4 ARTS The Michigan Daily Sunday, January 15, 1984 Page 5 h. Hot time in the ol' town By Bill Orlove T IS A frigid January in downtown Ann Arbor these days but at Rick's American Cafe last Friday and Satur- day night, it felt as if we were in a hop- pin' Chicago bar where the heat was supplied by the fiery sounds of the Son Seals Band. Before Son hit the stage, his band got to business and put the audience in the right mood for the show. The group, consisting of Laurie Bell on rhythm and lead guitar, bassist Nick Charles, Carl Shneider on keyboards and drummer Clyde Tyler, proved to be a tight combo even without Seals. The blues in- strumentals and songs that the band pumped out, primarily driven by Shneider's rollicking organ and Bell's mad strumming, got the crowd up on its feet and dancing. When Son finally did appear from behind the stage to grab his guitar, the dance floor was full of people. And that was the way it was throughout the en- tire show. One of the elements that makes Son such a fantastic performer is not only his over abundance of talent but his style of playing. It seems as if the man was born with a guitar in his hand. He just picks up the instrument and plays it as if it was second nature to him. Although he plays his guitar quite laid- back and easy going, the man is serious about the music he is playing. The solos he performs are effortless yet tough-as- nails as his hands ramble up and down the fret board. And backed with the solidarity and unquestionable talent of his band, Seals can switch from song to song witp ease and without long pauses. Throughout the show, that lasted for more than two hours, the Son Seals Band played nothing more than first rate, top-notch, danceable blues. Each musician played with all of his soul and tremendous vitality. No matter who was soloing in a particular song, the remainder of the band would give the soloist full room to do his own thing while playing the rhythm of the song as a solidified unit. And the crowd kept calling for more. A reviewer's words can only go so far and only say so much. The real proof of a band's talent and energy can only be experienced live. Son and his band are one of only a handful that truly fits the above statement. MUSKET ANNOUNCES ITS WINTER PRODUCTION: ,%C 0ic.J /I I THE FOLLOWING STAFF POSITIONS ARE AVAILABLIEIMMEDIATELY: -lighting designer --stage manager -set designer -sound engineer -technical director -make-up designer -promotions director Daily Photo by DEBORAH LEWIS The sizzling sounds of Son Seals and his band made Rick's one hot place on a cold Friday night. Guitarist Laurie Bell (above) jams the night away, lending credence to the old saying, "all you need is a little help from your friends." Applications are available in the UAC OFFICES on the second floor of the MICHIGAN UNION CALL 763-1107 or stop by. Born to play By Joseph Kraus OME PEOPLE are just plain built to do what they do. For instance Dr. J just plain looks like a basketball player and Mick Jagger just plain looks like a rock star. Well, Dave Van Ronk was just plain built to be a blues guitarist. His right shoulder is bigger than his left and so it forms a pocket just the right size for a guitar. His face is weather-beaten and he looks like he's paid his dues, and his voice is raspy enough to turn the hap- piest song into the blues. Van Ronk was at the Ark on Friday, and while he put on a good show there were a few flaws. The music was, of course, fantastic. He did some folk tunes and a little jazz, but the bulk of the evening was devoted to the blues: Van Ronk's.blues are sim-. ply amazing. He can make you feel A single note somewhere in your spine and then move it up, down, or both ways at once. In talking about the sources for most of his blues, Van Ronk cited Josh White, Jellyroll Morton and Leadbelly as his greatest adolescent influences. He said he'd first begun to play the guitar when he was only 13 or 14 years old. "Jazz was what I was interestedi then...I started out learning o ds." Van Ronk said he learned al late that the great bluesme youth were accessible. "I ne Lead(belly), he died in 1949." However, as he became mor his art, he began to approach its stars. "I met Gary Dav on...," he said, and it was fro that Van Ronk learned "Coca arrangement of which has countless musicians to perf song. Among these musiciansI Jackson Browne, who recorde Ronk-inspired arrangement Running on Empty LP. One of the songs Van Ronk pe was an original composition a Gaslight, a Greenwich Villagef where he had performed wi major artists from the folk re the early '60s. "I wrote that s rare fit of nostalgia back about ago," said Van Ronk. In th "(Bob) Dylan sang Bach, (Ph lines all scanned... and Pogo (T ton) was buying the next r beers." In talking about the folk rev Ronk said, "It was an abno unusual time, but I didn't feel time...I was surprised it lasted as it did." the blues in back Although Van Ronk never received ff recor- the commercial success of many of the other "folksies," he denies em- most too phatically that he feels at all cheated. n of his His own recording career, although not ver met particularly lucrative, has seen 14 or 15 records, with yet another "in the can." e sure of As for the flaws in his performance, some of they weren't fatal, just a trifle annoying 'is early since they interfered with such a talen- m Davis ted performer. For one thing, he stop- ine," his ped four or five times in the midst of in- inspired teresting patter to retune his guitar. orm the Obviously the man has to have his has been guitar in tune, but it broke the rhythm ed a Van of the show and made the first set hard on his to follow. The only other flaw, which might rformed even be interpreted as a compliment, bout The was that the show seemed short. It was folk club as if the second set had barely started th other when it ended, but the hands on the evival of clock had chocked off another hour. ong in a As for his plans, Van Ronk has the 15 years new album coming out, but he said he he song, hasn't decided which label will get the il) Och's "...honor of losing its shirt." He's also Pom Pax- thinking about pulling together an Off- ound of Broadway show about the life of Bertolt Brecht, but plans there are also vague. ival Van In assessing his career so far, Van )rmal or Ronk said, "I'm in an ongoing career so at the and I have to tend to it...I never thought d as long of it as anything more than a way to make a living - I was right." I Records Tom Waits 'Swordfish- trombones' (Island Records) This is more than blues. This is .Tom Waits. He takes a song, a song he wrote, and scuffs it up. He roughs it up. Just so you know that life's never easy. And }then you've got to listen to it, if you're tough enough to take it. Well, are you? Can you take "16 Shells From a 30.6," with that bell plate pingin' off your h ad, those drums kickin' your ass and that voice just ready to chase you into your grave? It's doubtful. Y'see, Tom's got hobbies. He puts it this way - "I'm gonna whittle you into kindlin'/Black Crow 16 shells from a thirty-ought-six." And he means it. If you can take that, Waits'll take you places, maybe places you don't even want to go. Like to a "Town With No Cheer," where all ya can be is thirsty, and there's a hummingbird trapped in a closed down shoe store. And if he likes you, maybe he'll take you on "Shore Leave," shootin' billiards with a midget until the rain stops. But you gotta know this man's gonna howl like younever heard..He'll tell you how she left him for a "Gin Soaked Boy," and he'll tell you the one about the "Swordfishtrombone." And if you're lucky he'll tell you about "Frank's Wild Years." I could hear that story a hundred times or more. This is Swordfishtrombones. This is more than blues. This is Tom Waits. Who the hell are you? - Michael Baadke ANN ARBOR INDIVIDUAL THEATRES 5'h Ae "' 'ber''y 7'61'9700 $2.00 SHOWS BEFORE 6:00 P.M. i I Robert Altman Presents MON. THRU FRI. DAILY 1:00 P.M. MATINEES "Paul Cox's direction displays the ki lunatic touches that virtually defin comedy of Bill Forsyth (c'rgory- Gid:t -Vincent Canby, Ne. York Times "A pleasure to watch... Norman Kay Wendy Hughes are both superb - warm.' and funny." -Leonard Main. Enertanment T "A movie you will lose your heart -Judith Crist ind of ie the oal Hero )." e and human Tonight to..." "THE PLAY ISA MUSTSEE!" -The Guardian i I/ "N T Sim MASS MEETING Jan. 17 & 18. Alumni Center 7:00 pm Student Alumni Council PROSPECTIVE STUDENT SERVICES Walking Tours Historical Tours CAREER INFORMATION SAC Lunches A Itimn.~r~i rer Netfwork This is afilm about two people falling in love for the very first time She's afraid it may be too soon. He's afraid it may be too late. (R) 5, 9:30 * The Last Testament of Richard M. Nixon * A Political Myth by DONALD FREED and ARNOLD M. STONE A KNOCKOUT! THE BEST POLITICAL PLAY OF THE LAST DECADE!" Isaac, Eastside Express THE PROFESSIONAL THEATRE PROGRAM January 18 -21, 8 pm; January 21,2 pm SAT., SUN. 1:00, 2:50, 5:00, 7:1 MON. 1:00, 7:15, 9:30 Best Picture " Best Actress-Shirley Mocloin(