ARTS
Tuesday, March 27, 1990
The Michigan Daily
Hoboken 's
by Kristin Palm
Tiny Lights glow
W HEN it comes to defining the
sound of Hoboken, NJ's Tiny Lights
it is best to keep a few simple rules
in mind.
First of all, don't believe the
hype. Critics rave about this band -
for this they should be commended
- but they do it for all the wrong
reasons bringing us to guideline #2:
sticks and stones... This band has
been grouped into every category un-
der the sun. Popular tags include
metal-edged, psychedelic and art
rock. Art rock may be the most
harmful label since it elicits images
*of Depeche Mode and that is not
what this band sounds like.
Another adage to remember with
this band: if it ain't broke, don't fix
it. Granted, Tiny Lights' repertoire
borrows from every innovative mu-
sical godparent around, but they get
away with it because they do it dif-
ferently and they do it well. One
unique feature of this band is their
use of various string instruments,
primarily cello and violin, which
adds to their ethereal aura. What's
wonderful is that, despite the inclu-
sion of classical tools, the band still
manages to succesfully borrow from
rockers such as Bowie, T. Rex, Janis
Tiny Lights, the pride and joy of New Jersey, are bringing their unique, avantly artsy, string-driven sound to the
nation. They're a little more rocky than Kronos.
Joplin, Patti Smith and even a
(somewhat) mellowed out Funk-
adel ic.
Besides being used for jamming
purposes, the members of the string
family lend to Tiny Lights' haunting
sound, as do vocalist Donna
Croughn's floating, swirling musi-
cal narratives, which are sometimes
allowed to drift into blissful obliv-
ion and are at other times grounded
by John Hamilton's soulful har-
monies. Hamilton also deserves the
prize for Most Versatile Performer as
the brains and brawn behind the ever-
changing guitar overtones which
move from country to folk to '70s
hard rock to full o' funk and feedback
and right back again in an altered,
updated form.
See LIGHTS, page 8
Page 7
IN rciew
...continued
Ulmer gives a bloody good show
Decked out in his finest Afro-Lunar-Cowboy regalia, James "Blood"
Ulmer gave two relentless performances at the Ark Friday night. His guitar
work ranged from precise pointilism to blazing abstract expressionism as
the crowd cheered him on to increasingly impressive sonic achievements.
Occasionally mumbling reggae and blues incantations into the
microphone, Ulmer proved what everybody already knew - that lie's
much more of a guitarist than a vocalist. As far as coming up with a label
for what he does, you could throw about terms like "free-jazz," "cosmic
blues" and "new Hendrix," but the real power of this trio's performance
came about through the audience's laying aside of left-brained
categorization and swan diving into the creative process right alongside the
bandleader.
No hog, Ulmer's playing allowed for equal contributions frond his
rhythm section. A rough approximation could be made to Jimi Hendrix's
first trio. In that outfit, bassist Noel Redding rooted it all down, keeping
time while Hendrix and drummer Mitch Mitchell battled out the noisy
leads. Friday night, Amin Ali provided the relatively reliable bottom for
Ulmer and drummer Calvin Weston's pyrotechnics. Weston, the only
rhythmatist I've ever seen who drummed and chewed gum at the same
time, had the stage all to himself for a brutal, athletic, 10-nminute drum
solo that would have snapped Neil Peart's forearms in two. It alone, as
they say, was worth the price of admission.
--Mark Swartz
Whorehouse doesn't get the hang of it
The title of the show was, in this case, a misnomer. Although calling
it theworst little whorehouse in Texas would be too severe, the show
might have been described as a combination of Jane Fonda's workout tape
and a junior prom (which it specifically claimed it was not). It was
interesting to see a show that managed to demonstrate that Thc Best Little
Whorehouse In Texas is an inherently good, funny musical and yet, when
staged, can become amazingly amateurish and sloppy.
MUSKET's production of Best Little Whorehouse had its entertaining
moments but they flew by quickly, returning to the dragging pace set at
the beginning of the first act. This sluggishness was largely dtie to the
lack of continuity and depth given to the characters. Granted, this was a
musical and not Chekhov or Ibsen, but several relationships could have
been explored more.
The choreography was elementary and sloppy, with the exception of a
two-scene reprieve by the Texas Aggie cheerleaders and the Aggie football
team. In this scene, the state senator treats the lucky Aggies to a night at
the whorehouse as a reward for winning a game. The staging of the
football game, the scene with Angelettes and the ensuing "Aggie Song"
were well done and very funny, but the rest of the singing and dancing
numbers seemed very unrehcarsed.
This show would have been a good performance for high school
students, but one might reasonably expect more than sophomoric talent
from MUSKET. There were a few isolated points of light. The voice of
Jennifer Perry as Miss Mona was beautiful to hear, although her acting
was weak. It frequently seemed that she was the only one onstage singing
- even when she was not singing one of her lovely solos.
The impression with which I was left was that MUSKET should have
postponed this weekend's performance for two or three weeks and
See R EVIEW, page8
Above The Law
Murder Rap/Another Execu-
tion 12"
Ruthless Records
This flawlessly produced single
will undoubtedly prompt reactions
such as:
"Eazy-E is my mutha- boy!
He's gettin' paid out!!"
"They're at it again, do you be-
lieve this??"
"That Eazy is a short little twerp,
ain't he??"
New kids on the block 187 and
KMG are neither of them as dynamic
as their predecessor The DOC, but
something tells me that they've got
a lot more to say; only time will
tell. Bass voomphs pound through
the 'speakers like huge sledgeham-
mers. Sirens from the Ironside TV
show intrude noisily and twin sam-
ples of PE bounce off the backbeat.
Envision 10,000 brothers swinging
left and right: this is the sound of
"hype" in a nutshell - anarchic.
Buckwild. Insane. The beat from
Funkadelic's "Good Ole Music,"
which later became the beat for the
Jungle Brothers' "Jimbrowski," and
then for "The DOC and the Doctor,"
has been slowed down and filled out
to funk with your mind a little.
"Murder Rap" depends on the
noize to keep you groovin', while
the rapper on "Execution" reminds
me of KRS circa Criminal Minded,
more than anything. This is the
Compton posse's poisoned rose,
their total absence of logic or moral-
ity; are we supposed to cheer or
tremble when a gunshot rings out?
Dr. Dre's got the drop (pardon the
pun) on his competition; not only is
his original music hittin', but his
samples remain utterly inexplicable.
Nice comeback.
-Forrest Green III
Nat "King" Cole
The King Cole Trio
Echo Jazz
As I watched the widow of
Nathaniel Adams Coles receive her
husband's posthumously awarded
lifetime achievement Grammy, I
couldn't help but smile at this
recognition which was tooo long in
coming. What a talented man Nat
"King" Cole was! Then I remem-
bered that my admiration for Cole
extended to a side of him about
which few people know. Certainly
the award was based mainly on the
adulation he received as a pop star.
His velvet-smooth vocals on hits
such as "Unforgettable," "Nature
Boy," "Mona Lisa" and "The
Christmas Song" captured the hearts
of a worldwide audience. But what of
the Nat "King" Cole before stardom?
What of Cole the brilliant jazz pi-
anist who influenced other greats of
the instrument such as Oscar Peter-
son and Bill Evans?
Long before people were swoon-
ing to his voice cushioned by a mul-
titude of strings, Nat was dazzling
jazz lovers with his piano work.
Most of the records he made during
this portion of his career were done
within a trio setting: Cole on piano,
Oscar Moore or Irving Ashby on
guitar and Wesley Prince or Johnny
Miller on bass. All of these men
were excellent musicians and it is
See RECORDS, page 8
PERSONAL
* * ATTENTION: Supreme Course Tran-
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but I understand why you did late Sat. nitel
Good luck on Econ! Love - Kim.
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DO THE WILD THING AT ELLIS LAKE
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fr. $865-Sin a re fr. $999; Taipei fr. $845.
REGENCY TRAVEL 665-6122. Ask for
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TRAVEL
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MISCELLANEOUS
CASH FOR BASEBALL football, hockey,
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MUSICAL MDSE,
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HERB DAVID GUITAR STUDIO 302 E.
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ABOUT 1 BLOCK from UM. Tower Plaza,
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FOR SALE
2 MICROSCOPES. Professional quality.
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