ARTS The Michigan Daily Sunday, March 4, 1984 Page 5 Rare Air defies tradition at Ark A 'Break' today By Elliot Jackson THE RETURN of winter to our green and pleasant land has not brought a universal chill. A raucous warm wind blew through this weekend, bearing with it the tonic riot of pipe and drum. The place was, of course, the Ark; and Rare Air provided the thaw. Despite some technical problems which marred the quality of the sound somewhat, this group of players produced an evening of joyous and richly-textured music. Rare Air's unpretentious style and idiomatic arrangements of the jigs, reels, strathspeys, and marches might offend those purists who favor a stric- ter adherence to the bagpipe 'and Highland snare tradition. I am purist enough myself to confess that I would like to have heard more of that par- ticular combination. Its dramatic ef- fect, on the opening combination of reels and jigs, was undeniable; since the glory of Rare Air's sound is its pipes, it might have been nice.to hear them unaccompanied. But my reasons for so wishing are as much practical as a matter of taste. The only disappointment of the evening came from the guitar. It was no fault of Richard Murai's playing, only of his equipment. The amplifier gave his instrument an annoying buzzing quality which sometimes obscured the drumming. The relative volumes of the in- struments also contributed to this ob- .scurity. Once the bagpipes and bom- barde got going in earnest, they tended to drown out anything else, so any sub- tleties in the guitar playing were more or less lost. Most of the time, Murai's guitar was functioning as a rhythm instrument, rather than contributing to the melodic line, which works very nicely - when you can hear it. But Murai and Trevor Ferrier, the drummer, had their own moments. The pipes were put away for a while at the beginning of the second set, which provided an opportunity for us to hear the other players. Variations on d set of Breton dances, with Murai and-Ferrier improvizing on cithern and clay drums respectively, provided a pleasant in- terlude amid the sound and fury of blasting bagpipes. But the bagpipes carried the evening. The definition of a gentleman, in some circles, is "one who knows how to play the bagpipes - and doesn't." If that is true, then Patrick O'Gorman and Grier Coppins are no gentlemen. "And the Lord be thankit on 't." The memory of these two giving their blown-up bags experimental thumps, to release their lusty brays of life, is still too sweet. (I now owe the public, and Patrick O'Gorman, an apology. The latter may have been surprised to read that he, and not Ian Goodfellow, had left Rare Air. My mistake!) By Larry Dean TONIGHT, AT Joe's Star Lounge, there is going to be a benefit for Community Films, a new group in Ann Arbor dedicated to making quality films on our home turf. Featured will be the Evaders and King Kong and the X- Cons, no strangers to the calamitous terrain of stagespace at Joe's. Tickets, time, and other information can be garnered by calling 665-8725. Community Films is an organization approximately eight months old. The original goal of the people involved was to make a film with funds attained primarily from a grant given by the Communications Dept.; however, once they got underway, the realization set in that there was more to do in the great celluloid jungle out there than one mere project. So the idea come up to do an original,. 16 mm. film, Break, "about growing up and making decisions," says director Ellen Goldsmith, who also wrote the script with the help of her sister, Susan, and Al Slote. The metaphor for this decision-making is the protagonist's quandry over whether or not to sign up for the draft in order to receive finan- cial aid, something students the coun- try over can identify with. Goldsmith is eager to note that the making of Break was "extremely sup- ported ... especially from the people at Michigan Media." They allowed the crew to use space for editing, which is in itself such a tedious process that Michigan Media would've had to allow for the long hours that go with the technical side of filmmaking as well. - And that's just the beginning! While many movie fans trundle off to the State Theatre (or some other such commercial establishment) without a thought to the science and time in- volved in making movies, Goldsmith is fast to acknowledge such labor. It's fun and envigorating to work in movieland, but along with the glitter and fame comes equipment rental costs, long hours in not necessarily nice weather, getting actors and technicians to work those stretched hours (and for free! Listen up, Marlon Brando. .. ), and the headaches involved in editing, publicizing, and funding the whole shebang. Which brings us to a very important point: why the fund raiser. Goldsmith explains, "We raised about $5,000 from MSA and the offices of the Dean and President, but an additional $1,000 is needed for final lab costs." That means no bucks, no finished product, no film done in a month to be shown at a yet- undisclosed location on campus. As of today, Community Films plan to make two more features, but a lot depends on the outcome of Break. Not to be corny or anything (although sometimes it helps), but tonight's benefit might just be a "make it or break it" situation not only for this' film, but for the golden dreams whirling around in the collective uncon- scious of our imaginations yearning to' spring to life on the big screen, too. So if you'd like to support earnest community involvement in the film' world, give these guys a (you guessed it!) break and trek on over to the Star Bar tonight for music, mayhem, and' movie-mania. t. Y Saturday night Patrick O'Gorman defies tradition as he plays the bagpipes. UB40 is more than an unemployment form MARGARET THATCHER would never have guessed that one of England's latest successes is named af- ter the reference number on an unem- ployment form. True, UB40 is not only a reference number, or a mid-life crisis, but Britain's number-one reggae band to hit the states. The eight-member band from Bir- mingham, England is sliding into Ann Arbor this week along with an album that has broken into Billboard's top 100, Labor of Love. UB40 has been a major success in Great Britain what with five albums to their credit and a tour throughout the U.S. The group started as a garage band in 1978 and landed their first paying job in '79. Few of the band members were ac- complished musicians, but reggae fans finally caught on to their sound in 1980. Their first album established UB40 as the new sensation in British reggae; it contains their finest British singles and album tracks. The guys quickly reacted to this new- Contribute to arts F YOU HAVE ever eaten at a Iestaurant, seen a play or movie, listened to an album or engaged in any other sort of divertissement and wanted to share it with others, the, Daily's Arts section would be pleased to give you the chance. We want competent and skilled critics for the many varied hap- penings that Ann Arbor boasts. Writing for the Arts section will provide practice in writing and analysis, and can be an enjoyable ex- tra-curricular activity. Have fun and share it with others, write for Arts-call 763-0379. found success with another album released in'83 entitled Labours of Love. UB40 packages cover songs of all reggae's greats, such -as Bob Marley's "Keep on Moving" and Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross." These tunes will not only wear your record needle down, but make you get out of your chair and move. UB40 touts themselves as a reggae band who plays reggae as it used to be played. "When it was just the other dance music...before it was claimed by lefties, liberals, and punks." UB40 captures the characteristically broken and up-beat sounds of reggae which will send a charge through a live audience as well as the arm-chair listener. UB40 will appear Monday night at the Second Chance. Tickets are $10. Call 994-5360 for more information. --R hert fn"wi Student Newspaper at The University of Michigan I IFE r--------:--- WRITE YOUR AD HERE! -----m--".--- Ii I i ii 1 14 ad 1-4 185 37 .5 .5 7.510 Ii II I Words Days 11 34 ad heop wente I - * 36-42 5.55 11.10 16.65 20.25 23.85 3.40 roomoes - ~ 43-49 6.45 12.95 19.40 23.60 27.80 4.00 et I Each group of characters counts as one word. Hyphenated words over five characters count as two words. (this includes telephone numbers). Seven words equal one line. Advertisement may be removed from publication. For ads which required prepayment, there will be no refunds. All other ads will be billed according to the origtnal number wf days ordered. 22-28 3.70 - 7.40 11.10 13.50 15.90 2.20. is.tomrun STUDY ABROAD "Comparative Health Care Systems" ENGLAND and SWEDEN 6 credits, undergrad and grad. INFORMATION MEETING Tuesday, March 6th - 7:30 p.m. INTERNATIONAL CENTER - 603 MADISON - NEXT TO UNION "WOODY'S FUNNIEST FILM IN YEARS" CHRISTOPHER POTTER Ann Arbor News 6 WOODY ALLEN'S BROADWAYa DANNY ROSE - (PG) FRI., MON.'I:00, 7:20,9:35 SAT., SUN. 1:20, 3:20, 5:20, 7:20, 9:35 Sponsored by U of M Dearborn Information 994-0453 x#. I O oe No C.CV X a v. I I