ARTS
Wednesday, January 29, 1986
Page 7,
The MichiganDaily
A delicate sort of mania
' G
A FTER SEEING 10,000 Maniacs for the first time, I
had to sit back and think of exactly what it was that
had impressed me so about this band. Aside from their
fantastic music, something was really different in their
approach to their performance. Could it be, I wondered,
that after years of "girl groups" cashing in on empty
lyrics and pubescent pouts there was finally a respec-
table, intelligent, female performer who did not have a
price tag on her sexuality?
Yes, 10,000 Maniacs actually present creative music
and lyrics which reflect sensitivity and intelligence,
without undermining the mentality of the listener or ex-
ploiting a certain section of the population. But whether
their music is folk or caribbean flavored, their humility
prevails in their poetic lyrics which contemplate human
suppression, inequality and war.
The ability the Maniacs have to do this stems from the
fact that they are an incredibly natural band. Each song is
unassumingly sung by Natalie Merchant, whose vocals in-
tertwine with a guitar, that often opts to perform a com-
pletely different melody from the vocal line. This enables
the two to smoothly mesh and become one harmonious--
sound, sometimes spiced-up by the addition of a mandolin
or an accordian, depending upon the desired mood. It's
the presentation of these musical illusions which is the
unique essence of the Maniacs. There is no set routine, no
condescension, and no exploitation.
10,000 Maniacs will perform tonight at
Rick's. Call 996-2747for details.
-Katie Gentile
ially rnoto Dy ANUI SCHREIBEK
The Residents performed in their infamous eyeball costumes Sunday night at the Michigan Theatre.
Hey, who are these guys anyways?
Some All-American fun
By Richard Williams
D ADA for the 80's? That's what
The Residents seemed like Sun-
day at the Michigan Theatre. I was
searching for some crafty messages
aid couldn't really find any. Were The
Residents, in their own silly and ob-
tbise way, just putting on a regular
sow, as the name of the tour
suggested, "The Residents 13th An-
niversary Greatest Hits Tour"? It
would only make sense.
This was no Mole Show. They
played the BIG (?) hits. "Hello Skin-
,ny" "Constantinople," and "Smelly
Tongues" were all ravaged as were
many other tunes. Some of the
musical options left me cooled off
though. Most of the songs were pre-
ptgrammed and run through com-
puter disks on an Emulator com-
puter/synth. But they did play with
bddy (possible member?)
Snakefinger bringing most ditties to
life with his hyper-electric
psychedelic blues fret freak-outs.
-This sparse set-up made room for a
l6t of theatrics. During most pieces,
rtvp possible Residents (see, this show
still left us without a clear idea of how
many Residents there are, and I have
developed many new theories, but
they are too hard to explain) danced
and pranced with numerous
costumes, including the infamous
eyeballs, and played with blown-up
dinosaurs and lots of other neat
things.
Sometimes their antics followed the
musical storyline (like when Walter
Westinghouse gets bitched out by his
wife, an opus about modern America)
and others made no sense at all, which
is to be expected. It was vaudeville, it
was mime, it was Brecht but it cer-
tainly wasn't Broadway.
The neatest parts were when they
played some really long concept
pieces. They did an exerpt from the
Mole Trilogy where the vocalist blur-
ted out gobbly-gook in the Mole
language and man, it was downright
funny. I mean most everyone was
giggling in unison. The other massive
highlight was during the encore when
they did the last part of "The Festival
of Death" from the Eskimo LP. It just
kept building and soaring with dif-
ferent textures unlike the LP version
which just slowly fades away. At the
end of this they had to chase
Snakefinger off 'cause he wouldn't
stop playing guitar.
So maybe there is nothing to figure
out this time around. Can't under-
stand, theatre of the absurd with
campy music twisting all about.
Anyways I had never seen anything
like it, nor had most anyone else for
that matter. Simple, strange and
spellbinding. And just good, clean, all-
American fun.
RENT A
REFRIGERATOR
Ra
Phone: 1-815-895-2443
or 1-800-255-2255
ext. 7368 free phone call
FREE DELIVERY
WARREN MILLER'S
TEEP
AND
LS & A SCHOLARSHIP
LSA Scholarship applications for Spring-Summer
1986 and Fall-Winter 1986-87 are now available
In 1220 Angell Hall.
To qualify for scholarship consideration, a student must be an LSA
undergraduate and have completed one full term in LSA. Sophomores
must have a U of M grade point of 3.7 or better and Juniors and Seniors
must have a GPA of at least 3.6. The awards are based on financial
need and on academic merit.
lute
Presents
Sat., Feb. 1
7:00 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.
Michigan Theater
Tickets at: Box Office,
Ticketworld,
Bavarian Village
-Aerobic Dance
-Ballroom Dance
-Bartending
-Beer Appreciation
-CPR
-Dream Interpretation
-Financial Planning
-Massage
-Personal Nutrition
& Health
-Of Mice & Menus
-Pilot Ground School
-Sign Language
-Speed Reading
-Vegetarian Cooking
-Wine Tasting
-Yoga/Meditation
I I
0
o
Registration Begins Monday, Jan. 27 through Friday,
Feb. 7 at the Michigan Union ticket office.
For more info, call 763-1107
00
Come Party With Us!
S. A.M .S.
Students Against Multiple Sclerosis
KICK OFF PARTY
Choices, Changes, Career Opportunities
A TRADITION OF GROWTH CREATES
A WORLD OF CHALLENGE.
Philip Morris, America's largest consumer products company, is
looking for outstanding MBAs due to graduate in the spring of
1986. They will work in planning (corporate or domestic) or
marketing (international or domestic). Most positions will be at
our New York World Headquarters.
We're scheduled to interview on your campus on February 12.
To sign up for an interview and for more information, contact your
placement office.
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