ARTS
The Michigan Daily
Monday, October 20, 1986
Page 7
Fest: Blues explode at Power Center
By Joseph Kraus
When a three and a half hour
show earns its first standing
ovation before it's 45 minutes old,
you know you're in for an
impressive evening. When it
sustains that momentum for the
duration, as Thursday night's blues
fest did, it's the sort of show that
spawns legends.
The blues fest, featuring John
Lee Hooker, John Hammond, Elvin
Bishop, and Pinetop Perkins, got
off to an explosive start when
Perkins fronted Hooker's touring
band through 45 minutes of hard-
driving electric blues. Serving up
classic blues numbers like "Drivin'
Wheel" and "High-Heeled Snea -
kers," the former Muddy Water's
,eyboardist brought the nearly full
Power Center audience to its feet.
The beat slowed up a bit when
Hammond came on stage with just
his harmonica and an acoustic
guitar, but the energy went
unabated. Faced with the nearly
impossible task of following up
Perkin's performance, Hammond
leaned up close to the microphone
and delivered a non-stop barrage of
unadulterated blues.
After winning over the crowd,
Hammond called out Perkins and
the electric band. They went into
an electric blues rendition of "(Hand
Me) My Walking Cane" that proved
Hammond can do the blues any way
he chooses.
Bishop came next, again
fronting Hooker's electric band.
Dressed in overalls, a Hawaiian
shirt, and a baseball cap, he looked
less like a guitar genius than an
escapee from a halfway house for
deranged farmhands.
But looks belie the truth. More
an electric experimentalist than
Hammond, he nevertheless showed
he can play the blues as well as
anybody and with more energy than
most. Infusing a general craziness
into songs like "I'd Rather be
Sloppy Drunk than Any Way I
Know," he danced all across the
stage and twirled his guitar in
seemingly out-of-control ways.
Bishop brought out Perkins for
"Brown Bird" and "Don't You Lie
to Me" while he hit a stride that
brought the whole crowd to its feet
again.
The audience might have nevere
sat down again if it weren't for the
inescapable sense that the best.
Hooker, was yet to come.
If the truth be told, Hooker's
beginning was something of a
disappointment. The 69-year-old
looked sickly and confined himself
to a chair in front of the
microphone. His playing was
strong, but he offered it only in
short bursts.
But as he warmed to the crowd,
his sheer confidence carried the
hour. Calling out, "Nobody
boogies like the Hook," he belted
out song after song of his that
qualifies him for blues immortality.
Finally, with about 20 minutes
to go, he discarded his guitar
altogether and began walking about
the stage. The crowd, wonderfully
receptive all night, sprang to its
feet and many peopje congregated
around the foot of the stage.
Hooker capped off the whole
evening by calling out Hammond,
Bishop, and Perkins for a final 15
minute jam. In an amalgam of two
or three songs, Hooker fused 40
years of blues history into a single
moment. Harnessing all of the
massive talent of the troupe and all
of the energy the earlier performers
had generated, he brought the show
such a rousing finish it seemed
impossible to believe it had ended.
Dazed members of the audience
looked from one to another hoping
for more, but knowing they were
too drained to take it.
Not even a list of the concert
highlights could do the evening
justice; it was four master
musicians at their creative best
learning from one another, and
sending one another into even
greater flights of inspiration.
U Players walk tall in
- L - -- - - - --
By P.C. Russell Ginns
The University Players brought
John Murrell's Waiting For The
Parade to the Trueblood Theater
this weekend and it was a great
success. With the exception of the
Saturday afternoon show, all five
performances were sold-out or
nearly sold-out. The play is an
entertaining and emotional story;
and with the direction of Patricia
Boyette and a talented cast, it made
for a very enjoyable evening.
Waiting For The Parade
follows the lives of five Canadian
women as they endure the hardships
of World-War II as mothers, wives,
and daughters. Some of them face
the difficulty of loved ones going
off to war while others struggle
with bitterness and racism at home.
The "parade" that they wait for is
the end of the war, when their
husbands and sons will return and,
hopefully, their lives can return to
normal.
Amy Joe Lapin's portrayal of the
patriotic busybody, Janet, was very
convincing. This was perhaps the
most difficult of the five roles,
having to create a character which
the audience would like to slap in
the face during the first act, and
then developing it into someone
that the audience can sympathize
with by the end of the play.
Jane Gire was also very effective
in her performance as Margaret, the
aging mother whose eldest son goes
off to the war in Europe while the
other son is put in prison in
Canada. Throughout the play, the
characters ask, How old is that
woman? This provides comic relief
for the drama, but also highlights
Ms. Guire's splendid ability to
portray a much older character.
Most impressive of all was Mary
Beth Scallen as Catherine, the only
one of the five women whose
husband goes off to the war. Her
performance as a woman who per -
severes with strength and a sense of
humor in spite of loneliness and
hardship, was captivating and
believable.
The success of the production
'arade'
was clearly due to the cast's ability
to work as an ensemble since John
Murrell's writing depends heavily
upon this. In Waiting For The
Parade, how the different
characters cope with each other's
hardships is just as important as
how they handle their own
problems. The University Players
should be congratulated on a job
well done.
Hill Street Forum Great Writers Series presents
Kurt
Vonnegfut Jr.
One ofrAmerica's great writers, Kurt
Vonnegut Jr. is a speaker of enormous wit
and charm. His novels include Cat's Cradle,
Slaughterhouse-FIve, Happy Birthday
Wanda Jane, Breakfast of Champions, and
Galapagos.
Tues., Oct. 28 * 8:00 p.m.
Hill Auditorium
Tickets are now available at Ticketworld in the
Mic k a v Union and at Hudson's. $10, $8,$5
1429_HllStreet_ Mician onanterCard:t 763-8587)s reatwriters 4
1429ill Street Series tickets are available at Hillel. Phone
663-3336 663-3336 for more information.
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
School of Music
PRESENTS
Tuesday, Oct. 21
UNIVERSITY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Gustav Meier, conductor
Brahms: Symphony No. 1
Wagner: excerpts from Gotterdamerung
Hill Auditorium, 8:00 p.m.
Free
Wednesday, Oct.22
PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA
Leo Najar, conductor
Beethoven: Leonora Overture No. 3
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2
John Anthony. Lennon: Rhapsody forAlto Saxophone
Donald Sinta, soloist
Hill Auditorium, 8:00 p.m.
Free
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your identity will never be revealed to anyone without your permission.
We are particularly interested in learning of cases involving:
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research projects or classroom demonstrations involving animals.
. Cruel or abusive treatment of animals resulting in unwarranted
pain and suffering.
. Instances where students were forced to practice or experiment on
animals against their will.
. Gross negligence or irresponsibility related to sanitation,
overcrowding, or improperly conducted surgical procedures.
- Experiments conducted without proper protocols or in violation of
permits, including specific violations of the federal Animal
Welfare Act.
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procedures.
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experimental techniques.
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type and numbers of animals used, and as detailed a description of demonstrations or experimental
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