RTS
Saturday, September 15, 1984
I
rhe Michigan Daily
Page 5
In Daily -
Cruisin' II be-bop rocks
through second session
By Andy Weine
As recording sessions go, Cruisin'
Ann Arbor II on Thursday night was
fairly typical in at least one respect: it
was slow in getting the music started.
But when the Watusies took the stage a
half-hour late, listeners soon knew it
was worth the wait.
Led by Dan Mullholland; the
Watusies injected the audience with a
strong dose of hard-driving rock that
made them want to dance the night
way. The band couldn't go wrong with
n opener like James Brown's "Good,
Good Lovin,"' an old Motown favorite
to which anyone can groove.
From the second song, the floor was
packed with people bopping to a great
beat that made dancing a must. The
Watusies' strength was a rhythm so
solid it shook the floor. Sometimes the
beat was quick and racing, as in
"Jaguar" and "Teenage Valentino;"
ther times it was more laid back and
luesy, like in "Can't Seem to Make
You Mine" (which was about as bluesy
as these hard rockers could get).
The Watusies' rock was as tight and
dense as the dance floor. With three
guitarists, keyboards, drums, and
several vocals, the sound often overshot
what ears could tolerate.
There is a certain point on a rock and
roll thermometer where too many in-
struments are busy playing too loudly,
nd the blaring music regresses to
screaming static that leaves your ears
ringing until the groggy morning after.
The Watusies exceeded this point too of-
ten, as in "Alpena '84" and a Bob Dylan
tune, "From a Buick Six."
The band was most successful when
the musicians restrained from having
every guitar and the lead singer
scream at once. They played a couple
very fine original instrumental songs.
that proved this, one song utilizing syn-
thesized keyboards for eerie, stacatto
effects and sounding much like the
Romantics.
The band doesn't yet know which of
the fourteen songs they would like to
appear on the Cruisin II album, but the
songs selected will be original works,
which comprised the majority of what
they played.
The Steve Nardella Rock and Roll
Trio easily took the Thursday night
show. With two guitars and drums, the
trio delivered rock less dense and clut-
tered than Watusies' but equally as
energizing.
Though Nardella was dwarfed by his
huge electric guitar, he was certainly
its master. His brilliant, wandering
solos demonstrated virtuosity and
found voice in several beautiful in-
strumental songs.
Nardella displayed his musical
genius again in a fantastic harmonica
solo he called "Harmonica Boogie
Woogie," a , quick, playful im-
provization that had him sweating
streams and the audience sitting agape.
Like all bands featured, the trio also
sparkled with fun dance music, such as
one song which \vent, Well c'mon
baby take my hand, I want to be
your lovin' man, I just wanna be
your man tonight....
Last but hardly least were the Buz-
ztones, the veteran band of the night's
bunch. Buzztones have rocked together
for five years and will have their first
record out next month. They played
their ace song first, "Bow Wow Wow
Wow," a hard knocking tune that had
lead singer Lamont Zodiac barking
with canine aggressiveness.
Guitarist Roscoe Paradise broke
through with deft solos, and the drum-
mer Red Banner ended songs with
smashing finales. The band was relen-
tless in playing one fast tune after
another, such as "Get off My
Wavelength," "Break out of the Box,"
and "She Loves to Rock." But they
maintained that pace.for too long (over
ten songs). After a while, the hard
rocking merged and the songs became
less distinguishable from each other.
The band needs to include songs of
slower pace and differing styles in or-
der to provide contrast to, and relief
from, the harder driving tunes.
Buzztones crowned the late rolicking
show that will display local talent on the
Cruisin' II record, to be released in
December. Though the buzz in Thur-
sday night's ears was loud after the
concert, the tone remembered was cer-
tainly good.
~1
b
s
Daily Photo by CAROL L. FRANCAVILLA
The Watusies finish off the second night of 'Cruisin' Ann Arbor II' on Thursday at the U-Club. Recording sessions continue
through Saturday.
gv
The Feelies paw through Joe's
By Julie Jurrjens
LEFT THE Feelies show at Joe's
Thursday night somewhat vexed.
ere's a band out of New Jersey which
I'd first heard three-odd years ago on
their 1980 album, Crazy Rhythms.
They subsequently seemed to have
disappeared, or at least have kept a
very low profile: Suddenly, to my sur-
prise (but not dismay) they
materialized at Joe's. I was anxious to
hear what almost four years had done
to them.
The show was opened by the Evaders,
local.band that sounds good now, and
as the potential to sound even better. A
great chimey Rickenbacker guitar
sound, dense and aggressive (but not
twangy enough to allow them to be
lumped in with other folkier-sounding
bands such as R.E.M.) characterized
most of the songs.
They played a well-balanced hour set,
including some surprisingly textured
songs. Only the vocals were oc-
casionally distant. All in all, this is a
rand worth taking, a closer look at
sometime again in the near future.
The Feelies didn't fare quite so well.
A delay of over an hour between sets
was more than usually annoying. This.
was the first time the Feelies played in
Ann Arbor. The original lineup from the
days of Crazy Rhythms had been con-
siderably altered - expanded to five
members from a quartet - only two of
whom (The band's songwriting core,
Glenn Mercer and Bill Million) were
Priginal members.
The Feelies' sound is probably best
described as very dense, tightly woven
guitar and unusual percussion filling
out a minimal pop skeleton. One of the
most delightful things about Crazy
Rhythms was its "irreverent use of
rhythm (percussion instruments
featured were boxes, cans, and coat-
racks) and it was good to see the band
try to retain that sound by expanding to
include two percussionists.
h The set began with some new songs
vhich seemed fine, although not im-
mediately interesting, because the
vocals were nearly inaudible. This
problem persisted through the entire
set and tended to reduce many of the
songs to something of a drone. .
The band seemed to work well
together. The new bassist played well
into Mercer and Million's guitars, but
the overall texture became tiresome
too soon.
One new song, "Two Rooms," was
rii
CIF wUU- ViUiiii
E VERYONE likes to party, right? is submit a photograph (preferably
And everyone likes a good party, black and white) of your Friday or
right? Now we all know there are good Saturday night party and a composition
parties and there are good parties. If of 150 words or less describing why you
you hosted a good party, wouldn't you -think your party was the Party of the
want everyone to know? Well, now's Week. All entries must be dropped off in
your chance. The Daily Arts page is the Daily Arts office by 3 p.m. Wed-
proud to announce the birth of what nesday. The winning party will be
hopefully will become a weekly feature published in Friday's Daily.
- Party of the Week. All you have to do
Flock .date changed,
1?. . l, 1
Just a bit of major concert info.
A Flock of Seagulls, originally'
scheduled for an Ann Arbor appearance
at the Michigan Theater on Friday, Oc-
tober 5, has changed the date of that
performance to Friday, October 12.
Tickets for seats at the October 5
show will be honored for the new date.
This will be the only Flock perfor-
mance in the state on this tour and that
means, yes, no performance in Detroit.
Tickets for the Detroit show will be
refunded but cannot be exchanged for
seats in the Michigan Theater.
Weekend Magazine
Fridays in The Daily
763-0379
Daily Photo by DOUG McMAHON
The Feelies bring their dense, textured musical style to Joe's Thursday night.
onsale
Also, tickets for "X" at the Michigan
on Saturday, October 6, and for R.E.M.
on Monday, October 8 are now on sale in
the Union box office, at Schoolkids'
Records, or at any Ticketworld outlet in
the area.
ANN ARBOR
2 INDIVIDUAL THEATRES
5th Ae at liberty 761-0700
DAILY MATINEES
DAILY FIRST SHOW $2.00
"'UNDER THE VOLCANO' IS
INTELLIGENT ... BEAUTIFULLY
ACTED AND DIRECTED"
-USA TODAY
ALBERT FINNEY
JACQUELINE BISSET
ANTHONY ANDREWS
NO ONE CAN LIVE WITHOUT LOVE!
FRI 100, 7:30, 9:40, 1130P.M
SAT.1:20 3:20 525,7:30,9:40,11:30 M
SUN. 1:20, 3:20, 5:25, 7:30, 9:40
strikingly loose, with tambourine and
harmonies that set it apart from the
rest. The older material generally
came off well, particularly "Forces at
Work," but a few songs suffered from
being rushed, notably "Fa' ce-la."
The first set lasted forty minutes, and
was followed by two encores. The first,
consisting of "Raised Eyebrows"' and
"Crazy Rhythms," was considerably
better than most of the show, lacking
the drone that characterized the earlier
songs.
"Raised Eyebrows" was a little
muddy, but came off very well. "Crazy
Rhythms" had the exuberance this
band needed to stay interesting. The
second encore improved on the first,
starting off with the Velvet Un-
derground's "Run Run Run."
It too had the substance and en-
thusiasm that the set itself had lacked. I
find it strange that after more than
three years and a radical personnel
change, The Feelies have made few
changes in their music. In a way it's a
disappointment.
Rather than concentrating on making
a dense sound, they should loosen up
and start making music. I have to
commend them for being able to keep
764-0558
764-0558
up with their own frenetic pace, but
pace just isn't enough. As it stands,
their frantic strumming will result only
in overdeveloped forearms, and an un-
lerdeveloped audience.
Dance
Theatre
Studio
711 N. University
(near State St.)
Ann Arbor
Classes in ballet,
modern, jazz, tap
and ballroom
w
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f
. _ !. _
y :'o ...
WINNER OF 8 OF AUSTRALIA'S
MAJOR FILM AWARDS -'
INCLUDING: BEST PICTURE,
BEST DIRECTOR & BEST ACTRESS!
"RICHLY ATMOSPHERIC...'
-Sheila Benson, L.A. Times
"A VERY GREAT FILM."
-Judith Cris;{ WOR-TV
"A MARVELOUS MOVIE..."
-Dino Lalli, KNBC Clannel 4 News
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7//77774///////// Mass
Tuesday
COMEDY 7:3P
!\ S.U r
Meeti ng
, Sept. 25
Mndleton rm.
nion
-U
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