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? Complete Confidential Information Pregnancy Counseling Center 529 N. Hewitt, Ypsilanti Call: 434-3088 (any time) 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 \ SPONSORED BY ARTS and PROGRAMMING DATE: Mon. Nov. 3 thru Fri. Nov. 7 TIME: 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. PLACE: MICHIGAN UNION GROUND FLOOR MALL L2r I I INSPIRATION ON IVORY i I,, ''I . .fi MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV PUSH COMES TO SHOVE "THE CLASSICS" - Impressionists, Surrealists, Modern, American. Works by DALI, DEGAS,. HOMER, KLEE, MAGRITE, MATISSE, MONET, PICASSO, REMINGTON, RENOIR, ROUSSEAU, SEURAT, VASARELY, WYETH, and Hundreds More! Only $4.99 EACH, Take 3 FOR $12.99. "THE GALLERY POSTER LINE" - Contemporary Gallery Posters from the Leading Publishers in the Art Industry. Photography, Exotic Cars, Still Lifes and almost anything by todays most popular artists can be found in this collect- ion. 30% to 60% OFF Gallery and Frame Shop Prices! "LASER PHOTOS" - From cute little kittens and teddy bears, to wild lions and tigers. We now carry a full line of laser photos. Also exotic cars, beautiful scenery and travel posters too! Special Feature: M.C. ESCHER, MOVIE POSTERS, FRAMES, MATTING