ARTS The Michigan Daily Saturday, March 23, 1985 Page 9 Dogs whip Brits in own mode By Dennis Harvey B oy, it's a good thing I'm clever and fair-minded enough not to let my opinions turn into prejudices because of isolated stereo-typical-contrast in- cidents, if you know what I mean. Because if an evening was conducive to confirming a currently popular line of critical oversimplification, it was Wed- nesday, when Depeche Mode played for the fashion crowd at the Royal Oak Music Theatre and the Dogmatics played for the pogo-'n-frug set a bit later at Joe's Star Lounge. The stereotypical contrast on hand was the old "Ugh, all British bands are yelping packs of Dippity-Do-depen- dent synth-wimps who wouldn't know a guitar riff if 'You Really Got Me'fell on their delicate heads, but oooh thank god there are all these cool, gritty integrity-crammed back-to-beer-and-basics new bands like the Replacements, R.E.M. etc. to make me proud to be an American again... "routine. And you can just follow the easy pattern and guess Wednesday night's final score: the homegrown boys were unpreten- tiously big fun and the imports were pretentiously not much. Don't misun- derstand; I am not one of those people who think (usually very loudly) that the synthesizer was the worst thing to hap- pen to music since Hammond organs hit the living room. After starting out as one of the most featherweight of all the featherweight early synth bands, Depeche Mode has developed into one of (to my mind) the Big Three - the three techno pop bands who've put out music of (as one of them has used as their trademark) quality and distinction. The only one of the bunch who have shyed away entirely from using occasional electric and acoustic instruments, Depeche Mode forsakes the nervous-breakdown- with-a-beat stance of The The and the vaguely socialist champagne inter- nationalism of Heaven 17, opting in- stead for the driving plinks and clunks of industrialism. Predictably fuzzy social critics, Depeche Mode doesn't really say much more than "Big business is scary" and "War is dumb" and other rather too well-tested thesis statements of flyweight liberalism. But the rhythmic force and general melodic invention of their music gives them at least the feel of being a fairly intelligent band; they seem to be expressing a pretty genuine frustrated bewilder- ment at the grey English factory-town lives the band members have left behind. The songs held up very well at Royal Oak, the musicianship well enough - at times almost too well, in that ultimately uninteresting Just Like The Record manner. The arrangements of songs were often identical to their LP ver- sions, and since, vocalist aside, the band is just three guys stationed behind keyboards and programmers, there wasn't really any trace of the standard fun of seeing a band live, i.e. being able to see just where those sounds come from..(It could have all been on tape, for all anyone knew or cared.) As a result the visual focus had to shift to the moderately elaborate lighting/side/set effects and to, unfor- tunately, lead singer Fletcher. This guy has a warm, strong bass/tenor that holds up well in concert, but as a per- sonality... look out, man, he's a living, flouncing disco-queen nightmare. While the other band members offer no help, and indeed appear to be a bit under- standably abashed, Fletcher prances about like Freddie Mercury in leather pants and a cut-off-at-the-ribs tank top, constantly urging us on with teeth- clenching exhortations of "YAHI" and, er, dancing most disagreeably. A' disastrous centerpiece for any band, and one particularly devastating for Depeche Mode, since as a British syn- thpop boy band they're already hard- pressed to earn any serious musical credibility. Despite impressive four-part har- monies and impeccable if unimaginative versions of many of their worthy hits, Wednesday's concert fought a losing battle against creeping, silliness. Even the most elaborately groomed 14-year-olds were overheard satirically mincing "YAH !" on the way out, and when you lose out with the suburban teens, there's no hope left. There's nothing but hope and more hope for the Dogmatics, four Bostonian tots with guitars and a Bam-Bam set, whose second set at Joe's was just the sort of raucous noise that legendary garage bands are made of. A friend, bestowing his ultimate statement of approval, sighed "They're an East Coast version of the Replacements," which may be a bit of an overstatement at this point but it's not far from the mark. If they're anywhere near as young as they look, they ought to be playing video arcades instead of bars for grown-ups, yet they already seem to have the full repetoire of prehistoric bar-band essentials. Just when you thought it might not be really necessary to hear "Who'll Stop the Rain?", "Do You Wanna Dance?" and, oh yes, "Louie Louie" again (I'll confess disappointment at the exclusion of "Hey Joe," but maybe that was- in the first set), here comes a band that tmakes them very exciting. As the number of people tossing themselves around the dance floor proved. Plus throbbing originals like "Hardcore Rules" and "Good-Looking Girls" prove these kids have their hearts in just the right places for classic garagedom - in their pants. They've got humor, they've got skill, they've got the look (burnouts-raid-junior-high- girl's-slumber-party-with-guitars), and they've got new short LP called Thayer St. on Homestead Records. Polevaulting to the frontline of the dir- tboy rock revival, the Dogmatics are a band to catch while they're young and reckless, before anything bad like parental college pressure or major label contracts set in. Photo by Jeffrey L. Hayner Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters plays six string acoustic guitar during his spectacular concert at Joe Louis Tuesday night. Although his solo debut received little praise, his concert rendition of the LP was highly acclaimed. Stormy Waters EUROTAN TANNING SALON 10 Visits For $43.00 333 4th Ave. ANN ARBOR 995-8600 ii .. r j~E~ I IU i'a 00 0 0 SAT. & SUN. FIRST SHOW ONLY $2.00 ) By David Yount T he stage show for Tuesday's concert was everything I expec- ted from Roger Water. He had three screens which spanned the width of Joe Louis and showed film for more than half the entire three- hour program. In addition to the usual powerful speakers facing the audience;' speakers were aimed at the audience midway into the crowd, from above and from both sides. The quadraphonic sound was amazing. Most notably, there were fantastic thunder roars on "4:41 a.m.", passing cars and trucks on "4:47 a.m." from the second half of the show, the familiar helicopter on "Another Brick in the Wall", and clinking tnoney on "Money" from the first half of the show. iThe first half was a selection of tunes from Roger's work with Pink Floyd. It began with a satisfying rendition of "Welcome to the .Machine", with animated imagery on the center of the three screens. He performed "Have a Cigar", "Wish You Were Here", and "Pigs on the Wing", whereupon he played a short medley (unannounced in the program) of songs from The Final Cut album. From these, he and his band went right into a refreshing version of "The Gunner's Dream". The tunes from The Final Cut (among others) were done with an electric-acoustic guitar which came out exceptionally clear on their quadraphonic speakers. During intermission, the house lights were brought up for awhile, and then dimmed as a TV-like cur- tain (the size of one screen) came down, producing a quasi-living room with the other two screens. A film was shown on the TV that resembled Shane which was interrupted by ai huge mind-blowing explosion which, needless to say, caught the audien- ce's attention for the start of the second half of the show. The second half of the show was a straight run-through of Roger's solo album, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking. Imagery was quite memorable: a slot machine for "4:30 a.m.", 'Arabs' with chain saws and knives during "4:37 a.m.", and a character/mascot for his con- cert presentation called Reg... or is it Rog?' that quoted some of the lines in animation from the album. The musicians on the whole were excellent, with the possible excep- tion of Jay Stapley, the lead guitarist who admittedly had some big shoes to fill in David Gilmour, guitarist for Pink Floyd, and Eric Clapton, who performed on Roger's solo album and tour in 1984. The encore was "Brain Damage" and "Eclipse" from Dark Side of the Moon, with a mental hospital being blown up, and the sun being eclipsed by the moon, respectively, as the song's visual backup. The show culminated with Roger's words: "Bless you - you've been very nice - good night!", The concert was unforgettably spectacular, excellently presented and well worth the ticket price. Roger, with his terrific imagery, props, and sound effects definitely lived up to his reputation of putting on an extravagant show. " $1.00 OFF 0 With This Entire Ad $1.00 0ffAny $4.00 Admission. 1 or 2 Tickets. Good All Features thru 4/5/85 Folk with a heart By Andy Weine I COULD BEGIN to write about Ferron, who will play at the Ark Saturday night, but why not let some others tell it? Walking up to the counter at P.J.'s Records, the observant music con- noisseur can find Ferron's latest album taped to the board, with these commen- ts scribbled on it by chronic music fanatic Marc Taras: "This is visionary spell-singing, gut-wrenching, gritty voiced, splendiferous, god(dess)hood music!" And also, from WCBN DJ Art Durkee: "Listening to side two by can- dlelight, I felt my ears and head open up genuinely, for maybe the first time this year..." Of Ferron's last Ann Arbor appearance, Nancy Aranoff said to me, "People were crying in the audience, just listening to her. It was just beautiful." I listened and listened and listened to her latest album, Shadows on a Dime, and her debut album, Testimonial. No other album in my meager collection got as much spin time. In short, I became a convert. A Canadian singer, Ferron takes the spotlight in folk music as a spirited musician to stir the soul. Her lyrics are wholesome poetry. Her voice, too, is distinctive: not pretty grittily earthy and naturally raw like Dylan's. In fact, some describe her as a sort of female Dylan, which is both a com- pliment and'a constraint: a compliment because to be called a figure on Dylan's pioneering level is flattering and just what these too-slick eighties need, but a restraint because she is no female flip- side of anyone. Her style, voice, and songs-though attuned to women's music like that of Holly Near and Chris Williamson-are all her own and can resonate soulful chords in anyone, folkster or pop-fan, woman or man. Call it a cop-out, but this is a singer for whom words may not do justice. Hearing, most likely, will lead to believing. Ferron will play two shows; advance tickets are available at Earth Wisdom Music and Herb David's Guitar Studio. " 7 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS " Incl.... BEST PICTURE SAM WATERSON THE KILLING " " FIELDS [Q FRI., MON. 415, 7:00, 9:35 SORRY, NO TUES. DISCOUNT PRICES * SAT., SUN. 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 9:35 FRI. & SAT. AT MIDNIGHT 0 * NEW TWILIGHT SHOWS MON. THRU FRI. $2.50 TIL 6 P.M. * " CHER SAM ELUOT : ........ .... 0 * They Told 16 Year Old Rocky Dennis He Could Never Be Like Anyone Else, So He Was Deter- " mined To Be Better. " °° we * BASED ON A TRUE STORY FRI., MON. 5:00, 7:10, 9:30 * SAT., SUN. 12:30, 2:45, 5:00, 7:10, 9:30 FRI. & SAT. AT MIDNIGHT (PG-13) ANN ARBOR EXTRA SHOWS FRI. & SAT. NIGHT-REGULAR PRICE " AT MIDNIGHT I AT MIDNIGHT "THE KILLING FIELDS" (R) 0 0 0 * * S 0 e "MASK" (PG-13) e e e * 0 "* 9 a KERASOTES THEATRES MOVIE DIRECTORY WAYSIDE 1 & 2 3020 Washtenaw Ave., Ypsilanti, 434-1782 BREAKFAST CLUB FRI 5:00, 9:00 SAT SUN. 1:00, 5:00, 9:00 THE SURE THING FRI. 7:00 SAT., SUN. 3:00, 7:00 BABY FRI 5:15, 7:15, 9:15 SAT., SUN. 5:15, 7:15, 9:15 HERE COME THE LITTLES SAT., SUN. 1:15, 3:15 CAMPUS THEATRE 1214 S. University - Phone 668-6416 1984 hi.515,7:15,9:15 SAT , SUN 1:15,3:15,5:15,7:15, 9:15 STATE 1-2-3-4 -LOCATED IN THE HEART OF A2 THEATRE DISTRICT 231 S. State- Phone 662-6264 TICKETS ON SALE 30 MIN. BEFORE SHOW TIME FRIDAY THE 13th, PART 5 A NEW BEGINNING FRI 5:25, 7:30, 9:35, 12MID. THE SURE THING FRI 5:20, 7:25, 9:30, 12 MID. SAT., SUN. 1:05, 3:15, 5:30, 7:25, 9:30,12 MID. BREAKFAST CLUB FRI 5:25, 7:30, 9:35, 12 MID. SAT., SUN. 1:10, 3:20, 5:25, 7:30, 9:35,12 MID. INTO THE NIGHT FRI CS-1 S 7.9n0 Q~nn 172minf I ;.