ARTS
The Michigan Daily
Wednesday, November 5, 1986
Page5
Tommy Keene: The powe
by VJ. Beauchamp
Tommy Keene has been seen as
the great white hope for
Washington, D.C., as far as pop
music goes. And the fact that he
landed a record deal with Geffen was
seen as further confirmation of his
imminent redeeming values. Great
white hope or no, he will be at the
Blind Pig tonight.
For a long time (at least the last
couple years), Keene has been a
college radio favorite. He certainly
has a lot going for him. He has
those all American handsome
looks, plays piano, guitar, and
drums, and makes the great
PowerPop. Yes, if the Beatles
updated pop, and made it shiny and
effervescent, yet kept the necessary
fullness that made the music
satisfing and memorable, if that is
true, and it is... well, then, Tommy
Keene is one natural proponent.
Two E.Ps in '85 really brought
him this fame; Places That Are
Gone , and Back Again(Try...), put
out by Dolphin Records of North
Carolina. Both had wonderful pop
originals like the title cuts, "Back
to Zero," and "Baby Face," and if
you listened to WCBN, the
University student FM radio sta -
tion, there was no way you could
have avoided hearing Tommy
Keene.
We spoke with Keene last week,
the day before this tour began. "It's
kinda the eleventh hour...
everybody's just running around,
trying to get everything together,
and we're buying a van... it's really
crazy."
But Keene is completely non-
plussed. He mentions that he can't
wait to get on the road, and he
sounds like he means it. He seems
so nice, and down-to-earth, too.
Huh? Aren't musicians supposed
to be jaded? Well, not in this case.
Maybe I should ask him about how
he came to be a musician.
"My mother was the musician of
the family. She used to play the
piano and the ukelele....then the
Beatles came out, I guess that
started it all, and I was just sorta
crazed about it ever since. You
know, I wonder why.." he trails off.
He then told me about his jump
from the independent labels to
Geffen. "You realize all of the
sudden the pressures of when you
get into the big leagues. For a
long time, we've been kinda a best
kept secret. We did this tour this
spring, and traveled around to all
these places we had never been to
before, and I was just amazed, I say
this with all modesty, what an
impact that record (Places That Are
Gone) had. It's just ridiculous!," he
says in mock frustration.
We talked for awhile of the
frustrations of finding record
producers. Both Keene and Geffen
were dissatisfied with the
production on Run Now, the new
E.P. and Songs from the Film, his
first Geffen album, and there is talk
of Keene at least co-producing the
next album. "I've been writing
r of pop
songs for the next record, and trying
not to make the same mistakes
again, learning from making one
album with a major label. I'm
going to re-record a couple of
songs. I definitely want to get the
definitive version, although I love
the original, of "Back to Zero" (off
Places That Are Gone)." Tommy
Keene asked about the weather
towards the end of the conversation.
"Should I bring more than a
windbreaker?" While today is
another perfect cool fall day, it's
gonna be hot at the Blind Pig
tonight. Tommy Keene and his
band. It's South First Street, you
know. Especially if you like
PowerPop.
CONSIDERING AN ABORTION?
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Pregnancy Counseling Center
529 N. Hewitt, Ypsilanti
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Power-Popper Tommy Keene will be playing at the Blind Pig tonight.
I
Ashkenazy triutn
yRebeccaChung merely wiggling his hands over
By bthe keyboard for show as he
Concertgoers who attended pushes the keys down by mental
Vladimir Ashkenazy's perfor - telepathy. Moreover, he has a
mance at Hill last Sunday truly rich palate of colors. He can
afternoon were treated to a well- coax all kinds of beauty from the
' played yet relaxing performance. piano; in the Two Pieces, he
The program, featuring Schubert's . produced bell tones and muted,
Two Piano Pieces, "Wanderer" mellow sounds simultaneously.
Fantasy, and Schumann's Two This fluidity does not, for the
Novelettes and the Sonata No.1 most part, exist at the expense of
in FJ-sharp minor, was not flashy, expression. He is also an intense
phs overprogram
as if he were going to glide right delicate works, not designed to fill
off the keyboard onto the floor of an auditorium the size of Hill.
the stage, partticularly during the Moreover, Hill was hot and
opening piece, Schubert's Two stuffy, as is the norm for a perfor-
Pieces. Some of his runs sounded mance sold out to an audience
slightly messy and out of time, wearing woolens and furs.
The Department of Philosophy
The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
announces
THE TANNER LECTURE ON HUMAN VALUES
1986-87
DANIEL C. DENNETT
Department of Philosophy
Director, Center for Cognitive Studies
Tufts University
"THE MORAL FIRST AID MANUAL"
not to mention hurried. This fault
was corrected by the end of the
first half, but it made the
atmosphere somewhat tense in the
interim.
Another "problem" with the
concert concerned the program, or
perhaps more accurately put, a
non-fulfillment of expectations.
The Schubert and Schumann
pieces certainly had their exciting
moments, but overall, they were
but nevertheless Ashkenazy had
ample opportunity to display his
even more ample abilities.
Ashkenazy's greatest strength
is his touch-he glides across the
piano. One wonders if he isn't
Cin t
layer, and spared nothing (even
is hair) in order to convey his
leas, as he did during the more
empestuous moments of the
Wanderer" Fantasy. However,
here were moments when one felt
Joe cheer
This is not to imply that the
program was somehow "bad" or
"inappropriate." Programs like
this certainly deserve to be heard,
and if one only wants to listen to
showpieces, one should question
his or her tastes. But more than
one head began nodding during the
show, and had the auditorium been
a little cooler and more intimate,
no one would have fallen asleep.
Friday, November 7
4:00 pm
Rackham Amphitheatre
1)
s tonight at the Ark
.vvLO ccc J'
SYMPOSIUM OF THE TANNER LECTURE
DANIEL C. DENNETT
DREW V. McDERMOTT
Department of Computer Science
Yale University
RICHARD H. THALER
Johnson Graduate School of Management
Cornell University
JUDITH JARVIS THOMSON
Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
By Joseph Kraus
A funny thing'sgoitg to ha#pen
tonight: Country Joe meets city Joe
at, of all places, the Ark.
Country Joe McDonald is one of
those enigmatic, unclassifiable sur -
vivors of the psychedelic era. He's
been known at different times as a
folkie, an acid rocker, and a comic
performer.
Sometimes he's more than one
at the same time.
Actually a part of the second
wave of the San Francisco scene in
the late '60s, Country Joe brought
a folk sensibility that bands like the
rGrateful Dead and Jefferson Air -
plane had passed over. With solid
footing in the folk world, he
established himself through a series
of schizophrenic-like records and
concerts.
On the one hand recording
albums like Tonight for You and
Tribute to Woody, which contain
mostly folk and blues standards, he
also became known for wild
football-style, "Give me an 'f,' give
me a 'u,' give me a 'c,' give me a
'k;' what's 'at spell" cheers during
his concerts. At the same time as
he, built up a reputation as a
political activist, he was still
tsomething of a drug guru.-
Country Joe reached his popular
peak when he performed at Wood -
stock with his band, The Fish.
(yes, 'he' is a band.)
Since then, he's had a frustrating
time of it commercially. After
years of recording for major labels
like Vanguard, Warner Bros., and
Fantasy, he's now with Rag Baby
Records, a San Francisco inde -
pendent.
But even those recent recordings
show his fabled sense of humor
intact. On 1983's Childs Play he
offers "Picks and Lasers," an acid-
eye view of video games and nu -
clear armegeddon, and "Star Yeck:
Voyage of the -Good Ship Under -
size," asix-minute Star Trek
spoof with WKRPin Cincinnati's
Howard Hessman as 'Mr. Jeckoff.'
Tonight's show is interesting
not simply for Country Joe but
also as the year's first event for
former Joe's Star Lounge owner Joe
Tiboni. "Joe's in Exile" presented
a handful of shows last year, and in
a city with an ever-shrinking num -
ber of promoters, Tiboni represents
a potentially vital independent
voice.
If the two Joe's weren't enough,
though, it's all happening at the
Ark. Since moving from its fabled
Hill Street location, the city's pre -
mier folk and blues club has begun
to offer a series of shows with par -
ticular appeal to students.
Country Joe, in his
schizophrenic, psychedelic, burnt-
out glory is just the sort to make
that appeal.
Tickets for Country Joe
McDonald are $8.50 and are
available at Herb David's, the
Union, and all Ticket World
Outlets. Showtime is 8 p.m.
Saturday, November 8
9:30 am
Rackham Amphitheatre
All events open to the public without charge
The Center for Japanese Studies Presents
GRADUATE STUDENT
FINANCIAL AID INFORMATION
A Brown-Bag Lecture by
MARY JARRET
Rackham Fellowship Office
and DEEDA STANCZAK
Student Services Assistant CJS/CSS
NOVEMBER 6 -12 NOON
COMMONS ROOM IN LANE HALL
Exhibition and Sale
Of Fine Art Prints,
Laser Photos, and
Contemporary Gallery Posters
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SPONSORED BY
ARTS and PROGRAMMING
DATE:
Mon. Nov. 3 thru Fri. Nov. 7
TIME:
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PLACE:
MICHIGAN UNION
GROUND FLOOR MALL
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