ARTS
The Michigan Daily
Friday, November 9, 1984
Page 6
The Gurus of Australian
music bless Rick's
cafe
By Dennis Harvey
The Hoodoo Gurus may be from that
exotic land (defining the term 'exotic
land' by the standard of impossible
plane fares) Australia, but their music
is an international-well, mostly an
American-melting pot of influences.
The fun foursome cover a whole range
of musical styles on their appealling
U.S. debut LP, Stone Age Romeos, from
simple teen-dream crushed-love songs
("My Girl," currently topping the char-
ts in various spots on other sides of one
or two oceans) to big-beat '80's post-
wave rock. Likeable as the album is, it
leaves one suspecting that this band
probably has a bit more grunge impact
live than the poppy-clean production of
Romeo allows.
Plenty of that anticipated muscle was
evident when the Gurus played at
Rick's American Cafe on Monday. Star-
ting off with the necrophilia anthem
"Dig It Up" ("My girlfriend lives in the
ground..."), the band played a smooth
but exciting set that make good on their
recorded promise, melding the Cramps
(frequent jolly lyrical morbidity), the
Ramones (garage-anthemic boy
energy) and catchy pop melodies. The
Cramps comparison is pretty valid
given the camp-horror content of many
Guru songs ("Hayride to Hell,"
"Leilani," "Death Ship"), but this
band's ghostliness is strictly of the
Casper variety, friendly and 99 % kid-
ding. That affability lends consistency
to what might otherwise seem a slightly
schizo grabbag of song types, and the
catchy-pop sensibility is what lifts them
from novelty status.
Monday's consistently entertaining
set showed off the Gurus' facility in a
tightly controlled but nicely roughed-up
manner, making most of Stoneage
Romeos' songs just a bit looser and
more fully fleshed out. Dominated by
album cuts, the show ws especially
swell during the punchy "In the Echo
Chamber," what was mysteriously
dedicated to Larry Storch (Larry
Hagman's pal on I Dream of Jeannie),
"the groovy guru himself;" a great ex-
tended "Tojo;" and the new song "The
Other Side of Paradise," which exem-
plified the Hoodoo knack for irresistible
pop within a garage context, with its
three-part harmonies and bigtime
chord changes.
The album's stateside single "I Want
You Back" was likewise rootsy-cool, and
fine showings were also made by
"(Let's All) Turn On," "The Day Ar-
thur Died," and the extended pre-
encore closer "Leilani." Possibly the
evening's best moment, though, was
the sleekly melodic "Zanzibar," which
is an effective enough diminished-
tempo break on the LP but took on a
remarkable beauty live, with a Byrdsy
lead guitar providing the guiding note
of swoony melancholy. The encore
started off with a sole disappointment,
a rather indifferent rendering of the
LP's charming chart sellout "My Girl,"
but picked up with a fine boys-at-play
"Death Ship."
The Hoodoo Gurus provided no
major revelations, but they delivered
See HOODOO, Page 7
Daily Photo by DOUG McMAHON
The Hoodoo Gurus brought their Australian sounds to Rick's on Monday night.
A recital you should'see
Good friends won't leave you flat.
Upon hearing the sweet, rich sounds
flowing from the studio of acclaimed
concern pianist Jerome Rose, I can
only strongly recommend that you at-
tend the recital that he will give Sunday
evening, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. in Rackham
Auditorium. And even better yet, the
recital is open to the public free of
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charge.
Rose, who has just recently joined the
paino faculty of the School of Music as a
visiting professor, is the recipient of
many coveted international awards. He
made his debut at the age of 15 with the4
San Francisco Symphony under the late
Arthur Fiedler, and then at 17 he was
accepted by Rudolf Serkin to study at
the famed, Marlboro School of Music in
Vermont.
Further studies took Rose to Leonard
Shure with whom he worked while he
got degrees from both the Mannes
College of Music and the Juilliard
School in New York City. While at
Juilliard he ws able to work extensively
with the Juilliard Quartet. {
This career took off even further
when after graduation he won the
Busoni Competition in Bolzano, Italy.
Since then he has gone on to perform with
all the major orchestras of Europe and
with major orchestras in this country,
under many well known conductors.
This December, Rose will be a
featured guest pianist on the "Steinway
Hour" on National Public Radio.
This summer he will also be in residence
See PIANO. Page 7 d
7
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GEORGE CARLIN
Eastern Michigan University
Office of Campus Life
presents
George Carlin
LIVE IN CONCERT!
Sunday, November 18, 1984
8 p.m.
Bowen Field House
Tickets $10.00 reserved, $8.00 general admission.
Available at
QUIRK BOX OFFICE at EMU, M-F 12:30 - 4:30
m
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