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Page 8 -The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, September 29, 1987
dB's engage new crowds
but still satisfy loyalfans
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By Beth Fertig
"We want this song to be on
the radio," an excited Peter
Holsapple of the dB's told the
crowd at the steamy Rick's
American Cafe Saturday night. "We
think we're good enough to be on
the radio."
If good songs were the criteria
for radio airplay, then surely the
dB's would be as big as Bon Jovi
(come to think of it, Holsapple's
hair is about as long as Jon Bon
Jovi's now). But as it stands, the
dB's are just beginning to turn
heads with their first LP for I.R.S.
Records, and they might also just
be starting to achieve the success
they deserve.
For the fans at Rick's on
Saturday night, the dB's were
already on top. The band kicked
through an hour and a half of fine
tunes culled largely from their new
album, The Sound of Music, and
some off ofLike This. A few in the
crowd were disappointed when no
tracks from their earlier records were
played - back when Chris Stamey
was co-writing tunes - but not
necessarily surprised. The dB's are
clearly moving in a new direction
now. In both performance and
vinyl, the band is aiming for more
of Holsapple's country or folk-
tinged rock sound, without
Stamey's trademark experimen-
tation. Today the dB's are clearly
Peter Holsapple's band, although
drummer Will Rigby's tussled
charm looms strongly in the.
background.
The band opened their set with
"Never Say When," the first cut off
their new album. With a new
guitarist to replace the recently
departed Gene Holder, and not-so-
newcomer Jeff Beninato on bass,
they came off exceptionally tight.
After charging through several more
tracks from The Sound Of Music
(which they happily plugged after
every song), they lunged into old
faves "Amplifier" (which took an
unexpected Wang Chung chorus)
and the plucky "White Train," on
which Holsapple shared vocals with
"best friend and best drummer" Will
Rigby. For "She's Got Soul" they
got an audience sing-along going.
The dB's were called back for
three encores, on which they invited
their opening band Dash Rip Rock
to take the stage with them. An
ecstatic chaos erupted as both bands
and their roadies sang, tumbled, and
mock-smashed their instruments
before being begged back to do it
all again.
The highlight of this happy
degeneration was when they played
Holsapple's new tune, "Why Did
You Sleep With My Girlfriend?"
(previously reserved for the song-
writer's acoustic solo per-
formances). Holsapple wailed the
lament, "I like you/ Your band,
too/Bought all your records since
'82 ... But Whyyy did you sleep
with my girlfriend?" Never one to
leave a line incomplete, the
following line, of course, is
"Whyyy did she sleep with you?"
With the band in tow, it provided
fans ample reason to eagerly await
more dB's product. 1
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Daily Photo by ANDI SCHREIBER,
dB's guitarist/vocalist Peter Holsapple wants to know, 'Why Did You Sleep With My Girlfriend?' The band gave
a well received show at Rick's Saturday night, satisfying the throngs of, people who came to see them back in
action.
Records
Squeeze
Babylon and On
A&M
The early '80s saw one good band
rise to the heights of popularity,
then disappear almost as suddenly;
but in 1987, Squeeze is back, and
pop music may just be saved from
near extinction.
Technically, Squeeze only left the
music scene for three years, just
long enough for Chris Difford and
Glen Tilbrook, the brains behind the
band, to record a dismal and ill-
conceived, self-titled. LP. Squeeze
reformed in 1985, but arguably in
name only. The album was titled
Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti, and it very
nearly made Difford and Tilbrook's
solo LP look like a masterpiece.
On the newly released Babylon
and On, Squeeze has finally
recaptured the sound that made
1980's Argybargy and 1981's East
Side S t o r y near classic
accomplishments. Its first single,
"Hour Glass," a better than average
pop tune, should bring Squeeze
some honest chart action for the first
time since 1982. But it is not until
the album's third track, "Tough
Love," that Squeeze really begins to
go to work. This Beatles-esque tale
of a woman's efforts to survive her
mate's alcohol and drug addiction
reaffirms the talents of Difford and
Tilbrook, two or rock's most gifted
and unique songwriters.
"The Prisoner" should finally
enable long-time Squeeze fans to
breathe a big collective sigh o f
relief. This is old Squeeze; it is a
spirited, rousing, and above all, a
well-written pop song that should
leave listeners dancing in the aisles.
Other highlights include "Trust Me
to Open My Mouth," "Striking
Matches," and "The Waiting Game,"
Squeeze's best ballad since 1981's
"Vanity Fair."
The only time that Babylon and
On fails to deliver is with "857-
5937," a song with loads of
potential, ruined only by Difford's
contrived lyrics, and "Some
Americans," a sub-standard effort
that probably should never have been
penned..
But that isn't enough to put a
damper on Squeeze's party. With top
notch production from Tilbrook and
Eric "E.T." Thorngren (of Talking
Heads), Babylon and On will finally
enable everyone who has worn out
their copy of Singles - 45's and
Under to send something new
spinning 'round their turntables this
fall. -David Peltz
Puck Fair
Fair Play
Lost Lake Arts/Windham Hill
According to legend; Puck Fair
was originally a spiritual celebration
of Ireland which made Mardi Gras
seem staid in comparison. Since
then, flutist Brian Dunning and
drummer Tommy Hayes have turned
the Fair into a private jubilee, a band
which combines ancient wind,
string, and percussion instruments to
achieve a beautiful, unique sound.
Their music ranges from freeform
jazz to classical, yet Dunning and
Hayes also retain their ancestral,
musical roots on the album b y
throwing in a large dose of Irish
influence. Dunning, playing . a
conventional flute, and Hayes, who
plays the bodhran (an ancient drum
made of wood and animal skin), are
joined on the album by various
artists, including a s e c o n d
percussionist, a guitarist, and an
extremely talented violinist to round
out the musical troupe.
The music itself is completely
instrumental and generally soothing,
in keeping with its classical
category, but at times extends more
into its jazz and Irish influences and
becomes quite exciting. A galloping
beat is pound out oh the bodhran,
while the flute, guitar, and
sometimes violin, race across the
Irish countryside, utilizing tempo
drop-offs and momentary lulls to
make the swifter sections more
prominent.
The most dynamic song on the
LP is a cover of Van MorrisonI's
"Moondance," a fast paced tune in
which Puck Fair makes use of even
a piano to more clearly demonstrate
its jazzy approach to music. On the
other end of the speed spectrum is
"The Cur," a slow, melodic song
which begins with a flute solo intro,
progresses into drums and piano, and
becomes one of the most beautiful
songs on the album.
Take a flutist experienced equally
in jazz, classics, and Irish music, add
to him a percussionist of the ancient
art of the bodhran, and you have,
Puck Fair. A fantastic concept.
-Robert Flaggert
Pozzi*'s prints are incomplete
By Avra Kouffman
In the early 1960s, Italian artist
Lucio Pozzi immigrated to the
United States. He b e g a n
experimenting with different art
forms and managed to establish a
considerable national reputation.
During the Vietnam era, Pozzi, a
leftist, produced politically
motivated performance pieces. His
return to visual art inspired one-
man exhibitions throughout Europe
and the U.S.
Pozzi has created some very
powerful art in the past. His
paintings of the past decade form an
impressive body of'wok. Recent
canvases such as "The Universal
Valet" and "Orpheus Remembered"
demonstrate inventive composition
and potent use of color, reminiscent
of both Kandinsky and Chagall.
For his Ann Arbor show,
however, Pozzi has abandoned
painting for yet another medium:
monoprinting. 24 of his
monoprints are currently on
display at the Alice Simsar Gallery
on North Main Street. To make
these prints, the artist etches a
design onto a metal plate, applies
ink and then prints the design on
paper, afterwards adding oil or chine
colle. Most of the pieces in the
show are made from a combination
of etchings and oils, and all range
between $1-$2,000 in price.
Pozzi's monoprints evoke
mixed reactions. A few of them,
notably "Mombase," "Miltiades,"
and "Garce" are lovely. Two of
these feature striking black and
yellow color schemes. Many of the
prints are vibrant and colorful, but
others are lacklustre and amateurish.
A few pieces succeed in diverting
the viewer's attention momentarily,
but they cannot sustain it. In
general, the works lack depth.
The faults in this exhibit may
lie partly with its m e d i u m;
monoprinting is a notoriously
difficult and tedious process. It is
not easy to obtain outstanding
results. Nevertheless, more is to be
expected from an artist of Pozzi's
stature. Not all the work in the
show stands on its own, and when
compared with Pozzi's past work, I
the exhibit is a peculiar
disappointment.
L U CI O P O ZZI :
MONOPRINTS will be shown at
the Alice Simsar Gallery, 301 N.
Main Street, until October 14.
Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday,
10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
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