ARTS The Michigan Daily Monday, February 3, 1986 Page 6 Network's 'Jesse' steals the show 4 By Lauren Schreiber .AS SOON as I walked into the in- timate theater at the Performan- ce Network, I had suspicions that I might like Jesse and the Bandit Queen. A guitar player and a violinist Were playing country music on the small stage, simply set with a piano, a few chairs and a small table. My suspicions were confirmed the moment Judith Ottmar and James Moran strolled on the stage. "I'm fat now...Yes, fat. But once, ohh, once," remembers Moran as Jess, and so begins the story of Jesse James, Belle Starr, and their relationship in the old American West. Physically, Moran and Ottmar were perfect for their roles. Their costumes and western dialects added to their convincing stances. Ottmar had all the voluptuousness and vigor of a female outlaw while Moran was per- fectly wicked as the notorious villain in retrospect. Neither actor ever lost the enthusiasm for their roles; and at all times they were believable and related well to one another. Both played up the comedy as well as the more dramatic moments without overacting. Director David Bernstein made full use of his stand and the actors' movements remained interesting and motivated throughout the play. Husker Du, Soul Asylum rock By Hobey Echlin WHAT WITH all this God-forsaken, twisted-this and motley-that heavy metal around, it's refreshing, downright inspiring, when a band comes along and, sans smoke machines and glitter gim- micks, knocks you flat on your ass with some hell-bent rock 'n' roll. And that's just what happened, (twice, no less) as Minneapolis' finest, Husker Du and Soul Asylum, kicked out more than a few of the jams at Traxx in Detroit Friday night. Soul Asylum led off the festivities with a raw, surging pulp of MC5-ish juice as they plunged into their first song. Their 45-minute set stomped, tromped, soared, and damn near exploded with its garagey power. And while Soul Asylum wore their early '70s rock influences on their sleeves, they weren't afraid to sweat them up. Aside from soke down-home, long-haired, Rama Lama, Fa Fa Fa rock 'n' roll, Soul Asylum spiced things up with a little hardcore, (which the dippity-do and die audience ate up like acid at a Dead show), and even some balladesque slower tunes to smooth things out. Husker Du's set was fine as well, though the band seemed to be wearing their recent switch to Warner Bros. a little too much. Their material was expectedly recent, concentrating on the mellow feel of "Makes No Sense at All," and the title track of their new Flip Your Wig LP, as well as the successful sounds of their New Day Rising LP. The Huskers seemed a little tired, the result of having to play an earlier all ages show. Sticking with their slower, newer material made for a bit of monotony as well, as the preponderance of low-key songs gave the Huskers a dull feel at times. Added to this were a few problems, like Bob Mould's effect splattered guitar came off sounding like distilled water too often, and the bass lacked the low range and depth the Huskers high-guitar low bass sound deman- ds. Beyond that, they stayed annoyingly away from their lauded Zen Arcade LP. But come encore time, the Huskers were in top form as they sifted through "Never Talking to You Again," the hypnotic "Pink Turns to Blue," and stomped and screeched through "What's Goin' On." A spasmodic cover of the MC5's "Ramblin' Rose" featured Soul Asylum bassist and their quintessential, greasy-long- haired, rock-'n'-roll-animal singer spitting out the scratching soprano lyrics. A splendid outing, indeed. Moran and Ottmar played other characters as well. At the beginning this was sometimes confusing as it was difficult to tell when they swit- ched back to being Jess and Belle. However, later on in the play, they made better use of subtle changes in costume to define their characters. Moran was especially adept at this as he went from outlaw Jesse James to Police Gazette editor to a wild west show performer. David Freeman's script contained Records Fred Small - No Limit1 (Rounder) If anybody else had done this album it would have been a pleasant sur- prise. From Small, however, it's worrisome. As one of the young "angry guitars" of the folk world, he was responsible1 for "The Heart of the Appaloosa" and the anthemic "No More Vietnams" on his last recording venture. He seemed on the brink of winning a large younger audience that shared his political frustrations and his basic views on the goodness of mankind. But here, Small has softened his tone, and relied more on an easier, anecdotal approach. That's not to say there aren't some fairly impressive successes, though. "Big Italian Rose" and "Scramblled, Eggs and Prayers" are clever, mildly inspiring songs that easily surpass the similar "Larry the Polar Bear" from his last album. Similarily, "The Peace Dragon" may wind up a folk children's stan- dard. Obviously inspired by Peter Yarrow's "Puff the Magic Dragon," it falls far short of therclassic, but achieves a sing-song protest effect that has its charms. "Leslie is Different", the story of an abondoned child with multiple birth defects, is moving in spite of its ob-. vious appeal. "She said love never comes easy/And miracles mostly come hard," works in spite of its sugary overtones. But the title song, which seems a a weak attempt to produce another an- them, is just short of embarrassing. With a fuller instrumental arrangement, it makes weak over- tures to the pop-rock crowd amongst whom it will certainly be ignored. No Limit is only Small's third album, so there's still hope that he'll be able to develop into the type of songwriter that Heart of the Ap- paloosa prophesied. Even if he never does, he will undoubtedly remain, as he is here, one of mainstream folk music's leading voices. - Joseph Kraus Gary Burton Quartet - Real Life Hits (ECM) A new LP from a new.Gary Burton quartet will always be met with ex- cited ears. This one is no exeption. Some critics have already called it Burton's best work, which after 20 years and more albums is quite a claim. But let the record speak to you; there is some credence to this seemingly outrageous suggestion. Real Life Hits is chocked full of great material treated as it should be, with Burton's consummate attention to detrail. And what a band! Mike Hyman on drums and wunderkind Makoto Ozone on piano join Burton and long time collaborator Steve Swallow to round out a thinking man's quartet. Makoto is still in his early 20's paying with youthful verve and the impeccability that is more often the result of the wisdom of age. Swallow is, as ever, a charmer. A delight. The varied material on Hits challenges the band appropriately. All four players rise to the excitement of Carla Bley's "Syndrome." "Fleurette Africaine" by the master, Duke Ellington, is unfolding here; a thing of organic ebony beauty. Ozone's original "I need you Here" which apppeared on his debut LP with Columbia is an excellent inclusion on this date. Yum yum yum. I'll hav seconds, thanks! Marc S. Taras no true plot, rendering it a bit vague and lacking explanation in some places. But it was at all times highly engrossing and comical; Bernstein, Ottmar and Moran worked well to overcome the few inadequacies of their material. A good combination of historic fact and legend, plenty of murder, sex, and villainy, Jesse and the Bandit Queen was, at heart, the story of the relationship between two very color- ful individuals. If not a flawless production, Jesse and the Bandit Queen is entertaining, well-acted and directed, and worthwhile. The play will continue its run Thur-g sday-Sunday through February 16 at the Performance Network, 408 W. Washington. Performances begin at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and at 6:30 p.m. on Sundays. For ticket info, call the Performance Network at 663-0681. Tales from an underground Action Sports Wea7 Below Dealer Cost Prices on Ladies Running*Shoes & Court goe Sizes 58 5!/2 419 E. LIBERTY (2 blks. off State) 663-6771 By John D. Wolter Keith Laumer r cket Books, $2.95 I picked up Retief to the Rescue Rescue having never even heard of Keith Laumer. That's not his fault; he's written six books in the Retief series, and apparently he's developed a notable underground following. I surveyed seven of my friends at a recent get-together and three of them had read the series, one of them noting "I love 'em". Having read Retief to the Rescue, I can understand why. Our hero, James Retief, has been sent to the planet Furtheron to help settle a war between the two Fur- theronian factions, known colloquially as the Creepies and the Crawlies. This is much easier said than done. First, it needs to be done quickly, as an inspec- Primitons play Pig Throbbing Lobster recording ar- tists The Primitons will be making their first Michigan appearance tonight at the Blind Pig. The band's self-titled EP (well, it's seven songs) is an impressive debut. It displays MitchEaster's (of R.E.M. and Let's Active Active fame) knack for inventive, poppy production. But the band gives him something to work with, too. A dash of folk, some of that Southern guitar ringing, and a whole lotta rock and roll. A little arty, but real ready for radio. They can load a hook, like on the fun and frolicking "All My Friends," or get irresistably clever with a line like You'll never know what to do if Jesus or the atom bomb break through sung so, smoothly on the guitar-happy "You'll Never Know." So what's that again? Primitons. -Beth Fertig tion team is due to arrive on Fur- theron to examine the progress of the Diplomatic Corps in establishing peace, and second, the Creepies and the Crawlies don't really seem to want peace. The charm of the book, however, is not the plot, but rather the characters. Relief plays the straight man to the antics of the rest of the characters, who represent various extremes: the falterine bureaucratic Diplomatic Corps, who have been trying to get the Furthertonians to agree to a "limited provisional preliminary symbolic partial cease-fire covering left- handed bloop guns of calibre .25. and below"; the unsophisticated Fur- theronians, who capture and lose the capital city on a daily basis; and the Groaci, constantly trying to keep the civil war going for their own ends. The dislogue between the characters is lively and sets the lighthearted tone of the book. My one gripe with the book is that Laumer takes everyday expressions (like "if the shoe were on the other foot") and states them in different words ("if the ("if the sneaker were on the other pedal extremity.") It's humorous for a while, but the gag wears with age, and, believe me, he does it a lot. 4 : H Call Rachel 764-0552 or stop by the St Publications Bui 420 MAYNA SCIENCE WRITERS The Daily is looking for people to write about science, computers, and technology. L at udent ilding LRD =c. ='Z( ') F A-fI61, 1 2 F s A RECRUIT U.S.A., INC. & p 1 ,ES 'tA&A Atin 2 l tz L 21, f Z > t UY ~t OJG = 4MG -N11 - 'l- 12 J L 0 n IU oiervicei Dio LSA Building 764-9216 I§~4ZL The University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Tenth Distinguished Senior Faculty Lecture Series Professor Warren H. Wagner. J. in a three-part series, will discuss Systematics of Plants: An Unending Synthesis February 4 I m U."m mu * February 11 and 12 I and 3 P.M. International Center. b-tc0)L. J'AtA- Z AWA \UL 0 I AA A HA. A INSTANT: Passport - visa- Aaalhal#in DAhp IA Taxonomy: Approximating Reality February 6 Phylogeny: Groundplants and Divergences February 11 *If unable to 4MM attend, please call our toll free number. RECRUIT U.S.A., INC. 700 S. Flower St., Suite 3210 i I i