ARTS

The Michigan Doily

Tuesday, December 10, 1985

Page 7


Love and rockets soar

By Richard Williams
F INALLY, a comfortable at-
mosphere at St. Andy's Saturday
night for Love and Rockets-(at least
once we were inside for good).
Bauhaus was misunderstood most
of the time. Most never got the joke.
Love and Rockets is less of an idea
run amuck, better calculated to avoid
the usual trappings that are laid
about. They've matured. They don't
make a big deal out of anything. No
dead horses to beat here. Just un-
polished, inspired folks doing the
work of the pavement.
For all of the unreal production
values that permeate their record,
courtesy of producer John A. Rivers,
their live application is a bare body
manifestation of crackling sonic con-
fusion and beauty. No strings or syn-
ths here. Far too many accomplished

songs to require further and un-
necessary embellishment live. A
cacophonous attack that rivals the
aural flourishes of The Jesus And
Mary Chain, believe it or not.
I was blown, man, as they flung into
"Inside The Outside", thunder and all
hell and hypocrisy. My vote for dance
track of the year. Not for the swayers
but for floggers, yeah. Daniel and his,
guitar all over the bed of blackness.
"Dog-End Of a Day Gone By" with
it's pulsing roll of drums reeled off by
Haskins, and the lick-me guitar
weaving in and out. There were three
new songs, all distinctive and
growling. Understanding and con-
fidence go a long way, much more
than prissy charisma (How about it,
Jimbo Kerr?).
They did "Go!," a simple but unap-
proachable live thrash that's a winner
everytime. David J. and his bass
throbbed like your head the morning

after. "Ball of Confusion" killed most
everyone there. It meandered
through our heads and wailed like the
hyaena that is destroying our
beautiful nation.
Overwhelming. Bombastic. I found
my mind flying and I was back in my
own teenage heaven before it's too
late.

rnoto courtesy of BRETT RI
Love and Rockets, three-fourths former Bauhaus members, bring their smoother, philosophical
progressive new rock to Detroit's St. Andrew's Hall Saturday night with a powerful show.

EXCUSE #2 FOR
EATING CHOCOLATE:
Iget a better tan.
Come in and fill up a half
pound gift box to take
home for the holidays.
Kil wins
Chocolates
107 E. LIBERTY 769-7759

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Dreaming of an anti-Soviet celluloid Christmas

* S THEY LIE in bed together,
Rocky Balboa tells his wife
Adrian that she is never going to get
rid of him. Apparently, neither are
we. Back for a fourth round,
Sylvester Stallone joins his old frien-
ds, Apollo Creed, Duke, and Paulie for
yet another Rocky sequel.
This time, as probably everyone
knows by now, Rocky is challenged by
Ivan Drago - an experiment in
0 strength from the Soviet Union.
Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren, is
accompanied by his equally forceful
wife, Ludmilla (Bridgette Nielsen),
an Olympic gold medalist swimmer.
She does almost all the speaking for
her husband, and like him, she is cold,
hard, and unyielding. After a suc-
cessful fight with Apollo (Carl
Weathers), who was attempting to
make a comeback, Drago is
challenged by Rocky.
Apollo's "exhibition" against Drago
is exactly that - the circus-like per-
formance held before the fight was so
incredibly tacky I almost sided with
the Russian. Taking place in a Las
Vegas hotel, it consisted of a lot of
"patriotic" hooplah, girls in scant
costumes, and James Brown.
It is not long, however, until
Stallone gets back on track and makes
his audience cheer for the good guy.
As Drago, injected with steroids,
works out on elaborate equipment

supervised by a group of scientist-
trainers, Rocky chops wood and runs
through the snow in the Russian coun-
tryside.
Quite a bit of the beginning is
devoted to footage from earlier Rocky
sequels. They contain all the elemen-
ts of a bad video: lots of flashbacks
and "dramatic moments" with "The
Eye of the Tiger" playing in the
background. Included are all the
Rocky's past moments of glory - his
past victories, his and Adrian's first
kiss, the birth of their son, and plenty
of training scenes with Apollo.
It is unfortunate that there are not
more scenes between Rocky and his
family. Because so little time was
devoted to them, the bonds between
Rocky and his son and wife did not
seem genuine nor meaningful. The
same goes for Rocky's relationship
with his friends and coaches, Duke
and Paulie. Without the development
of these relationships Rocky IV is
just a boxing movie - it lacked the
tenderness of the original.
The one thing Rocky IV has got
going for it is a formidable enemy.
Drago is the quintessence of evil.
Rocky IV is without a doubt an enter-
taining film. The question is: is it
worth the $4.50 to see the same actors
in the same situations, hear the same
music, and watch a fight with the
same results? -Lauren Schreiber

N IKOLAI Rodchenko considers
the possibility of death: he
struggles to resist her tempting in-
vitations, undaunted by her cruel flir-
ting. Every muscle strains, his chest
heaves in time with his watch. Death
captivates him; eventually he hangs
himself in his tiny cell and becomes one
with death . . . and then the curtain
falls. If only there were more such
ballet scenes in White Nights. It is the
dancing scenes (and possibly Mikhail
Baryshnikov's acting) which make
the film worth seeing.
If you can forgive the manipulative
plot and some shameless sentimen-
talism (this is definitely a Christmas
film,) you'll enjoy the thrilling ballet
and tap (and some other, less
culturally oriented) dancing by both
Baryshnikov and supporting actor
Gregory Hines.
When his plane crashes in Siberia,
Nikolai Rodchenko (Baryshnikov), a
defector, is taken into custody and
held in a Russian hospital while he
recovers from wounds suffered in the
crash. From here he is moved to the
home of Raymond Greenwood
(Hines) who is a defector from
America, demonstrating a "Moral
Protest" against American in-
volvement in Vietnam (watch out,
Rambo). Greenwood is little more
than a pawn for the Soviets. His use

as propoganda is exhausted, he is
reduced to tapping out "Porgy 'n
Bess" in a Siberian State theatre.
Now, however, he is once again
needed. His mission: to convince
Nikolai to perform once again in the
Kirov.
Eventually Nikolai, Raymond, and
Raymond's wife Darya (the lovely
Isabella Rosselini) are taken to the
Kirov in Leningrad, where Nikolai is
to begin training again. Naturally the
two Americans become buddies in
true American tradition and decide
they must escape.
There's plenty of symbolism in here
(Marlboros abound) but most of it can
be ignored under the shadow of some
powerful moments in the film. One
such moment is when Nikolai uses
dance to explain to Galina - his for-
mer lover and dance partner, now a
head in the Kirov - his reason for
defecting. To the blasting music of a
banned composer, Nikolai explodes
into a routine which depicts such
repression and frustration that Galina
is left tearful.
Too bad there is not more of this
storytelling-through-dance. Maybe if
there had been, director Hackford
would not have had to indulge in
daring escapes and a truly sappy en-
ding to glaze his work. Because, as

the advertisements so humbly state,
these guys are "not heroes, just dan-
cers." So go just to watch them dance.
-Ruth Ann Weadock

THE UNIVERSITY
OF MICHIGAN
Gilbert and Sullivan Society
presents
THE GRAND DUKE
or
THE STATUTORY DUEL
December 11 - 14
8:00p.m.
(Fri. and Sat. Sold Out)
Lydia Mendelssohn TheatreIK
763-1085 for information
+ JAV-gif
. 77 r V


Area artists spice up Holiday classics

;..TMAGINE A record album of Christ-
mas carols in the classical music
vein. What might it be like? There is a
new disc out by a group called "Trio a
la mode," that features a mixture of
light classics and Christmas music
which has been recorded by Dovetree
Records in Ann Arbor. The flutist,
cellist and pianist perform some of
the most detailed and crisply effer-
vescent Christmas music I have
Heard in a long time.
The first side consists entirely of
Christmas music: "Joy to The
World," "Greensleeves," "Angels We
Have Heard on High," "Silent Night,"
and a brilliant "Jingle Bells Fantasy"
are all given appropriately bright per-
formances. The musical lines are for-
ever forthrightly moving and the trio
creates an atmosphere of great war-
mth with their music making.

There is a fair amount of virtuosity
from the flutist in the group, Nancy
Faber. She proves herself to be a
musician not only of sensitive
qualities but also with great control of
her instrument. "Joy To the World" is
a comsummate mixture of vivacious
energy and breezy relaxed lines, and
the "Jingle Bells Fantasy" does
unique things with the basic rhythms
of the melody. The arrangements of
the pieces are all done by Ms. Faber,
and it is obvious that she has com-
positional talents as well. The inter-
change of the melody between the
flute, cello and piano is handled very
smoothly. Faber also inserts some
modern contemporary idioms into the
fantasy.
The flip side contains arrangements
of classics (also done by Nancy
Faber) that are just as euphonious.

The Pachelbel Canon is given a well
tempered performance from the
whole group. Mozart's Variations of
the theme "Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman,
which is actually the theme of
"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," is a
virtuosic display piece for the flutist
Nancy Faber, and again, Faber shows
her finely polished playing.
Many of these trio arrangements
feature the flute as the primary in-
strument most of the time. This
is the only serious criticism of the
album. I only get to hear the cellist in
The Bach Arioso at the very end of the
disc, and David Moulton's playing is
so lyrical and harmonious in the
Bach, that I would like to have heard
more from him. The same goes for the
pianist Randall Faber, who also plays
with the utmost clarity and round tone
throughout. -Neil Galanter


SEASONAL
TREAT
on for visiting. $400 And there's ne
old car isn't up PER for mileage. Y
rent a depend- NO MILEAGE CHARGE used and retur
n us. NationalLPng location.
rates you want. $22.95 PER DAY

'Tis the seas
And if yourc
to it, you can
able car frorr
has the low r

ver a charge
ou pay for gas
rn car to rent-

Holiday rate available from noon
Thursday, Dec. 19 to Monday,
Jan. 6. Rates will be slightly
lower for drivers over 25.
Certain daily minimums apply.
Advanced
reservations
required.

A s soon as you get a job, you could
get the American Express Card.
If you're a senior, all you need is
to acceDt a $10000 career-oriented job.

The Card can help you begin to
establish your credit history. And, for
business, the Card is invaluable for
travel and restaurants. As well as shop-

5' NOn-discountable rate appues to tis or simuar-

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