,A
ARTS
he Michigan Daily
Saturday, October 15, 1983
Patge 5
$y
C
ne s4
vas h(
azz at
Like
)aryl:
erse
ongw
atchy
nusic
rst 40
Whil
njoyi
f thei
ound
'his is
vas ba
11 ver
ougI
Fro
o Go
bviou
roke
ones
oo much of
good thing
Rainbow, but those two were enough.
Mike Drongo wski He then relied on stand-bys such as
"Children of Sanchez" and "Chase the
LLOWING A performance by Clouds Away," which was fine, because
huck Mangione Thursday night, his earlier works were (at one time)
eemingly satisfied concert-goer good songs, and they 'were probably
eard to say, "Now that is formula what the majority of the audience wan-
its finest." I suppose this is true. ted to hear anyway.
his counterpart in pop music,
Hall, Mangione is a master of the The only departure was a song called
-refrain-solo-refrain style of "Freddy's Walkin'," a gospel com-
riting. Pleasant melodies and position dedicated to Mangione's god-
hooks abound, and this kind of son who overcame cerebal palsy. Sung
is very pleasant to listen to-the by bassist Gordon Johnson, the song
00 times. proved that Mangione is capable of
more original songwriting, but he
le Daryl Hall and John Oates are seems too deeply tracked in "writing
ng new success via the diversity and performing the kind of music he
r latest album, H20, Mangione's wants to do."
has not changed in ten years.
not to say that the performance Rather than extend himself and ex-
ad (Mangione and the Quartet are periment with new musical styles,
y fine musicians), but come on, Chuck Mangione continues to write and
h is enough. Perform "formula jazz." Although this
idea may have been taken to the ex-
m the opening medley of "Feels treme of late, his music remains inof-
od" and other familiar hits, it was fensive and listenable, and Mangione
us that no new ground was to be continues to reach an unusually diverse
n. Mangione played only two audience. Apparently Chuck Mangione
from his new album Journey to is doing something right.
Daily Photo by JEFF
Mangione blows too many familiar notes for the crowd at Hill Auditorium Thursday night. Nonetheless they were satisfied with the hour-and-a.
performance.
Mission impossible for
By Larry Dean
YOU MISSED it. If you're reading
this, the chances are 70 to 80% that
you missed it. And missing it might
have been the best decision you could
have made - or maybe not. It all
depends on what else a Thursday night
in Ann Arbor in mid-October had to of-
fer you.
The show at Joe's with Rhode Islan-
der's Plan 9 and locals Map of the
World couldn't have been everyone's
cup of tea. But it definitely was the kind
of concert where a certain opening up of
the mind was required in order to sit
back and enjoy: an opening that, like
revolving doors, makes way for an en-
dless series of similar openings. No
revelations here, I'm afraid...jus'
plain...exhibitionism.
What can I say? I anticipated some
"serious" revivalism from Plan 9. In-
stead, the audience was treated with a
review a-la Beatlemania - in this case,
better dubbed the Shadows of Knight-
mania, or Iron Butterfly-mania. Eight
bodies crammed onto Joe's' stage,
plugged in (all save one), and went at it
with a casual unseriousness that took
even the most bigoted musical-minds
by surprise. This wasn't
everyday music, but framed on a stage
- put into that eternally-powerful stan-
ce of "(the) performer(s)" - Plan 9
was an enjoyable experience.
For the most part, Plan 9 worked.
Leader Eric Stumpo, embodying the
spirits of great fretboard-meanderers
like Lesley West and Jerry Garcia,
sang like a world-weary Dr:.John and
tore through solos faster than Tony
Iommi. Stumpo shared the spotlight
with bassist John Florence, who never
once opened his eyes on stage, played
amazing basslines, and swayed like
some ceremonial dancer in an aban-
doned Edward P. Wood Egyptian epic.
If anyone embraced the Plan 9
philosophy fully, it was Florence.
Michael Ripa shook a mean tam-
bourine, sang back-up and lead, and
contributed guitar on-occasion; with
his bald head and goutee, he acted as
visual counterpoint to Stumpo. These
three completed the line-up in front.
But one cannot forget organist Deborah
DeMarco, whose hair obscured her
features, but not her keyboard playing.
She provided a near-continual drone
that weighted the music down to one
wet heap of sound.
By the middle of their second set -
and after what may be the best Plan 9
tune, "Five Years Ahead of My Time"
- the music got to be dull, the solos
doubly-tedious; the affect was wearing-
off. Sometimes too much of a good thing
can be a drag, and here I think Plan 9
finally spread themselves out too thin.
I would sum up Plan 9 with this ditty
spoken to me in the midst of their-
second set by a valued friend who often
understands life's more weighty mat-
ters. "They're the best thing since
mayonnaise: you can take 'em or leave
'em on your sandwich." Words of
wisdom I'm sure E.P. Wood and the
tradition of music and celluloid he in-
spired would heartily accept.
The opening act for Plan 9 was Map of
the World, who gig quite a lot in this
area, and for good reason: they're an
excellent, five-piece band with a grip on
PI~
Plan 9
eclecticism and catchiness that won't
let go. in other words, they're great
listening without having to sacrifice in-
tegrity.
Their set before Plan 9 encompassed
the gamut of their career so far. From
the funky ""Dislocation" to their
almost-classic "Monkey Paw" to the
perennial-closer, "Stop Thinking
Now," they played their thoughtful,
spunky compositions with an unusual
amount of gusto.- unusual in thatnmre
bands should "kick it out" like 1 ap.
does.
Fronted by vocahist Sophia Hnifif
and vocalist/guitarist Khalid Hanifi,
who shares most of the songwriting
duties, and ably-backed by, Ted
Sylvester on drums, Laurie Wechter on
keyboards, and Mike Stander on bass,
Map of the'World are a rarity in theAnn
Arbor scene in that they work hard and
keep improving, meanwhile sounding
better and better. All uneducated ears
out there - take note, and see Map of
the World: a uniquely punchy listening
experience.)
Daily Photo by RENEE FREIER
Plan 9 tries to rescue an almost-failed mission Thursday night at Joe's.
Records
Wide Boy Awake-Slang
Teacher (RCA)
Right now I'm listiening to what
RCA has called a "specially priced
ini LP." This is to make you think
ou are getting more for your money.
Don't be fooled. It plays as long as any
EP. But you do play it at 33. Oh well.
Enough of the particulars.
Well, don't be scared of the ridiculous
looking cover. I'm sure the band didn't
mean to look so dopey. Blame the
photographer. Anyhow. I'll tell you
this right now-if you like to dance, buy
this record. If you like the latest in
British pop music, especially the new
folksy influences, buy this record. If
you want to add another silly looking
band to your already inundated collec-
tion, buy this record. What's par-
ticularly neat about this mini LP is that
they put two major singles on it with
three other strong tunes besides.
That's nice. That's economical!
Both "Slang Teacher" and "Chicken
Outlaw" have reached minor but inten-
se cult status, and "Slang Teacher" has
been a regular on Detroit's WLBS
playlist. "Slang Teacher" is a fantastic
dance tune. Also sounds great mixed
with shriekback's "All Lined Up."
"Whooping on the Roof" is a cute dit-
ty, vaguely reminiscent of Squeeze in
their "Cool for Cats" phase. "Bona
Venture" sounds like a cross between
West Virginian folk music and the scat-
tered missives of a teen. I really like
that one!
All in all, I think this is a really fun ef-
fort on the part of Wide Boy Awake, Yes
that's Wide Boy A wake. I hope you
enjoy it.
- Melissa Bryan
r
rm MMOI
I ANN ARBOR I
$2.00 WED. SAT. SUN SHOWS BEFORE 6 PM
EXCEPT "NEVER" $3.00
11
INDIVIDUAL THEATRES
5th Ave o lberty 761-9700
OCTOBER SPECIAL
(S
Faculty, University
and Student Prices
ASPAN CONNERY
is JAMES BOND in
DOLBY STEREO Q PG
MON. 7:20, 9:10
SAT. SUN. 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:20, 9:10
'
Your own MTS Station
$1895 Complete.
Price includes Amigo Person-
al computer, Two Disk drives
400kb (800kb Optional,
MTS/MCP software CP/M,
GSX-80 and C BASIC..
And 300 Baud modem.
With 1200 Baud Modem, $2125
Now you can log on the Mich-
igan terminal system where
you want, when you want.. .
No more waiting in line to
you can have access to the
full resources of the Michigan
Terminal System from the
convenient location of your
choice. Choose a 300 or 1200
baud modem from our stock
and MTS is only a phone call
away.
,
ACADEMY AWARD WINNER
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
gA aa a al w mm. _
Also: Complete bundel
system $2492
800 KB Disk
MTS/MCP
Woodstar Moilmerge
I
I