,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. 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