ARTS The Michigan Daily Thursday, March 1, 1990 Page 5 Register to by Alyssa Katz FOR some reason, perhaps inherent laziness, the huge number of things to do on campus, or the ominous signpost of the end-of-the-world Fleetwood diner, most students seem to think the edge of the Earth lies somewhere just beyond Jacobson's, or maybe Schoolkids. The Perfor- mance Network might as well be on Mars, then - after all, it's at 408 West Washington. Isn't that near TJ Maxx? Actually, the Network is within walking distance, about two blocks past the Blind Pig. Tonight, a group called Student Initiative is going to try to promote a much-needed nar- rowing of the gap between students and the city of Ann Arbor by throw- ing a voter's registration party there. A number of performers, including Frank Allison, Juice, the Iodine Raincoats and Tracey Lee Komarmy will provide the tunes while a bunch of deputy registrars register voters, change their city of voting (meaning that if you're registered at home you can be instantaneously switched to Ann Arbor) and process changes of address within the city. Organizer Peter Orlowski ex- plains, "It's lousy that there's a per- ceived division between the campus and the community. Students don't get involved in city elections. With the zone of reproductive freedom and the pot law on the ballot, obviously there is a reason for students to turn out and vote." Orlowski compares the situation in Ann Arbor to that in Poland, where students formed a coalition with workers that grew into the Sol- idarity movement. The same sort of thing could happen here, he says, if students come to understand the in- terests they hold in common with other city residents. Starting tonight before the party, and for the next two weekends, Frank's Absurd Repertory Theater Ensemble, a group of Performance Network regulars, will be presenting A Synthetic Circus, a collection of short works by absurdist playwrights such as Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, Antonin Artaud and several Italian futurists. Orlowski says the two events are related in a significant way: "Art is very political, and poli- tics done well are artistic rather than manipulative." As an example of the connection between art and politics he mentions Vaclav Havel, the Czechoslovakian absurdist playwright who is now president there. Linda Kendall of Frank's also sees this link, saying that the group is about "making the world a better place through theater. It's a way to imagine a better world, vote, a way to work out problems in o culture." As for the plays themselves, the have two things in common: they' short, and they're strange, to great or lesser degrees. The show leads o with Offending the Audience, piece by Peter Handke that cha lenges every preconception evf brought into the theater. Four acto stand in a line downstage ar monotonously speak to the audienc incanting "This is no play," "Yc are not individuals here," "You a the event." Things get stranger from ther According to performer arwulf a wulf, "The weirdest one by far is A taud, and that's even weirder tha anything we've done before." Of t piece, Jet of Blood, Kendall say "His plays are considered nt doable.... We're interpreting it ima; istically. We have yet to see if will flow." Well, see it for yoursel And stick around to register to vo while you're there. have some fun THE VOTERS REGISTRATION PARTY takes place tonight starting at 10:30 p.m. admission is free. A SYNTHETIC CIRCUS starts tonight at 8 p.m. and runs through March 18th, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $7 students, $9 others. Peter Knox, Mitchell Robert McElya and arwulf arwulf appear in Tridget of Greva, by Ring Lardner, one of the" twelve plays that comprise A Synthetic Circus, a collection of absurd theater pieces. Boston band hopes to hit the Big Time by Kristin Palm THEY got off to a good start, moving in on the Boston scene and establishing themselves as a (gasp!) folky-rock outfit with a sense of humor and the ability to jam. They achieved popularity on the same Eastern circuit that has spawned such groups as Dinosaur jr. and the Del Fuegos in past years and, more re- cently, the Bags and Medicine Ball. There was airplay and vid-play, and there were critically acclaimed record- ings, most notably Positively Dumptruck. Then the lawyers had to stick their noses into Dumptruck's business. "They've been suing us for the last almost two years," said vocal- ist/guitarist Seth Tiven of the band's former label, Big Time Records, 't which collapsed just after Dumptruck's third release, for the country. "It's a contractual thing," he continued. "We can't record. Well, we can record but we can't put anything out." Obviously, this dilemma has not had positive effects on the band member's pocketbooks. "It means we're broke," Tiven said. "We can't make money because we can't make records and we have to pay lawyers a whole lot of money and it's a bad situation." To take their minds off this bleak predicament, Dumptruck decided to embark on a four-and-a-half week tour doing what they do best. It may not get the long arm of corporate law off their backs but Tiven said it should relieve some tension. "The reason for the tour right now is we're bored not playing and we want to play. We make enough to break even, maybe something extra but we don't make a lot of money on the road. We don't rake it in or any- thing. It's more for the fun of doing it," he said. But, he added, there could be more trouble ahead: "We hope we're not taking a bus, but that's a distinct possibility with our van." Regardless of the mode of trans- portation, the sound of the band will be different this time around. They have been scaled down to a trio with Brian Dunton on bass and Shawn Bevlin on drums. Although for the country was recorded with four members, a new sound is apparent on this album, a much mellower re- lease than the previous two discs. "There's definitely a change there but one of the songwriters left the band and there's going to be a change. We had more money to make this record with and that's go- ing to change it because there's al- ways things, there's always mone- tary constraints. No matter how much money you have you can al- ways use more when you're record- ing," Tiven said. He cited one major benefit of the trio format: "It means you can hear everything that's going on. It puts more pressure on the three of us; it makes us work harder which is a good thing. You don't get the wall of sound-type thing you sometimes get with two loud gui- tars." Whether this minimalist ap- proach pushes the trio into the big time remains to be seen. But right now that name isn't one of their fa- vorites anyway. DUMPTRUCK hits Club Heidel- berg tonight with ANNE B. DAVIS opening up. The show begins at 10:30. Cover is $5. Phil Collins ...But Seriously Atlantic When Phil Collins titled his lat- est LP...But Seriously, he meant it. The album consists of 12 songs, all pertaining to some of the most po- tent issues of our present existence. Most obvious are his social com- mentaries, "Colours" and "Another Day In Paradise." "Colours" considers the position of the Black individual in society to- day. It starts with a melancholy rhythm, accented with a gong-like drum accompanying the chorus, a war-like interlude, then an upbeat melody set paradoxically to the lyrics: "The tears from her eye feed her son... segregate the Black and white/ but when the dust settles/ and the blood stops running/how do you sleep at night?" The transition be- tween the different speeds in the song detracts from it. However, it is a valiant attempt, and the songs meaning, "It never gets any better," is not lost. The album's first single, "Another Day In Paradise," addresses the homeless situation, and is defi- nitely what our society needs. Its eerie introduction, pounding drums and mysterious guitar plucking, which break into a symphony-like melody at repeated intervals, clearly illustrate what Collins expresses in his lyrics. "You can tell from the lines on her face/ you can see that she's been there/ probably moved on from every place/ 'cos she didn't fit in there." His message and his method attain their goals with force- ful impact. "All of My Life," featuring a-fan- tastic introduction and closing by Don Myrick on alto saxophone, could easily be the album's best track were it not for an unnecessary clamor accompanying the chorus of what would otherwise be a powerful song. Collins' best vocals can easily be found here and the addition of Steve Winwood on organ is wonder- ful. The album spotlights a fabulous appearance by Eric Clapton on guitar on "I Wish It Would Rain Down" that leaves the listener desperate for more. David Crosby and Stephen Bishop make somewhat less con- spicuous contributions, but the al- bum has plenty to offer and is, most definitely, a success. I applaud Phil Collins' efforts. --Kim Yaged Michigan Daily ARTS 763-0379 Dumptruck members Seth Tiven and Shawn Devlin are all grown up now, even if their band is named after a Tonka toy. PERM PACKPLUS I$35 990 I. Includes shampoo, professional cut & blowdry (Reg $50) (Long Hair Extra) Expires 3/15/90 $1.00 OFF ml 1 JUUUIR EUPLOYMEnT MUETROPURII/mw ovER soo jcw mWRu8E THv AlnmEl inosisH1~t~.PARKi EflR ofltf FAPW ff 7HE fflEffopA0I lEAREIT You oR GILL OUR TOLL .~mUtI8ERm I-80- 4A rJ M EQUAL WPORIUTrY EMPLOYER I -HARVAR D' SUMMER SCHOOL '90 June 25-August 17 Harvard Summer School offers open enrollment in hundreds of day and evening courses. The curriculum includes courses that fulfill college degree requirements and programs designed for personal and professional development. Our international student body has access to Harvard's outstanding libraries, museums, laboratories, and cultural activities. 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