ARTS The Michigan Daily Tuesday, October 15, 1985 Page 5 The Nylons invade the final frontier By Andy Rosenzweig A MERICANS TEND to think of the U.S. as the center of the musical world, and that real success can't be had without a hit in America. But countless bands have attained world- wide success before hitting the U.S., and eventually conquered America too. Saturday night, the Nylons proved their intention of becoming the next successful imports. The Nylons are a Toronto-based quartet of singers who combine the traditional elements of doo-wop singing with modern sound produc- tion. The result, both live and on record, is an appealing blend of new and old that has won millions of fans in Canada and throughout the world over the past four years. The U.S. is essentially the final frontier for the Nylons; their first U.S. release, One Size Fits All, came out recently, and Saturday's Power Center performan- ce was a part of their first concen- trated tour of America. The group blazed onstage for the first half of the show with "Me and the Boys," their tribute to the spirit of street corner singing, which featured solos by each member. This number set the tone for the rest of the performance with its flashy choreography and high-energy vocals. The first half of the show consisted mostly of covers of crowd-pleasing '60s standards and doo-wop tunes, ranging from the Beatles' "This Boy" to the Chiffons' "One Fine Day." One of the highlights of the first half was the performance of "Please," one of the Nylon's original tunes, a contem- plative ballad about breaking up which is currently receiving local airplay. The Nylons' performance was an interesting blend of music and theatrics, arising from the members' previous careers as musical theatre actors. Each piece was thoughtfully staged and choreographed, and the group maintained a high level of energy throughout the show. The in- troductions between songs were ob- viously well-planned and often humorous, although they tended to be somewhat corny and campy. I got the feeling that some parts of their act would play better in a nightclub than on a concert stage. According to Nylons member Paul Cooper, the band's set-up in- cludes $60,000 worth of electronic ef- fects which help to create the group's live sound. While the harmonizers, digital delays, and reverb systems used by the Nylons certainly con- tribute to the up-to-date sound the group has, it was often evident that the singers were somewhat over- powered by the effects. At times there was such a cloud of time delays and reverb that it became difficult to hear the music. Perhaps this accounted for a nagging tuning problem that per- sisted throughout the performance, centering particularly on bass Arnold Robinson, whose tremendous voice was too often approximate in pitch and out of tune with the rest of the group. The second half of the 23-song, 100- minute performance featured the Nylons' own music, centering on the songs from One Size Fits All. The audience, obviously well-acquainted with this material, responded en- thusiastically. The set began with "Up the Ladder to the Roof," an uplifting, post-Diana Ross Supremes song that was an audience favorite despite the in- creasingly obvious tuning problems. After the set of original material, the Nylons virtually stopped the show with their version of Carole King's "Up on the Roof," beautifully sung by tenor Marc Connors, who throughout the show proved to be the group's vocal standout. This was the best- sung piece of the evening, and I think much of its success can be attributed to its relatively basic production. Reverb and echo were used minimally in the song's mix, allowing for near-perfect tuning by the singers. The final number of the evening was the perennial favorite "Wimoweh" ("The Lion Sleeps Tonight"). Connors' solo and Claude Morrison's super-human falsetto daz- zled the audience and brought them to their feet at the end of the song. The group was brought back for two encores, a burning version of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire," and the red- hot, Gospel-influenced "Something About You," which showed off Arnold Robinson's fantastic voice and range. The Nylons are decidely confident of their potential, having already achieved a high level of success throughout the rest of the world. As Cooper told the audience late in the performance, "Just wait - next time we're here there'll be about 3,000 people saying they were here tonight." Cocky, perhaps, but few in the audience left doubting the claim. Lisz-tless show By Neil Galanter I MAGINE AN ALL Liszt piano recital. Now picture an accom- plished virtuoso pianist who has been hailed as the French Pollini for his technical perfection. What should the result be? Naturally, an evening of music making on a grand scale. But as to whether Francois-Rene Duchable actually achieved this in his Thursday night performance at Rackham Auditorium - well, yes, and no, is the best answer, Duchable without a doubt used his technical prowess to the utmost throughout the show, However, at many points during the recital he didn't do much more than that, -His performance of Liszt transcrip- tions of Mozart's Don Giovanni, Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin were polished and sparkling, with admirable cleanliness. However, the tone quality seemed harsh and brittle much of the time. On the positive side, Don Giovanni moved with bounce and verve every step of the way. During the "Ball (Dance)" section of the Berlioz, Duchable emitted showers of color from his Steinway a ine-foot concert grand, as he ex- plored a variety of musical shapes and touches. Duchable devoted the last half of his recital to the Liszt Sonata in B Minor, a milestone in Liszt's com- positional efforts as well as in the world of piano. It demands an equal balance of driving fierceness and lyricism for a successful performan- ce. Duchable attained much of the necessary fierceness, with many ex- citing and stirring moments, However, the lyrical moments were few and far between. Duchable neglected almost all the major oppor- tunities to breathe emotion into the piece; instead his rendition crackled along with no respite. The encore, Chopin's Mazurka, Opus 17 No. 4, was performed with marvelous, almost poetical animation. There were some quirky and uncustomary details in Duchable's interpretation, but all for the better. My biggest criticism, however, was the constant grating tone quality. Possibly the roughness of tone was due to piano, but whatever the case it was really unfortunate for both Duchable and the audience. 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Alfred Taubman Health Care Center Tuesday, October 15, 1985 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.