ARTS
Friday, November 15, 1985
The Michigan Daily
Page 7
"A2's patience pays off with Hitchcock
, d d lit " Hxnn, "n dnA
By Julie Jurrjens
Some people around Ann Arbor
have been wearing the number of th-
warted attempts they've made to see
Robyn Hitchcock over the past year
like Purple Hearts, testaments to
their dedication to this Rock God of
Eccentrics. "Oh yeah? Well, I tried to
see him three times and they were all
cancelled out," they say, and then
spew out something about how many
obscure Soft Boys 45's they own.
Finally, they'll be able to shut up.
Their long-aroused desire to com-
mune with Luthor Paisley, the Jelly
Son, that most venerable antecedent
of Syd Barrett - Robyn Hitchcock-
has finally been consummated, as
they finally got their chance to see
him with The Egyptians at the
(packed) Blind Pig, Wednesday
night.
ErDespite having recently been
awarded the stigma of "REM's
favorite band," Boston's Lifeboat
played a consistently clean set of ap-
pealing, upbeat guitar-pop,
distinguished from the legions of their
twangier peers by great harmonies
and a distinctly non-Southern ap-
proach. Some great originals, but the
highlight of their set was a version of
the Monkees' "Pleasant Valley Sun-
day" with almost-satirically Byrdsy
three part harmonies.
The far-too-long interval between
sets prompted several of the patrons
to wonder aloud whether Robyn was
going to cop out yet another time.
Such skepticism probably wasn't too
far out of line - considering Hitch-
cock's track record for cancellations
here in Ann Arbor and his reputation
for being something of a primadonna
(evidenced by a recent refusal to
speak to American press and a
coolness towards America in general)
- but Robyn and The Egyptians tur-
ned up eventually to much hooting
and hollering from anxious fans.
The Egyptians started out with
"Sometimes I Wish I Was a Pretty
Girl" from Hitchcock's solo LP 1 Of-
ten Dream of Trains and segued
flawlessly into the Soft Boys classics
''Kingdom of Love." The very tall,
very long fingernailed Hitchcock cap-
tivated the sardine-packed audience
from square one.
The sound was immaculate
throughout the show, confirming The
Egyptians' reputation as one of the
finest live acts around. It's almost
downright weird, the play of Hitch-
cock's odd, chaotic stage persona
against the band's ultrasharp
musicianship.
The band includes former Soft Boy
Morris Windsor on drums, and vets
Roger Jackson on keyboards and An-
dy Metcalfe on bass; in addition to
Hitchcock on guitar, vocals, and ab-
surd explications of his songs. One
such monologue preceded "My Wife
and My Dead Wife"- about the
nature of death in England where the
ultimate conclusion was "We'll all be
dead eventually." Yes, this man Hit-
chcock has a Cambridge education,
too.
The set enaea wt heaven, anu
the band was immediately set for a
two song encore which included the
extra-big surprise of a whole a
capella rendition of "Uncorrected
Personality Traits" and "Listening to
the Higsons;" on which band mem-
bers switched instruments. A true
descent into three chord grunge ec-
stacy, "Higsons" kicks the proverbial
shit out of just about every garage-
revivalist outfit's best grind. Both
"Uncorrected" and "Higsons" stand
to be way up there-in the Memorable
Musical Moments of '85 poll. Clearly
well worth the wait, these Egyptians.
- Gh /idmas
summmmon, , n
f985-
Ex-Soft Boy Robyn Hitchcock satisfied Ann Arbor's expectations with a
long-awaited debut at the Pig Wednesday night.
Mhusicy o-oto rock
Halfway with benefit
FONDEROSA®
Ho w nto Tr
InoA
Four Course
Stea Diner.
Jy Rob Michaels
Tonight, the Halfway Inn will play
host to a mega-musical shindig to
raise funds for the East Quad Music
Ce-op and Quadrangle Studios.
t'onight's event is the second such
benefit, the first of which was held
last spring. Co-op president Angela
Doane says that the organization
hepes to stage one each semester,
showcasing as wide a variety of local,
ca-op affiliated talent as possible.
In order to insure that patrons are
steeped in continuous tuneage the
whole night long, the Halfway Inn will
have not one, but two stages from
which the music will flow. The three
feAtured electric bands will perform
on the big stage, while a number of
small acoustic combos, most of which
are made up of assorted co-op mem-
bdrs, will perform on the auxiliary
stage at the rear of the Halfway.
The first of the electric bands is
called Tremble Factor, a new co-op
band that plays pop covers and
originals. Next up will be Suspect
Vehicle, a band which achieved some
fame last year as the Great Knock-
wurst Trio - wacky purveyors of fun-
time '60s style folk-pop and rock and
foil. And closing the show will be
some of Ann Arbor's most famous and
accomplished musical sons, It's
Raining, whose emotionally charged
brand of eclectic R&R was little short
*of'perfect at their U-Club appearance
several weeks ago.
According to Doane, all the bands
that will be playing have at least
some members who are involved in
the co-op, stating "The benefit is a
chance for bands to play in front of a
live audience and to do the co-op and
hence themselves a worthwhile ser-
vide."
Those attending tonight's show may
certainly rest assured that their
"*money is going to support a unique
and valuable organization. Since its
inpeption by two Residential College
students in 1983, the Music Co-op has
served as a medium through which
people who desire involvement in vir-
tuplly every aspect of music could get
together and pursue their various
goals and interests. Through sharing
their ideas, labor, and time, co-op
members have created an
organization that offers something for
everyone with a strong interest in
music.
For musicians themselves, the co-
op has set up a musicians' referral
service through which players can
locate just the right players to make
their projects complete. For non-
performers, the organization offers
benefit shows (like this one), as well
as tape sales, the co-op's most
popular fund raisers.
But this is just the beginning: for at
the more technical end of the spec-
trum there lies Quadrangle Studios,
a nominally separate (for financial
reasons) but thematically and
organizationally similar entity of the
co-op itself. As it does for all other
East Quad musical events,
Quadrangle Studios will be providing
the live sound equipment for tonight's
benefit.
Quadrangle Studios is a fully
operational, non-profit eight-track
recording facility located in the
basement of East Quad. Since its
opening last January, the studio has
not only functioned to record the
works of co-op musicians (including a
Civilian Fun Group record, last
spring), but also to develop the recor-
ding and mixing skills of more
technically oriented members. For
such people with a sound engineering
flair, free tech seminars are held
weekly which offer instruction in the
operation of the studio and its equip-
ment.
However, in order for such fine ac-
tivity to continue, the studio needs a
great deal of financing. Their present
recording equipment will soon be
leaving town (as it has been available
only on a rental basis from a generous
co-op member) and the studio is now
preparing to buy its own new eight-
track facility. While a variety of fun-
ding avenues are being explored
(grants, manufacturer's specials,
alumni, etc), none have proven fruit-
ful enough to diminish the importance
of fundraising events.
But concern should only be one of
the motivating factors behind atten-
ding tonight's show, as the wealth of
talent on display should attest. The
musical entertainment, all of which
will be broadcast live over campus
station WCBN, will begin at 9:00 p.m.
and run until 1:00 a.m. Admission is
yours for a three dollar donation.
PHOTOGRAPHY
206 S Main St AmnAroMI '48104 665-5988
The Crown House of Gifts
invites you to:
' 1' ; f i',a
lllfi ; ;:: ~ t.; :;
, , Ili
o.'.
i
n Ill.".111'
'I
WN
"Autograph Party"
Every dinner comes with the World's Biggest, Best
ESaryad e fetu g or allnew Hot Spot.M
SaladgyuffetT Mfea nng our .." " ..." " m ww
VaI'u s tek unch Special!
rChop ed8te.kChopped
vae $a t 99 ,11
' w urgeTM
(2f$598) for$5.98) u)gea
ibeyeSteak Rbee Ste
R , geDinner
' Dinner 99'
$ ' Mon.-sat.
13992$for $798)1 A ossss
x ChooBosss BoSn
includes the Wor ld's Bgge Best Sa Bat (2 for $7.98) e i ot. Tano
tar eat) and baked potato. Cannot eue .A atcptn steakhouses. 1 3 b.
an ked potato C s w thothe d iscoun l .A t
acinsh n eAksecte t ty A ie
Aat) ss 0 /r m A rb r lan g t.)
patcptngsteakhouses. Chopped ' Stoea beef steak ..oupofwtlterdsons.Txnt g.A taki I s ood fot r eoke I
ptychoppedsbeetsteakdCop1B2daE/
L__ ___ __121818 5 J V aid until 2s8/85Validunuiti l" '/ 1 / 8
3354 E. Washtenaw Ave.
(Across from Arborland Shpg. Ctr.)
On West Stadium Blvd. Enjoy
- 1985 Ponderosa, Inc. (Just North of Stadium & Liberty)
ODEEOS
featuring Mark Pillow,
one of the famous
Chippendales'
dancers!
2:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Saturday,
November 16, 1985
301 S. State St.
Ann Arbor, MI
761-4358
H e validate parking, in the Maynard Street Parking Structure
How to organize
tee shirts for your group.
Daily goes Free Drop!
-Fall '85
ONE GOOD TURN
DESERVES
ANOTHER
Custom designed tee shirts help
make your group special. They help
make the members feel that they
belong and provide fun for everyone.
This article is to help you plan and
organize tee shirts for your group.
Don't be afraid to take on the job of
organizing the tee shirts because the
pleasure the group will feel when the
shirts arrive will make the whole pro-
cess worthwhile.
Choose someone to handle the
details. There are quite a few
decisions to make in putting
together a tee shirt program, and one
person should collect all the infor-
mation and coordinate the decisions.
If other members want to be involved,
let them assist the key person.
Set your objectives for the
project. There are many good
reasons for a group to have a
custom tee shirt. Tee shirts can be
used to raise money. They help in
Choose a tee shirt printer who
will help you. A good tee shirt
printing company can provide
you the detailed advice necessary to
have a project flow smoothly. They
can show you examples of garments
and designs that have been used by
other groups. A good printer will
protect you from mistakes.
Review the design ideas with
the group. You will be surprised
at the variety of opinions people
have about tee shirt designs. Every-
one will be happier if they have some
input in what you are designing.
However you cannot please everyone
and at some point you have to use
your own good judgement.
Set a price for the shirts. Even if
you have decided to sell the
shirts at your cost, you have to
think through the pricing. Typically
you will give away a few shirts, and
some shirts get lost or aren't sold. It's
Ascott Corporation has been
printing garments for Ann Arbor
groups since 1976. We have a full
design service and can use our exten-
sive collection of past designs to give
you ideas on solving your problems.
We inventory thousands of polycot-
ton. 100% cotton. longsleeve. and golf
shirts. Our normal delivery time is
one week from when the art is ready
and approved. All our work is fully
guaranteed. We want to print shirts
for you. We know you will wear ours.
Let us help you plan the next shirt for
your group.
however you arrange to collect the
money. you will be delighted when
you see how enthusiastic your group
will be when you distribute the shirts.