"0 C . Page 14-The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition - Thursday, September 6, 1990 The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition- Thursda, N U El ~J nfl I 1111 k a ARK Continued from page 7 you are on the ball, you don't have to be rich, too. The Ark is ready and eager to accept volunteers, which ba- sically means you get your name put on a list for the show you want to see, show up an hour early and get to hang out with the ex-hippies who are regular workers there. Every once in a while, you'll sell a t-shirt or a cup of coke and you'll probably get a chance to meet the friendly types that perform at the Ark. Of course, the best part is that you get to see the show for free. Another option is open-mic night. If you can do anything that anybody, anywhere could possibly call music, Wednesday nights at the Ark are for you. Storytellers and a capella singing acts are encouraged, and anything goes. And, if the thought of performing makes your stomach wither, just come down to see the show. It's only a buck and three pieces, and you never know who's going to show up. The night you decide not to come might just be the night Blind Lemon Jefferson decides to come back from the dead for a one night only open-mic per- formance at the Ark. Seriously. Moral: Get on the ball, drag your lazy asses down to the Ark, and get cultured. MUSEUMS Continued from page 13 Library holds a collection devoted to historical documents from early America. Finally, for those with a natural affinity for the more scientifically quantifiable, there is the Natural Science Exhibit Museum, near C.C. Little and the Hill. This museum ...,,...".tttt*,:a:i:.". *":: .* t ti ..'.11 ii .1: '.::. ;.;." .: .. :"::: {.; t t*.*.. S 0. 1t.t SP "5 11 tt,., 1.t.,1.1.ti.. . {.1;.;:;:, 1".t."...v. ::1 ti:'t1~. S1.:1. .. .....,.. .1...1.1.. . ":.1": .11111*.*::::...*.i. ...+1 ..:, .. ..... ..... 11:::::" :1:"" .. ".. "" ....1....... .:.. :::;'.1 .::::': "" 88.3 9.9 91.7 92.3 94.7 195.5 97.9 98.7 99.5 100.3 101.1 101.9 102.9 105.1 105.9 FM WCBN Stiadminm WIU (NR) Jazout ofEMU CBE *WUOM(NPR) C~j WVAE New A:efazz wcsx ClnkRock Top 40 WHYT Top4cvTop 10 wugunk WLLZ Album Rock WDTX Top 40 WNIC WmIF Album Rock IWDET(NPRI) im/Akemauve IWIQB An Aw ased ClnkRock lWQRS NPI - NNMIIu Public Raio Staion FILE PHOTO Even though Taj Mahal has been through many stylistic changes, trom blues to Appalachia to calypso, there is not one point in his career when he would not been right at home at the Ark. THEATER Continued from page 6 directed by Barry Goldman. Goldman currently heads a traveling drama troupe in Europe. Timothy Mason, who wrote Landscape, came to see the performance and spoke with aspiring playwrights and actors. The University's Musical The- ater department is becoming one of the best in the nation. Last year they performed La Boheme and Three Penny Opera, dazzling audiences with such great musical and acting talent that the shows could have been on Broadway. Within the Residential College is the RC Players, which is consti- tuted of, but is not limited to, RC students. Often times classics are shown after months of intense study about the work. Previous perfor- mances have included Marlowe's Dr. Faustus and the Russian comic tragedy Three Sisters. The RC Players allow students to see great historical pieces, not just read them in an English class. Joining the RC Players and per- forming in East Quad is the Brecht Company, which focuses on the "epic" form of Bertolt Brecht and other playwrights similar to him. Some of the best theater this year was put on by the Black Theater Workshop, especially the perfor- mance of The Meeting in celebra- tion of Martin Luther King day. Charles Jackson, head of the ,4rk- shop, directed this powerful and thought provoking play about the hypothetical meeting of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Not all University performances are directed by faculty or non-stu- dents. The University Activities Center (UAC) has shows that are run wholly by students. MUSKET puts illuminates not only the study of culture and its products, but delves further into geological strata with several dinosaur skeletons on display. Through their association with various departments, the Uni-'' versity's museums and galleries allow for the interests of students, as they develop their own academic program. on two musicals a year. Fall brings the Sophshow's musical, in which only first- and second-year students can audition. Another UAC spon- sored performance is the Comedy Company, a sketch comedy troupe that writes and performs their own material. If you have ever had aspira- tions to write or act for Saturday Night Live, go to the mass meeting or stop by a writers' meeting. The Arena Theater in the ground floor of the Frieze Building is home to Basement Arts. Here students test out their directing abilities, newly written plays, and other mate- rial appropriate for a small, tight theater. Here one can see Hopwood Award-winning plays - the same University award that inspired Arthur Miller - and experimental pieces in progress from playwriting classes. And it is always free. If you want to get away from the University scene, try the non-profit community theater Performance Network, the Ann Arbor Civic Theater, or the Kerrytown Con- cert House. Another speciality is the Barrier Free Theater, consist- ing of both handicapped and able- bodied performers. And for musicals, look into the Comic Opera Guild, who specialize in European op- erettas. Two years ago I was walking through the Diag as a student thrust a flyer about a University production at me. "It's less than a movie," he said about the show, "and a heck of a lot better." Theater in Ann Arbor is par with theater in big cities, even New York and Los Angeles. Many people come from out of town to see performances. James Earl Jones, Arthur Miller, and Gilda Radner all started here. Take advantage of Ann Arbor's theater by seeing Broadway talent without Broadway prices. Ann Arbor's musical contends for national by Annette Petrusso One thing new students have come to expect when they come to college is something of a local music scene. After hearing the near legendary tales of the scenes in such college towns as Madison, Wisconsin and Athens, Georgia, not to mention that Soul Asylum started out of the miniscule scene surrounding Carlton College in Minnesota, some cross their musical fingers after they choose Ann Arbor. They won't be that disappointed. On any given night, you can catch shows at a number of bar-like and intimate theater venues. The Blind Pig features a mix of the big- ger alternative bands (Meat Puppets, Thee Hypnotics, Mudhoney, Sound- garden, Nirvana), blues and R and B types (Barrence Whitfield), and some of the more established local bands (Mil Triffid, Juice, Anne Be Davis). Rick's is much more drinking-ori- ented but promotes established local FILE PHOTO The Laughing Hyenas take the Stoogey sounds of Ann Arbor circa 1970 and churn them through the hellish torment of the Birthday Party. If you see them at a show, don't be afraid to say "Hi." They'll think it's funny! bands (like Trinidad Tripoli Steel Band), especially ones who do cov- ers, and the occasional national act,, usually commercially aimed (Trip Shakespeare). Sometimes Rick's does the unexpected-the Pixies, the Feelies, and Happy Mondays (who cancelled once they arrived to an empty Rick's) all played (or almost played) there in recent memory. Shows at Club Heidelberg range from obscure alternative bands to new local bands doing their first gig. Besides featuring reggae, new music and hip-hop dance parties, the U- Club in the Michigan Union has live music a couple days out of the week-it features weird mix of local and national bands, like tree town- grown Frank Allison & the Odd Sox as well as such famous faves fIREHOSE and Das Damen. The Nectarine Ballroom has the oc- casional big show; artists like Bob Mould, Camper Van Beethoven, Hoodoo Gurus, Soul Asylum and Living Colour (back when they were payir there Mich show such Repl< here to da derso featL ish/pc ers C S uza payir and J M more sical Laug the D conte tiona out c open T thoug Where others have failed, promoter gives musicians a decent CINEMA, Continued from page 8 want to see to be starting within 20 minutes. It has three different snack counters, a parking lot the size of Metro Airport's, and seats that rock(!). Most importantly, none of. the theaters are shoebox-sized like the ones in most complexes. Finally, if you'd rather avoid crowds and have an intimate time with your newfound friend, there are several video stores within walking distance of-campus: Study Break,~lo- cated in the student Union; Liberty Street Video, which has a decent for- eign selection; and Wolverine Video, located next-door to the ever-crowded bar/dive Rick's (which has spawned the popular end-of-the-night line, "Want to come back to my place and watch a video?"). So, given all these choices, you have no excuse for not going to a good film, and if you end up seeing Rambo IV your date may offer you as a case study of deviant behavior in your next class. by Annette Petrusso IEl * 3. 0 0 77 r~ i ' ' e ready COLUMBIA venience, _ _ -_ BLE - - -- 73-2266 "Entertainment at your Rngertips" S ome of the best clubs in the nation are the biggest shitholes. (The Heidelberg) attracts people who are seriously committed to music. The Heidelberg is the equivalent of the Ark for people into underground music. It's like a concert hall.. You go there to check out the bands and that's the way I'd like to keep it," emphasizes Roland Diaz-Perez, manager and booking agent for Ann Arbor's Club Heidelberg. Since Roland took over management in August 1989, the Club has become an energetic force, giving Ann Arbor a place for newer local bands to play their first gig, allowing established local bands to build a following, and bringing some challenging national underground acts to perform. That space above the Heidelberg restaurant at 215 N. Main has not always been this successful. Before Roland began running the club, the infamous Martin Tury had been running the bar, calling it the Beat, on a less professional and less satisfactory basis. During Tury's final days last July, the club faltered badly. "No one wanted to play there-people cancelled, people who were planning on playing," explained Roland. One of the major problems had been the sound system. When Tury was running the club, it did not even own a P.A., so they had to rent one every night. Usually one was available, but after his failure to get one for the Opossums record release party in that fateful July, the owners of the Heidelberg restaurant, who give the club the space in exchange for their bar in the club, "were asking around to see if anyone wanted to take a stab at it," stated Roland. He took over because "at the time I just had this money ... and since I knew that the only way it could work would be to have a full- time P.A. that was dedicated to the Club and only used for that. . . . I wanted to do it so I approached them with something that works." The Heidelberg had to change many minds and overcome some image problems. Roland explained, "At first it was really difficult 'cause we were working from a negative position. Our reputation was worse than not having any reputation-it was a bad reputation." Permanent Wave Special Reg. $40 NOW ONLY $30 with this ad'-. Highlighting Special Reg. $35 NOW ONLY $25 wikh this ad ns welcome . Expires November 6, 1990 Daily 9 to 9 ANN ARBOR sat.s to s 2738 Jackson Ave. * 662-1696 Like many other local (and national) bands, Mal Triffid have often taken advantage of the good sound and fair management at the Club Heidelberg, where they've both headlined and supported other acts. 7i I J S drarr diffi thinj fairl) were profe doin hone ever repu whey the ever claim R Gibt persc soun 0 .",," v G ' C - " C v " ' ,-. Special Rates for Group & Birthday Parties 'U-. THE ARK 3s71u - FOLK - BLUEGRASS - JAZZ - WOMEN'S MUSIC CHILDREN'S CONCERTS - ACOUSTIC BLUES - ETC. " Entertainment & Refresh - Alcohol May Be Purchase " DOORS OPEN 1/2 HOUR BEF } ::CALL FOR TICKET & SCHEDULE I? -}.=. 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