ARTS The Michigan Daily Sunday, October 21, 1984 Page 5 Tones on Tail: a subtle reminder of Bri By Richard Williams O UT OF THE ashes of the now extinguished blaze Bauhaus, rises a new form of the sinister, Tones on Tail. TOT carries on with the traditional Bauhaus taste for the macabre, but charts new courses of twisting the pop thing. TOT is comprised of Daniel Ash (vocals, guitar and synth), Kevin Haskins (drums and backing vocals) and Glenn Campling (bass) who was unofficially Bauhaus' fifth member. The formerly mentioned Bauhaus has proven to be very influential in England. Take a glance at the nmr's indie charts and you will see a cross section of bands that pledge allegiance to Bauhaus. The Gothic and Batcave scenes owe a lot to them. TOT continue to provide the uncom- promising variations in style and tone that Bauhaus did. They have stayed with their label, Beggers' Banquet, and have released one album to date, the amazing Pop. Pop attends to a myriad of textures. Most of them poking sinister fun at the conventions of pop music. "Lion," the second single, is neo-psychedelic, but only in sound arrangement. It features ethereal synths, downcast soothing guitars beneath even vocals that float like swans on glass. "War" is about nuclear war but avoids cliches and isn't preacy. It sim- ply states "Here comes trouble." "Happiness" is a bizarre transgression into cocktail jazz that is severed with subtle sarcasm. "Performance" was the first single and is an amazingly powerful romp through electronic dan- cedom that is even more enticing than New Order's "Blue Monday." "Slender Fungus" is a psychopath collage of strange sounds that destroys the pop concert. Pop is just a joke to TOT as they lyrics convey, but we play all the things you are/Bomb song, Swan song, Red hot jazz/burn our- selves out, just to please. tish skill The album finishes with two acoustic/ambient planes of glass, "Real Life" and "Rain" which remind me of a cross of Pink Floyd and Brian Eno but not a derivative of them. Tonight's show will offer those disillusioned with British music a reminder that the Queen's land still produces consistently the best bands around. Bauhaus was often considered to be the best live band in the world with the dual enigmatic characters of Peter Murphy, the lead singer and Daniel Ash, the guitarist. We may be treated to a delightful surprise on this dark and gloomy October evening. Tones on Tail will appear at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit this evening. Doors open at 9p.m. RNN ..RBO ;5th Avenue at Liberty St Daily Photo by SCOTT ZOLTON Queen of the Blues Koko Taylor brought her intense blues singing to Rick's Friday night. ueen of the Blues less than regal By Joseph Kraus K OKO TAYLOR, "Queen of the Blues" and her regal entourage graced Rick's with their presence Friday night, but all was not royal bliss. Crass commerciality and subdued jealousies within the band under- mined what was otherwise a top-notch ~show. There is no doubt that Taylor is one ;of the finest women blues singers in the country, and last night gave every indication that she is still in prime form. Her gravel-laden voice gave a new edge to such traditional rock-tinged blues classics as "Hey Bartender" and there was not question that she was giving the show her all. 'Slowing up' for "I'd Rather Go Blind" the sweat rolled down her forehead and onto her fist clenched tight around the mike. And her facial 'Muscles didn't unclench her whole time on stage. But in spite of her powerful voice and energy, there were problems. The more public problem with the show was the unabashed commer- cialization of the blues. Many performers of Koko's stature 'nake themselves available quite a bit more for signing their records in bet- ween sets, but few hype it up as much as she did - selling Koko buttons and T-shirts. With a full 15 minutes left in the first set, Koko began announcing that she was going to give free autographs. When she left the. stage lead guitarist and second string vocalist Emmitt Sanders went into a five minute routine about the "free t- shirts." "They're free except for tax," he said. "Tax is $8." Between sets Sanders clarified his role in the sales process. "I don't sell them, I just speak of it and tell the audience who to contact," he said. The second problem with the show stemmed from a rather unlikely breeding ground for trouble: Sanders' personal talent. Sanders played a strong lead to Koko, but when a singer of her ability gets on stage, there isn't much room left for anybody else. No matter how well he played, Sanders could never have escaped her shadow. And while he was everything he needed to be with Koko, it became ap- parent when he fronted an opening set that he was capable of being quite a bit more. While she did let Sanders lead the opening set, Koko didn't seem to be the type who would be willing to give up any of her spotlight. When asked how she got the nickname "Queen of the Blues," she said, "I didn't get it, the public gave it to me. It called me the Queen of the Blues because I sing the blues out here (on tour)." And with a dominant personality like hers hovering over him, Sanders seemed a bit unfulfilled. "Supporting her is the job that I do," he said. "As long as I'm playing with her that's my primary function and I enjoy it." Something's fishy when a bluesman calls playing guitar a "job." He added later "I think it (playing with Koko) brings out the best in me," but he also said that he was working on a solo album. Claiming that the LP should be out within 60 days he said that the working title is The Price is Too High and that it includes entirely different personnel from those in Koko's band. But the important thing about the blues is that it be good, and in spite of anything else that might have hap- pened, Koko was indeed good. Sanders, along with rhythm fuitarist Michael Robinson, drummer Vince Chappelle, and particularly bassist Jerry Murphy made up the tight backdrop over which the Queen held court. And the dance floor, never empty, gave testimony to Koko's immense talent, and made clear that however heavy rests the head that wears the crown, she can still belt out the blues with the best of them. A-ha! Swashbuckling pirate fun on film Professional Theatre Program Special Attractions presents WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1984 - 8:00 P.M. 3y Byron Bull HE FRIDAY night screening of j The Black Pirate at The Michigan Theater made two points readily ap- parent: Douglas Fairbanks knew how to make great movies and the Michigan knows how to show 'em. Pirate may not be the most spectacular swash- buckler, but it still ranks as one of the imost enjoyable. The 58 years since its release have only enhanced this vintage blend of adventure and romance, like a well aged bottle of wine. Without a firm stylist directing it (Fairbanks watched over all his vehicles with complete control ala George Lucas), Pirate is a little crafty, and unstyled. "The production design, with some outlandishly baroque pirate ships that could have come right out of a Terry Gilliam/Monty Python film, was rich, maybe too much at times. What Pirate does exceed at is its ac- tion, with a heavy dose of burlesque wit. Fairbank's, whose athletic prowess 'Hvals Charlie Chaplin's, was clearly the stuff screen legends are made of, clamoring up sheer rock precipices or brandishing a sword against a whole shipful of filthy rogues joyous abandon. _The print, a rare copy of this, the first technicolor feature, was not so full of color as it was just various shades of brown. While that admittedly has its detractions, it did lend the film a cer- tain, very elegant antique glow, like polished brass. - No amount of praise can lavished upon organist Dennis James and con- ductor Carl Daehler, who led the Ann Arbor Chamber Orchestra in a live per- formance of the films original score. The music, captured with restrained but not unexciting enthusiasm, added so much color and texture to com- pliment the onscreen action that I wouldn't want to imagine them as separate elements, or having to see the film with a mere recorded soundtrack. James' organ work, full of subtle lit- tle shadings and flambouyant, nostalgic punctuations was particularly magical. I don't know how many more classic gems the Michigan Theater can resurrect in this successful manner, but one hopes there are at least a few more left to brake up the monotony on the umpteenth campus showing of Casablanca. b-- POWER CENTER tickets at P.T.P. in Michigan League, 764-0450 0 0 0*0 0 1 WE WANT TO TAKE-YOU TO THE MOVIES! Fairbanks ... holds on tight ANN ARBOR Thoters 1 I - 5th Avenue at Uberty St. - 761-9700 DAILY FIRST MATINEE ONLY $2.00 SNEAK PREVIEW TONIGHT AT 8:30 P.M. In the middle of the night, when there's no one else CHOOSE ME (R) A SERIOUS COMEDY Lienevive ?\~lL sler- Starting Oct. 22 The Michigan Daily will give a movie pass for two to see "Choose me," courtesy of the Ann Arbor Theater to the first 100 readers presenting this ad to our office. Genevieve Keith Bujold Carradine W Ann Warren See both "Choose Me" and "Privates On Parade" tonight at 6:50 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. 2 movies for the price of one! I .