4 ARTS Friday, March 27, 1987 The Michigan Daily Page 8 Miles: The 'Bad Cat' graces Power 4 By Marc S. Taras Miles Davis will be in town tomorrow night for two shows at the Power Center. This is where it's at. Miles Davis. The Sorceror. The Bad Cat. The Dark Magus. Miles Davis has been an innovator defining the cutting edge of music for the past 40 years. He has been the most influential performer of the last quarter of a century. But you don't go to see Miles Davis for what "has been," but rather for what "is." And Miles is happening. For the neophytes out there, Davis was born in Illinois in 1926. While still an infant, his folks moved to East St. Louis, which Miles calls "a trumpeter's town." He received a trumpet for his thirteenth birthday, began formal and informal education, and wound up at the Juilliard School of Music. He didn't stay in school long. Instead, he hooked up with Charlie Parker. Lacking the range of cats like Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro, Miles made up for it by emphasizing the midrange and develping a distinctly poignant sound which became a trademark. In the early '50s he began leading his own bands. Following their recordings means following the development of contemporary music itself. The birth of the "cool" sound with Gerry Mulligan. The first great quintet with John Coltrane. The collaboration with Gil Evans and the modal experiments of the Kind of Blue sessions. Then the second "classic quintet" with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. By the late '60s Miles was responding to the electric music of the Aquarian Age and, char - acteristically, advancing it. Bitches Brew. Along with Sgt. Pepper's, this landmark recording remains the most important album of our generation. Further electric outings moved the early '70s along, the music getting denser, and more turbulent. And then... he was gone. Retirement. In 1981 the hiatus ended. Miles had nothing to prove. Nevertheless, he surprised and delighted most of his would-be detractors. The Man With the Horn was back. He has led a series of fine bands since then, moving social music ahead, as usual, and turning to current pop hits as a jump-off point. Miles would blow off everything that I've just run down as irrelevant bullshit. Old News. Instead, what matters is what's happening right now. And tomorrow night you can be a part of it. Ladies and gentlemen, Miles Davis. That should be all I have to say. See you there. Show times are set for 7. p.m.and 10 p.m. Tickets are $16 in advance at Schoolkids', PJ.'s Used Records, or at the door. Stryper rockers bang their heads for Heaven 4 By Michael Fischer At first the terms seemed to contradict themselves. "Christian heavy-metal"? Conjure the scene of towering P.A. stacks pounding an arena full of fist-shaking, drugged- out delinquents with an apocalyptic flood of flashing lights and scream - ing power-chords. Through the years, this very image of heavy- metal has become synonymous with anti-social nihilism and excess. Not exactly the kind of stuff you'd associate with conservative America's clean-cut and nifty version of Christendom. Lately, though, some curious new bands are springing up to bang some heads for God. They try to channel the electric sense of manic strength and fury which the heavy- metal fan craves into celebrating the power of religious ideals rather than cliches of teenage restlessness. A few years back, while enjoying the frenzy of a Kiss concert, singer Michael Sweet wondered why he had to put up with "all this negative stuff"- sexism, drugs, and violence. He later formed Stryper, which has emerged as the highest-profile and most credible Christian hard-rock group today. While others like i "/ r id___ ' Petra have failed to fully cash-in like mainstream counterparts such as Amy Grant, Stryper recently put three albums into the top 200 at once. The days of mail-order sales and high school gym concerts are behind them. Their new LP, To Hell with The Devil, is no farce; they do a pretty good job of rocking. In contrast to average MTV-metallists, Stryper can play. Sweet sings with remar - kable power, and ax-man Oz Fox cranks out a full slab of meaty riffs. Their heavy style avoids the sclerosis of dullness plaguing most "Christian music." The sound sug - gests Boston, what bass player Tim Gaines calls "melodic hard rock." Gaines suggests that their fans usually come for the music, rather than the message. Unlike bands such as U2, which subtly infuse spiritual themes into songs, hailing Jesus is the whole shooting match for Christian rock bands. But are the kids listening to the incessant Christ-references which distinguish Stryper? Gaines estimates that 75 percent of their audience is secular; Stryper seems to be changing few minds. Surprisingly, they have found little acceptance from even the Christian anti-rock forces. Crusader Jimmy Swaggart has attacked them for participating in the "devil- music" lifestyle. According to Gaines, Stryper just wonder why Christian music "always has to be so wimpy," call record ratings "ridiculous," and don't believe that their loudly costumed image is a vexation of a Christian sense of dignity. "Some people believe that if you have long hair you won't get to heaven," he says. Still, they aren't martyring their pocketbooks. Smart Christ-rock groups like Stryper know how to get the Word to speak the language of sales. But their breaking of the conservative religious mold is, if absurd in nature, perhaps refeshing to see. They simply believe that rock's ethical wasteland could use a few positive values for a change. Stryper will rock Hill Auditorium tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Tickets are $14.50 at the door. 0 0 DROP SHOP Complete Shipping Service Need to send a package? Need boxes or packing supplies? PACKAGE DROP SHOP 617 E. University, Suite 211 668-8806 Above Taco Bell Heavy metal/Christian rockers Stryper will be at Hill Auditorium tomorrow night, shooting the Word. I, UNION Arts & Programming This week at the Michigan Union... March 30, 31, April 2, 3 Xavier Mie jewelry sale Noon-8 p.m. Michigan Union Ground Floor Mall April 2 Arts at Midday 12:15 p.m. Pendleton Room N . ) 7'. '' 77, MAC IN THE MORNING - .- , {,I/ r '1( :{" . :.Yy :~ .'tip J ^'2c"" MArN H VENN MAC ROUN THECLOC kinko....'s I eclipse presents Miles Da' I1 I I I I power center OPEN 24 HOURS SELF-SERVE MACINTOSH CENTER -FULL-SERVICE LASERSETTING- RESUME SPECIALS 540 EAST LIBERTY STREET ANN ARBOR CORNER OF LIBERTY AND MAYNARD 761-4539 2 show sat mar 28 7 am Ns t ch d d 10pm tII\ I%. 4 A ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A J 1 A A A A A A A 1 L_. ATTENTION STUDENTS ARE YOU: -enrolled as a full-time undergrad (12 or more hours) -looking for part-time work (up to 20 hours/week) during the school year and full time work during vacations (summer, spring and Christmas breaks). ' -a needy student, who can meet certain low income criteria IF SO: we have Student-Aid jobs for engineering technic- ians, safety technician, clerk-typists, clerks and computer support personnel. Pay Rates $5.66 to $6.35 PH ' C depending on qualifications The English Composition Board's ACADEMIC WRITING SERIES presents 2 "USING COMPUTERS AS A WRITING TOOL, PART II" April is the cruelest month. Only four weeks of classes remain, yet a semester's worth of papers need to be written. Would using a work processor facilitate and improve your writing tasks? The last Academic Writing Series workshop of Winter semester provides a hands-on opportunity to learn to use computers as a writing tool ECB lec- turers Jan Armon, Emily Jessup, and Michael Marx will offer mini workshops on text block moves, windows, searching functions, and printing. The workshop will use Microsoft Word on Zenith PCs. All levels of computer users are encouraged to at- tend; you need not have attended the January work- ' DOMINO'S ®= WPIZZA Protect Concern's Walk for Mankind Project Concerns Walk for Mankirnd isa community-wide volunteer event made up of people who want to make life better for people in poverty in counltries atl over tne world. icluding the Unted States Project Concerns Walk for Mankind was the fist of its end n America Funds rased from the Walks enable Project Concern to provde health care and training for needy people all over the world Project Concerns grass'ootv approach to low cost healthn care teaches people how to take care of themselves and hrow 1o keep their childrennhtealthry Your commuinbes can benefit through our urnique "sharing' agreement. whereby wakers can donate up to 20 percent of collected pledges to the nconproft cause cfthireir choce In e past. Project Concern's sharing nov helped schools, chr.ches, local food programs anrd chartes WHAT: PLACE: TIME: DISTANCE: Washtenaw County Walk for Mankind Start and finish at DOMINO'S FARMS Earhart Road (north of Plymouth Road) Register between 11 am and 2 pm 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) Average walking time: 3/2 hours There will be a Farm Walk of 3 kilometers for those with less time, small children, or other obligations. -1