aduli $3.50
7691300 chid $200o
in MAPLE VILLAGE SHOPPING CENTE R BARGAIN Before 6PM MON thru FRI
MATTI 2, Before 3PM SAT ndSUN
1. '
aS
66a
10-
Jerry Brabenec
.T HAS BEEN called punk jazz, free
electric dance music, harmolodic
funk. It is the newest sub-genre in jazz,
combining the rock beats and elec-
trQnics of jazz fusion with the nervous
textures of Ornette Coleman's free
jazz. Having served apprenticeships
with Cecil Taylor and Coleman and
recorded two influential albums with
his. own band, drummer Ronald Shan-
non: Jackson has emerged as the
leading proponent of this exciting new,
music. Tonight Eclipse Jazz brings:
Jackson and his band the Decoding
Society. to the University Club in the
Michigan Union.
kaeson was born in Fort Worth,
Texas, (home of Coleman and Dewey
Bkdman) in 1940. -He played drums in
the high school band and went on to
study music at Lincoln University in
Jefferson City, Missouri in 1958, where
his classmates included John. Hicks,
Julius Hemphill, Lester Bowie, and
Oliver Nelson. Playing in regional bands
until 1966, Jackson moved to New York
City, where he soon played his first
recording session with Charles Tyl(
and went on to play with Albert Ayle
Charles Mingus, McCoy Tyner, ar
Betty Carter.
Jackson really began to attract atte
tion in the late '70s when he join(
Taylor's band, inspiring some of tl
rather cryptic pianist's finest perfo
mances. Moving on to Coleman's ban
Prime Time, Jackson was immersed
the saxophonist/composer's style at
time when Coleman's prestige and i
fluence were at their zenith. Colema
hasn't released any new records in
couple of years, but Jackson ar
another Coleman, protege, guitari;
James Blood Ulmer, have taken plac
at the forefront of innovative jazz wi
their continuing record and conce
work.
Describing this music is not easy, bi
local jazz fans who were on hand to s(
Coleman's show at the Power Cent(
last month will know what to expect. A
exciting for its inherent possibilities a
for its electric sound and polyrhythm
drive, this is the funk of the future. A
Jackson says, "I play rhythms and 1
the rhythms create the time itself."
46-
a
th
rt
it
ic
et
FRI AT1 8,L(or Bunthorne's Bride
TI presented by
The University of Michigan
Gilbert and Sullivan Society
April 14, 15, 16 17 1982
'_l dia Mendelssohn Theater
I
For ticket information call 761-7855
. . Z /
diS. rr +n.. ..+... .n.
MELVIN SIMON PRODUCTIONS/ASTRAL BELLEVUE PATHE INC. Present BOB CLARK'S "PORKY'S
KIM CATTRALL-SCOTTCOLOMBY-KAKI HUNTER-ALEX KARRAS as TheShef
SUSAN CLARK as Cherry Forever Executive Producers HAROLD GREENBERG and MELVIN SJMON
Produced by DON CARMODY and BOB CLARK Wntten and Directed by BOB CLARK